Tort Law — Causation
| Date | Citation | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 11.11.1997 | BGHZ 137, 142 VI. Civil Senate (VI ZR 376/96) = NJW 1998, 810 | Predisposition leading to consequential harm Claim for compensation § 249 BGB |
| 10.11.1994 | BGHZ 127, 378 III. Civil Senate (III ZR 50/94) | Contributory negligence Failure to undergo remedial surgery Case note § 133, 157, 166, 242, 278, 631-635 BGB |
| 15.03.1994 | BGH NJW 1994, 1592 VI. Civil Senate (VI ZR 44/93) | Contributory negligence Reliance on a surveyor’s report Failure to undergo remedial surgery § 254 BGB |
| 17.09.1991 | BGH NJW 1991, 3275 VI. Civil Senate (VI ZR 2/91) = VersR 1991, 1293 | Claim by employer (by subrogation) of victim of road accident for loss of earnings under §§ 823 I and 842 BGB, and § 3 Compulsory Insurance Act Change to new job in which earnings increased Further job change for betterment, resulting in prospect not materialising Earnings became less than in original job Adequate causal link between loss of earnings and accident, but own decision broke chain of causation Such exclusions however only in exceptional cases §§ 249, 823, 842 BGB |
| 16.02.1972 | BGHZ 58, 162 VI. Civil Senate (VI ZR 128/70) Gehweg -decision = NJW 1972, 904 = JZ 1972, 559 See JZ 1972, 551 and VersR 1972, 560 for important articles by Deutsch | Dutch army lorry collided with car; road blocked; other untraced cars damaged footway driving over it Claim for damage to it against State (on basis of NATO armed forces statute) under § 829 and Art 34 GG Adequate causal connection as foreseeable Liability under § 7 StVG and lorry still in operation Deliberate and unlawful action by car drivers imputable to lorry driver but not provoked or compelled by him Not in his sphere of duty, nor preventable by him, nor due to his driving or operational hazard of lorry § 823 BGB § 7 StVG |
| 29.01.1969 | BGH NJW 1969, 789 I. Civil Senate (I ZR 18/67) = VersR 1969, 406 | Claimant's agent agreed garaging of its car with hotel; arranged with third party; watches left in car disappeared Claimant could claim under Drittschadensliquidation regardless of whether defendant could have known of its interest Contract included boot contents Burden on defendant to prove cause of loss (§ 282) Contributory fault of agent under § 254 If harm not preponderantly caused by one party, assess degree of fault of each Factors in this assessment §§ 254.ff, 688 ff. BGB |
| 24.11.1964 | OLG Stuttgart NJW 1965, 112 (5 U 91/64) = VersR 1965, 296 = JZ 1966, 189 | Defendant under influence of alcohol crashed car causing fire; claimant rescued occupants Damages for pain and suffering under §§ 823 I and II and 847 Defendant adequately caused claimant's injury Claimant's act did not prevent causal connection Justifiable, not too remote, and did not need to be in performance of legal or moral duty §§ 823, 847 BGB |
| 14.03.1961 | BGHZ 34, 355 VI. Civil Senate (VI ZR 189/59) = NJW 1961, 655 = JZ 1961, 602 with approving note by Flume | First defendant with claimant’s consent allowed second defendant (known to have no licence) to drive car; lost control and claimant injured Contrary to prior case law, no real consent or justification arose from claimant acting at own risk, but good faith required that claimant should not act inconsistently with own prior conduct, so value judgement required under § 254 Factors to be assessed here, especially young age of claimant §§ 107, 242, 254, 823 BGB |
| 22.04.1958 | BGHZ 27, 137 VI. Civil Senate (VI ZR 65/57) = NJW 1958, 1041 = JZ 1958, 742 with an approving note by Boehmer | Claimant's motor cycle collided with car; car driver negligent, and claimant convicted of speeding but acquitted on rehearing Could not recover from car driver's widow costs incurred in defending himself Not within area of protection of rule Claim for economic loss not covered by § 823 I, nor by § 823 II with § 13 StVO § 823 I BGB |
| 29.02.1956 | BGHZ 20, 137 VI. Civil Senate (VI ZR 352/54) Neuroseschäden -decision = VersR 1956, 305 | Motor cyclist collided with railway owned by defendant; head injury for which periodic payments ordered for 4 years Claim for payments until retirement Claimant emotionally labile but neurotic condition, and fantasy of sickness and need for guaranteed livelihood caused by accident § 254 only applicable if claimant can control will Not equitable to attribute consequences here as contrary to purpose of claim if compensation prevents integration into social life §§ 249, 823 BGB |
