After Dog Bites

60-Year-Old Jogger’s Agony Lasted 55 Minutes

The memorial site in Naarn(Bild: Markus Wenzel)

It was a tragedy that shook the entire country: On October 2, 2023, a jogger was mauled to death by several dogs in Naarn. Her husband and son sued the dog owner for 24,000 euros in compensation for pain and suffering. The trial court awarded the full amount, and the Linz Higher Regional Court upheld the decision. This was because the woman’s death struggle had lasted 55 minutes.

Herta A. (60) was attacked by several of the defendant’s dogs while jogging at around 8:40 a.m. on October 2, 2023. She sustained such severe injuries from the bites that she died at the scene. She sustained massive injuries, particularly to her face, neck, and chest, as well as to her limbs. According to the findings of the trial court, she suffered extreme, excruciating physical pain and fear of death until her death—for approximately 55 minutes—as stated by the Higher Regional Court of Linz.

The Parties’ Positions
The plaintiffs—the husband and son—argued that, given the severity of the injuries and the fear of death suffered during the attack, the deceased was entitled to compensation for pain and suffering totaling 24,000 euros. The defendant’s liability insurance had already paid 5,000 euros of this amount. A balance of 19,000 euros remained outstanding.

The defendant, the dog owner, essentially countered that the payment of 5,000 euros already made fully compensated for all the pain suffered by the deceased. She argued that no more than 15 minutes elapsed between the start of the attack and her death. Based on comparable cases, she contended that the amount paid was therefore sufficient.

The trial court awarded
 24,000 euros in compensation for pain and sufferingThe Linz Regional Court granted the claim in full. Given such an exceptionally agonizing period, a calculation based on standard periods of pain was deemed inappropriate. Rather, the decisive factors were the most severe physical and psychological pain, as well as the fear of death, to which the woman was subjected until her death. The trial court therefore considered a total of 24,000 euros in compensation for pain and suffering to be appropriate.

It’s Not Just the Duration of the Pain That Counts
The Linz Higher Regional Court dismissed the defendant’s appeal—thereby upholding the original judgment. The defendant had argued that the 55-minute duration of the pain was too short to justify the awarded compensation for pain and suffering. The lower court had exceeded the limits set by case law. However, the Linz Higher Regional Court found no error in the lower court’s assessment of compensation for pain and suffering.

Duration of the pain is not the sole determining factor
In the opinion of the Higher Regional Court, the duration of the pain is an important factor, but it is not the sole determining factor. Particularly when death occurs shortly after the injury, the severity of the infringement on physical integrity and the importance of the legal interest that was violated must also be taken into account. Furthermore, whether the injured person was fully conscious of his or her hopeless situation and had to endure the agony of death plays a significant role in determining the amount of compensation for pain and suffering. For this reason, there is no “base amount” for an acute threat to life as such; rather, it depends on the circumstances of the individual case.

“Almost unimaginable”
In the specific case in Naarn, the Higher Regional Court of Linz emphasized that, given the nature of the injuries, it is almost unimaginable what physical pain the deceased endured in such a short period of time. Added to this were the fear of death during the brutal attack, her complete helplessness, and the increasingly clear hopelessness of her situation. The Higher Regional Court of Linz therefore saw no reason to reduce the compensation for pain and suffering, which the trial court had set at 24,000 euros. The decision is final.