An American from the Midwest will not receive any financial compensation after a tobogganing accident on the Zugspitze. The Munich II Regional Court dismissed a corresponding lawsuit. The then 55-year-old doctor crashed into a snow wall with a corner bobsleigh after initially not being able to cope with the larger version of the bobsleigh.
Grainau/Munich – Nine years after a serious tobogganing accident on the Zugspitze, the Munich Regional Court II has dismissed an American's lawsuit for compensatory and six-figure damages. From the judge's point of view, there was no evidence of a violation of the traffic safety obligation - neither by the operator of the toboggan run nor by the landlord of the Zipfelracer, a larger version of the well-known Zipfelbob.
American was on a European tour with his daughter
A then 55-year-old American sued. With his daughter, who was studying in the Netherlands, he went to Germany as part of a European tour and went to the Zugspitze. There they both decided to take a ride on the Sonnenkar lift.
They set off in a Zipfelracer, but the dad – who weighs 130 kilos and is almost two meters tall – could hardly make any progress and kept slipping his buttocks off the racer or tipping over. Nevertheless, he decided to go for a second descent. And then he apparently got the hang of it and really got going. In a left-hand bend he crashed into a snow bank and sustained a serious foot injury. From then on he was only able to practice his profession as a doctor to a limited extent. That's why he sued the Bavarian Zugspitzbahn for initially 114,000 euros in damages. He later increased this sum by almost 11,000 euros and a monthly pension of 600 euros, retroactive to January 1, 2020. He also demanded compensation for pain and suffering of at least 50,000 euros.
No experience in tobogganing
He also accused the operator of the toboggan run of not having properly prepared the slope. It was completely iced over. In addition, warning and information signs were missing. He billed the sled rental company for the lack of information. Even the larger Zipferacers were not suitable for his physical dimensions, he claimed. The employees at the toboggan rental shop should have pointed out the particular dangers or, better yet, stopped him from using the toboggan run. After all, he had told them that he had no knowledge or experience of tobogganing.
Zugspitzbahn is not at fault
But the court could not find any fault on the part of Zugspitzbahn-AG. The accident could only have been caused by a driving error. According to an expert, the Zipfelracer was a very easy to use toboggan device that did not require much experience, let alone instruction. At the trial in March, an expert came to the conclusion that the racer had not deformed under the weight of the American and had not broken. Furthermore, the route was not icy and there was no need for warning signs. This simply left nothing left that could have led to a traffic violation. The verdict can be appealed. It is not yet legally binding.