The Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt am Main (OLG) recently ruled that restaurant owners cannot be held responsible for recognizable unevenness on their patio areas. In the case in question, a guest tripped on a natural stone terrace after leaving the toilet and injured himself. He sued for damages and compensation for pain and suffering.
However, the restaurant owner is not liable for the injuries. The OLG argued that guests should adapt their movements to the visible conditions and cannot assume that a rustic-looking terrace should be completely flat. In addition, the plaintiff had not been able to show specifically why he had fallen and that the owner of the restaurant was at fault. In this respect, no claims for damages could be imposed on the owner of the restaurant.
The OLG's decision makes it clear that innkeepers must take safety precautions and avert dangers that users cannot anticipate. However, they are not obliged to guarantee a completely safe environment. In this particular case, the appearance of the terrace was obvious enough to alert users to possible unevenness.
Source: ordentliche-gerichtsbarkeit.hessen.de
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