E-Scooter Accidents Aren’t Occupational Injuries

Jan 10, 2025 Benn-Ibler Rechtsanwälte

According to the Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, hereinafter OGH), if an employee has an e-scooter accident on their way to work, the Austrian national accident insurance does not have to pay a disability pension.

In February 2023, the plaintiff was riding an e-scooter in the morning from his home to his workplace in the Austrian city of Graz. When he saw a car approaching, he tried to slow down and braked to stop. Due to the reduced stability of an electric scooter combined on a wet road surface, the front wheel slipped. The plaintiff fell and suffered injuries.

The plaintiff went to court to try to recover, claiming that the e-scooter he was using is a common and acceptable means of transport to and from work, equivalent to a bicycle, and that the accident should therefore be covered by insurance.

The claim was rejected by the lower courts which ruled that if the claimant is using a piece of sports equipment to get to and from work, then there is no accident insurance cover.

The OGH has now confirmed the lower courts’ legal opinion.

An accident with an e-scooter on the way to work is not an occupational accident if it is not due to general traffic hazards, but to the typical risk of using e-scooters.

Although e-scooters have become a common sight in urban traffic, they are not yet widely used or safe.

The law now classifies unicycles and electric scooters as ‘trendy sports equipment’. The reason for this is that their use requires a special level of skill. Furthermore, their technical characteristics do not guarantee safe riding.

As a result, accident insurance does not cover accidents involving electric scooters due to their special driving characteristics. Only if a general risk had occurred would the case have had to be judged differently.

OGH 10 ObS 55/24x (8 October 2024)