Hamm Higher Regional Court, 07.11.2012, Ref.: I-30 U 80/11
Sections 823, 847, 253 and 249 of the German Civil Code (BGB) form the legal basis for claims for damages and compensation for pain and suffering by persons who have suffered physical injury or damage to their health.
Bodily injury is the violation of physical integrity, including the infliction of pain. Damage to health is the medically significant disruption of physical, mental or psychological life processes, i.e. causing an illness.
The claim for damages exists within the framework of so-called in rem restitution, i.e. the injuring party must restore the condition that would exist if the circumstance obliging compensation had not occurred.
The amount of compensation to be paid is at the discretion of the court. When determining the amount of compensation for pain and suffering, the court will take into account the nature and duration of the injury as well as the financial circumstances of the injuring party and the injured party.
The Higher Regional Court of Hamm had to decide on a particularly blatant case with regard to a claim for damages in the above-mentioned judgement.
Facts of the Case The plaintiff and an acquaintance were guests at the defendant's hotel in December 2005. After attending a Christmas party, the plaintiff and his friend returned to the hotel intoxicated and attempted to enter the building with a key previously given to them by the defendant for this purpose.
They were confronted by a cleaner who did not speak German and thought they were intruders.
In the course of the dispute, the hotel employee inflicted fatal injuries on the plaintiff's acquaintance with a knife. The plaintiff suffered several stab wounds and bruises, for which he is seeking compensation from the defendants. The defendants, on the other hand, believe that they are not guilty of any breach of duty and that the cleaning employee's wilful act of violence is not attributable to them.
Hamm Higher Regional Court: The Hamm Higher Regional Court has now ruled in favour of the plaintiff and awarded him compensation for pain and suffering in the amount of € 6,500.
In the opinion of the court, the defendants had breached their contractual obligations towards their guests because they had not sufficiently informed the cleaning staff about the expected return of the guests and had not instructed them correctly in this respect.
The cleaning staff's wilful act of violence was also attributable to them, as their breach of duty had increased the risk of an argument between the cleaning staff and the guests ending in violence, which was also foreseeable.
The defendants were aware of the cleaner's language and communication difficulties.
Source: Higher Regional Court of Hamm
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