In 2019, a soldier shot an Upper Austrian who was just completing his basic military service in the genital area. Now the ex-recruit has been awarded compensation for pain and suffering. The verdict is not yet legally binding.
A former conscript who was hit in the genital area by a projectile from another soldier’s weapon in 2019 was awarded almost 16,000 euros in pain and suffering and damages. The man had sued the Republic of Austria as his former employer and demanded the money and compensation for possible permanent damage, his lawyer Lorenz Kirschner confirmed. The verdict is not yet final. Recruit complained Republic The then 20-year-old Upper Austrian was in action in the actually abandoned Mickl barracks in Bad Radkersburg (Southeast Styria district). On August 19, a militia corporal pointed his supposedly unloaded Glock at the recruit and pulled the trigger. A few months later, the shooter was already before the regional criminal court for grossly negligent bodily harm. The injured Upper Austrian also went to the civil court and sued his former employer, the Republic of Austria. Ruling with exemplary effect The state referred to the so-called liability privilege in the Social Security Act, according to which the employer is only liable for intentional damage. The gunshot wound, however, had been a mistake by the corporal. All instances saw it that way, because the case went all the way to the Supreme Court. The judgment should now become final, said Kirschner. According to the decision, the army cannot rely on the liability privilege. Conscripts are not normal employees, after all they do not do their service in the army voluntarily. The judgment could have further consequences for the Republic of Austria, because recruits can now claim damages more easily.
