Man falls into a gully: the community has to pay 12,500 euros in compensation!

Man falls into a gully: the community has to pay 12,500 euros in compensation!

A serious fall that had far-reaching consequences: A 27-year-old man was awarded a total of 12,500 euros in compensation after an accident that occurred in September 2020. The incident happened in Lindwedel when the plaintiff was out with his dogs and unfortunately fell into a drainage shaft because the manhole cover broke away. His leg fell into the shaft and his kneecap was broken. This is reported by the Mopo.

The municipality of Lindwedel initially rejected all allegations and refused to pay compensation for pain and suffering. She also won a trial before the Verden regional court by arguing that the manhole cover had been checked regularly. But the Celle Higher Regional Court (OLG) assessed the matter differently and found the plaintiff right. According to the applicable liability law, the seepage shaft was considered a dangerous facility and the municipality could not prove that the accident was due to force majeure.

Legal basis

Strict traffic safety obligations apply to municipalities. The current legal discussion about liability in such accidents shows that residents and road users depend on communities to keep an eye on such sources of danger. As an expert work on municipal liability shows, the basis for the traffic safety obligation is complex. Among other things, the book addresses liability in the context of road safety obligations and the importance of contributory negligence in cases of damage. This information can be found, among other things, in a publication that deals intensively with this topic: esv library.

In this specific case, the manhole cover remained untraceable after the incident, which prevented a later assessment. For the community, this not only means paying compensation for pain and suffering, but also covering additional costs of around 4,400 euros for loss of earnings, damage to household management and legal fees. In addition, it must compensate for any future damage.

Protection for the public

Many people are not aware of the dangers on public roads. For example, in another case it was decided that a municipality was not liable for tripping hazards during a street move, particularly if a step protruded only slightly above the level of the street. Here the plaintiff must prove that the municipality violated its obligations to avoid danger. Such a judgment highlights how different legal assessments can be and that responsibilities are often complex. The Specialist lawyer illustrates this impressively using a case in which the plaintiff's contributory negligence was an important part of the verdict.

The case from Lindwedel shows that it is worth taking legal action in the event of accidents involving public facilities. Exchange and information about safe routes are of great importance for all road users in order to prevent future accidents.