| 17.10.1955 | BGHZ 18, 286 III. Civil Senate (III ZR 84/54) = JZ 1956, 177 |
Victim innoculated against typhus under government ordinance; died of suppuration becoming malignant State liable for breach of official duty and public sacrifice in deprivation of support Innoculation adequate cause of death: would still have been ordered had a death been envisaged Rare, but within medical experience § 844 applied by analogy to allow relatives to claim Required by social law-abiding state (Art 20 GG) and family protection (Art 6 GG) §§ 249, 844 BGB §§ 74, 75 Einl. Preuß. ALR |
| 25.09.1952 | BGHZ 7, 198 III. Civil Senate (III ZR 322/51) = NJW 1953, 700 = VersR 1952, 430 | Children claimed for death of mother after abortion by doctor; had pierced womb and left afterbirth there; not hospitalised until haemorrhage found No inference of carelessness but lack of after care could ordinarily have produced harm Adequate cause under § 287 ZPO even if occurrence of harm not beyond reasonable doubt and regardless of prospects of avoiding it Consent inoperative if contrary to §§ 134 or 138 Deliberate injury to body and infringement under § 823 II of protective enactments §§ 213 and 218 StGB Pregnant woman also protected Defendant liable for consequences even if not his fault Consent relevant under §§ 254 and 846 §§ 242, 287 ZPO, 254, 823 BGB § 218 StGB |
| 24.04.1952 | BGH NJW 1952, 1010 III. Civil Senate (III ZR 100/51) = VersR 1952, 352 | Victim struck by vehicle, necessitating leg amputation; died 8 years later from artillery fire as not able to reach shelter No adequate causal connection between laming and death as not equitably attributable Exhaustive rules not possible as based on § 242 New, independent and unforeseeable event § 249 BGB § 287 ZPO § 7 KrfzG |
| 23.10.1951 | BGHZ 3, 261 I. Civil Senate (I ZR 31/51) Klappschuten -decision = VersR 1952, 128 | Two ships let through lock side by side, as incorrect width given by master of first; ships stuck together; lock staff raised water level too fast in absence of lock keeper; second ship sank; insurer claimed from owner of first Incorrect information conditio sine qua non of later events Traeger's causation theory tempered by equity Causer of accident usually answerable for results of later even unskilful conduct, but would optimal observer have foreseen conduct of lock staff or did it break causal connection? §§ 823, 831 BGB § 4 BinnSchG |
| 29.04.1942 | RGZ 169, 117 VIII. Civil Senate | Claimant knocked down by lorry; arthritis and sciatica ensued caused in equal shares by accident and predisposition To be treated as entirely due to accident even if could have been caused by another event which actually happened Predisposition only important in so far as it would reduce earning capacity on its own |
| 26.04.1937 | RGZ 155, 37 VI. Civil Senate (VI 395/36) | Claimant suffered accident, causing harm, especially to nerves, impairing her earning capacity Nervous predisposition did not prevent liability Claimant's pregnancy conditioned present state, otherwise would probably have recovered Accident adequate cause of claimant's state Pregnancy did not break causal connection §§ 249, 842, 843 BGB §§ 144, 287, 379, 402 ZPO |
| 22.06.1931 | RGZ 133, 126 VI. Civil Senate (VI 46/31) | Claimant hit by automobile when crossing road; failed to look but co-defendant driver could still have avoided accident Adequate causation by claimant Causation and fault of both parties to be balanced against each other under § 9 Automobile Act and § 254 § 254 BGB § 9 KrfzG § 254 BGB § 9 Kraftfahrzeuggesetz |
| 13.10.1922 | RGZ 105, 264 III. Civil Senate (III 453/22) | Claimant's husband shot by policeman aiming at escaping criminal; taken to hospital, caught influenza (prevalent in hospital and elsewhere) and died Prussian state liable for negligent breach of official duty Adequate causal connection despite possibility of contracting influenza in other ways |