An Austrian firefighter broke four cervical vertebrae in 2015 and became a nursing case. Now there is a judgment.
Uwe Pollmeier
Icon image (© CC0 Pixabay)
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Halle/Kleblach-Lind. The fire engine leader, Peter Goldbecker, remembers the day more than five years ago: “It was a warm summer day and we wanted to have coffee together at the end of a covered wagon trip.” On August 15th, our friends from Kleblach were our guests in East Westphalia -Lind, a small community in Carinthia (Austria).
When the then 27-year-old Austrian Manuel Holzmann apparently wanted to jump into a swimming pond after a colleague from Hörster, he broke four cervical vertebrae and was henceforth paraplegic.
The process takes several years
The subsequent legal dispute with the Carinthian insurance company now came to a positive end before the regional court in Klagenfurt. “I am happy that it has now turned out like this. I hadn’t believed in it anymore, “says Goldbecker. The court awarded the Austrian compensation in the amount of several hundred thousand euros.” We have been in contact with him over the years and made regular phone calls or emails, “says Goldbecker. There were also fundraising for the comrade from Carinthia, in which the entire Hörster fire brigade took part. “The matter is now closed. It took a lot of strength, “says Goldbecker, knowing full well that of course no money in the world can reverse the tragic accident.
Holzmann, who lives on his parents’ farm, has been a nursing case ever since. His situation has hardly changed in the past five years. “Since then it has always been his wish to be able to visit us here in Hörste again,” says Goldbecker. He also hopes that this will work out in the foreseeable future.
Two years ago, he himself went to Austria with some fire brigade colleagues from Hörster to testify at the trial.
The fact that the accident insurance of the casualty was so insane over such a long period was because the now 32-year-old Manual Holzmann was under the influence of alcohol while jumping. According to the laboratory results, it was more than a per mille. In such a case, an insurance company can refuse to pay out according to Austrian law.
But now an agreement has been reached and the insurance has to pay. “His family in Kleblach-Lind has built a barn on the farm that is handicapped accessible, so that Manuel can be looked after at home,” says Goldbecker. This of course cost a lot of money.
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