Water Damage
A delivers a boiler to the house of his customer K. He buys a control computer from manufacturer B, which is used for heating the boiler. A wrongly connects the control computer to the heating system. While K is on winter vacation, the control computer deactivates the heating, resulting in temperatures of -10°C in K’s house. As a result, the water in the water pipes in K’s house freezes and the pipes start to leak. Three days later, temperatures in K’s house are around +5°C, the cellar is flooded and the renovation costs for the cellar and the water pipes amount to EUR 50,000.
Question: What claims does K have against A and B?
Affray
Self-employed craftsman A suffers a painful pelvic fracture in a fight. He then spends two weeks in hospital, followed by 8 weeks of rehabilitation.
Question: What is the damage?
Industrial Robot
Electronics engineer A is responsible for operating an industrial robot at B-GmbH. A malfunction of the robot fatally injures warehouse worker C, and the robot is subsequently rendered unusable. C's widow D learns of the accident and suffers a nervous breakdown, resulting in a six-month anxiety disorder.
Question: Which damages exist?
Wrong-Way Driving
On the highway, A and B are involved in a rear-end collision in which A is slightly injured. Three minutes after the accident, a wrong-way driver, C, passes the accident site. He brakes in time and is able to exit the highway.
Question: Is C liable for the accident?
Wrong-Way Driving II
A and B are involved in a rear-end collision in which A is slightly injured. The accident occurred when the line of cars on the highway came to a rather sudden standstill. The cars braked because C, a wrong-way driver, had exited the highway just ahead of them.
Question: Is C liable for the accident?
No-Parking Zone
A parks in a no-parking zone. Due to the unfavorable parking position of his vehicle, several fire engines cannot drive to a nearby fire scene. The towing of A’s vehicle leads to a delay in the firefighting operation, so that B’s house at the scene of the fire burns down completely and has to be demolished.
Question: Was A's behavior illegal? What claims does B have against A?
No-Parking Zone II
A parks in a no-parking zone in a parking space reserved for disabled persons. For unexplained reasons, a skateboarder riding on the sidewalk leaves the sidewalk, falls onto A’s vehicle and injures himself so badly that he spends several days in hospital. The collision destroyed the windshield of A’s vehicle, and the repair and replacement of the windshield cost EUR 400.
Question: Was As and/or Bs beavior illegal?
Cheap repair
A-GmbH gives its employees the ’urgent recommendation’ not to incur any additional material costs during maintenance work. During the repair of a machine, B, a fitter from A-GmbH, then installs a component that is 10 percent undersized according to its specification. However, B thinks that the customer only uses the machine once a month anyway and that nothing will happen. In reality, however, a fire breaks out during operation of the machine, killing two employees and causing property damage of EUR 10 million. In addition, the customer is no longer able to fulfill a contract and loses a further EUR 5 million as a result.
Question: Who is liable for the damage? What is the degree of fault?
Two Inspections
The two entrepreneurs A and B manufacture a machine on behalf of their customer C. Due to a fault in the machine, 10 tons of chocolate are destroyed at customer C’s plant, meaning that C is also unable to supply its customer D. A, who caused the fault in the machine by incorrectly dimensioning a component, is now insolvent.
Question: From whom can C obtain compensation for his loss?
Mountain-Bike
A mountain bike manufacturer M sells a bicycle that is intended for use on unpaved terrain. Buyer K is using it on a mountain trail when the pedal comes loose due to faulty assembly. K falls, suffers serious head injuries, and the bicycle is damaged. K was not wearing a helmet, even though the instructions expressly recommend doing so. A helmet would have prevented or significantly mitigated the injuries. K’s injuries (pain and suffering, treatment costs) and the damage to the bike are considered compensable damages.
Question: What claims does K have against M?