Compensation for damages

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The accident happened while cooking in the kindergarten (symbolic image), one boy was seriously injured.

(Bild: EVELYN HRONEK)

Hot apple sauce seriously injured a four-year-old boy in Upper Austria when he was cooking with friends and teachers in kindergarten. The Supreme Court has now confirmed the verdict. The kindergarten operator must pay substantial damages and compensation for pain and suffering.

A brief moment of carelessness in a kindergarten in the south of Upper Austria had serious consequences. The four-year-old boy, who was preparing applesauce with two other children, fell off his wooden chair and carried the pot with the hot mixture with him. This spilled onto his arm, hand and thigh - the toddler suffered third and fourth degree burns.

Second instance awarded damages
The mother sued the kindergarten for damages and compensation for pain and suffering. The court of first instance dismissed the claim, but the Linz Higher Regional Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff and awarded her €26,397.68.

"The extraordinary appeal was dismissed by the Supreme Court," explained lawyer Stefan Weidinger in response to an inquiry by Krone. The judgment is therefore final and the kindergarten must pay the damages.

Dangerous activities are restricted
The reason for the ruling: The kindergarten teachers had breached their duty of supervision because such a danger was quite foreseeable in this particular case - hot food, use of chairs as a climbing aid. In the rejected complaint, the kindergarten operator had spoken of "legal uncertainty" for the teachers and that dangerous activities, such as climbing, would have to be severely restricted in the event of a conviction.