Tragic accident

Graz lawyer falls to his death: couple sentenced

The tragic accident occurred at a lake house on the Copacabana south of Graz.

(Bild: Jauschowetz Christian/Christian Jauschowetz)

In the summer of 2023, a well-known lawyer from Graz died after falling from a terrace. The couple, in whose lake house the man was a guest, have now been sentenced to conditional prison terms for grossly negligent homicide (not legally binding).  

The trial surrounding the fatal fall of a well-known Styrian lawyer in the summer of 2023 came to an end on Friday at the Graz Regional Criminal Court with the conviction of a married couple. After a visit to the couple's lake house south of Graz, the man fell against a construction fence on the terrace, the construction gave way and the lawyer fell three meters onto a metal staircase. He died days later in hospital.

Couple did not feel guilty
The couple did not feel guilty at the trial, which started in October. However, the rental agreement expressly stated that the couple were obliged to install a proper railing. As the couple had owned the house ten years previously, the blame could not really be placed on the landlord. Allegedly, the lawyer was more or less drunk at the time of the accident and therefore fell against the building fence.

"I was sure the railing would hold"
The accused tenant of the building stated that he had not erected the railing "because it was not financially viable". In his opinion, however, he had sufficiently secured the temporary railing. It was a 1.20 meter high construction fence made of individual elements that were connected with cable ties and, according to him, was secured at one point by a 120 kilogram flower trough. "I was sure that the railing would hold", emphasized the accused.

His wife stated that she had known that the railing would have to be made. But she had never dealt with these things: "It was all done by my husband." However, as she is also a tenant and therefore co-signed that the railing had to be made, she could not escape responsibility.

Fence did not meet fall protection requirements
A construction expert called in after the start of the trial in October now explained that construction fences are basically only used to signal that you are not allowed to go any further. If they are erected as fall protection, they must be at least two meters away from the precipice. The construction of fence parts, rope and flower pot "would never have met the requirements for fall protection".

The judge sentenced the husband to ten months' imprisonment and his wife to eight months' conditional imprisonment. He considered the installer of the fence to be slightly more culpable. "I believe that you made a safety barrier," he said to the defendants, but it had not been done properly. The two defendants asked for three days to think it over; the verdict is not final.