In the photo you can see the left side of his face, completely disfigured, bloodshot, cheekbone and eye socket broken. Helga Brauer (name changed) fell with her head right on a curb in Unterföhring when she wanted to cross a street in the commercial area and got stuck on a “ten centimeter deep bump”. Now the 70-year-old wants 8,000 euros in compensation. But is a municipality liable for waves in the asphalt?
The 15th Civil Chamber at the Munich I Regional Court is now pondering this question. The accident dates to the morning of February 4, 2023. Brauer wanted to cross Feringastraße with her husband after a visit to a discount grocery store to go to the shops on the other side page. “There was no traffic at the time,” says the woman. However, she doesn’t know anything else, complete film tear.
As her husband explains as a witness, she got stuck on a bump in the road in front of the bus stop and fell onto the curb. “He measured it later with a spirit level,” says the 70-year-old, adding that the groove there was ten centimeters deep. She only became conscious in the hospital in the afternoon. “And when I looked in the mirror I could have fainted again.”
The couple demanded compensation from the community, but the community refused. “The road was repaired in no time,” says the woman. She went to court because she felt the municipality’s traffic safety obligation had been violated. The municipality, however, pointed out that these “light waves” in front of the bus stop were easy to recognize and were less than ten centimeters deep. There is also a pedestrian traffic light about 100 meters away. The couple could have used this.
She still suffers from pain and dizziness, says Brauer. She was operated on in a special clinic. “To this day my cheek is numb.” The row of teeth no longer closes and her upper jaw hurts constantly.
Bumps occur regularly in front of bus stops
“Several construction sites remain,” said presiding judge Thomas Böx at the end of the conciliation hearing. The traffic safety obligation relates to the road and the vehicles that drive on it. “A pedestrian has to accept the conditions there as they are.” Unless it involves a concentration of pedestrian traffic. “For example, if there is a cinema on one side of the street and the parking lot opposite, then a lot of people will inevitably have to cross the street.” This is not the case in the commercial area.
The community has designed pedestrian crossings at the far corners of the street with its many rows of shops, “whether that’s a good idea is another question.” But the couple could have used these crossing aids. In addition, the chamber still has to be convinced that the woman actually tripped on the highest bump.
“Bumps regularly occur in front of bus stops because the heavy bus brakes and starts there,” the judge continues. “You know that.” The municipality is not in a position to keep these positions permanently straight. Rather, one must consider whether there is contributory negligence. “It was broad daylight. Don’t you look where you’re going?” he asks the 70-year-old.
The community does not want to enter into a settlement, Helga Brauer is sticking to her lawsuit. “It could be that we dismiss the lawsuit in its entirety,” announces Judge Böx. The amicable agreement failed and the verdict will be announced on February 21st.