Crime victim complains

Is a two-year wait for an operation reasonable?

If the doctors have their way, a young Carinthian will have to walk around with a displaced nose for two years after a physical injury before he can have an operation.(Bild: Georgii - stock.adobe.com)

In 2023, a Carinthian man was beaten up and has been suffering the consequences ever since - his nose is disfigured and he has trouble breathing. But the young man has to wait two years for the necessary operation in a public hospital. If he wants to get his turn sooner, he has to pay. So he has now filed a lawsuit.

It's not every day that Klagenfurt civil court judge Daniel Binder conducts a case like this: because it's not just about the usual claims for pain and suffering after a personal injury - but rather about why a crime victim in Austria would have to wait two calendar years to receive the surgery he needs to recover in a public hospital.