Tragedy in the Mauthner Klamm: Court freely speaks of parents' debt!

Tragedy in the Mauthner Klamm: Court freely speaks of parents' debt!

A tragic misfortune shook the small family from Vienna. On August 16, 2019, during a relaxing walk through the Mauthner Klamm in Kötschach-Mauthen, a rotten piece of a white fir fell by a height of 90 meters and hit the four-year-old girl on the head. Despite all efforts, the child succumbed to his serious injuries a little later. In a complex legal examination, such as orf reported, the alpine police found in the investigation that the falling branch came from a certain tree, which was confirmed by genetic tests. However, the question of whether the community, the Alpine Club or the forest owner were responsible for the death of the child remained unclear for a long time.

legal decision -making

In a subsequent criminal proceedings, it was initially noticed that the girl's parents did not contribute to their loss. Hate, grief and disappointment followed when they demanded over 200,000 euros in pain and suffering and striving for further legal clarification. The first legal proceedings decided in favor of the parents, but the decision of the Higher Regional Court of Graz was a phrase: the judges came to the conclusion that both the Alpine Club and the municipality cannot be liable, since the risk of falling from the height in such steep gorges is an everyday threat as 5min reported. Finally, the Supreme Court found that the risk of falling branch was not foreseeable beforehand, which excluded a fundamental negligence.

The last option to take this judgment has now been rejected. The court decided that it was not necessary to warn of such dangers and therefore do not need signage. The affected family has hit the legal disputes deeply and the search for answers and justice will remain a major challenge.