Workplace accident or merely slip on the pathway towards the garage?
In a recent ruling, the Hamburg Social Court (Az. L 2 U 30/24) has affirmed that a tumble on the way to a car in a private garage is not deemed a work-related incident. The case at hand involved an employee of Bund-Verlag, a Hamburg-based company, who bruised their wrist after falling in the stairwell leading to their apartment building's garage.
The mishap occurred as the employee was heading to their vehicle, parked in the garage, to commence their work commute. The garage, along with the apartment and the path to the garage, were considered part of the private domain and not safeguarded by statutory accident insurance.
According to the court's decision, exiting the private domain begins upon crossing the garage door, which in this instance was deemed the external door of the private domain. The employee had not yet left the private domain when they fell, as they were still navigating the stairwell en route to the garage.
The fall did not precipitate any legal action against Bund-Verlag, and the company maintained that the fall would not have been considered a work-related incident even if it had occurred within the garage. The employee, a bookkeeper by day and a DJ by night, had been making significant errors due to exhaustion from their secondary occupation.
The Hamburg Social Court's ruling may have implications for similar cases involving falls in comparable circumstances. The court's judgment reinforces that insurance coverage commences only upon leaving the private domain, specifically when crossing the outer door of the residential building. Even if the individual had left the house and entered the garage from the outside, the fall would still not be considered a work-related incident.
The fall in this instance occurred in Frankfurt/Main, as reported by the dpa news agency. The decision by the Hamburg Social Court had not been appealed or overturned at the time of the report. It serves as a cautionary tale for employees to exercise care when moving around their private spaces, particularly when heading to work.
