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Place name sign of Ischgl: Lawsuits against Austria
Photo: JOE KLAMAR / AFP
The Vienna Regional Court has dismissed the first claims for damages from people who were infected with the corona virus in Ischgl.
The lawsuits were directed against the Republic of Austria.
The civil court ruled that the epidemic law would only protect general public health and not specific people.
According to the published judgment, which refers to two cases, the republic was "not responsible for either culpable or illegal behavior in the relevant periods of time".
A total of around 50 lawsuits are currently pending.
In Ischgl and other Tyrolean winter sports locations, thousands of people from dozen countries are said to have contracted the corona virus in March 2020.
Ischgl became one of the first corona hotspots in Europe.
Many of those affected and their bereaved families accuse the responsible authorities of making serious mistakes in dealing with the outbreak.
Consumer advocates speak of a judicial scandal
The consumer protection association (VSV), which represents the interests of the plaintiffs in Vienna, spoke in an initial reaction of a judicial scandal.
The two judgments that have now been made would be challenged by the SAAM through all instances, said association board member Peter Kolba.
The court is assuming that it cannot be determined with the necessary certainty that on March 1 of last year 15 Icelandic people returning from Ischgl on vacation tested positive in their homeland.
These reports came through the European warning system of the health authorities (EWRS), said Kolba.
"In a pandemic, reports from the European warning system have to be taken seriously, otherwise it is impossible to contain a pandemic." The infected Icelanders were considered the first indication of the corona outbreak in Ischgl.
Just last week, the Innsbruck public prosecutor stopped the criminal investigation into the spread of corona in the ski resort in spring 2020.
There is no evidence that someone culpably did or failed to do something that would have increased the risk of infection, the statement said.
ptz / AFP / dpa
