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Photo Credit: Joe Shlabotnik via Flickr Creative Commons

After an accident occurred on the ski slopes of  Hochhäderich mountain in Austria this past winter, an adult woman is suing a 6-year-old girl to the tune of €68,000 (approximately $38,500 USD). The woman, who sustained serious injuries, already brought a civil suit against the supervising adult. That suit was subsequently dismissed by the presiding judge on the grounds that both individuals were equally responsible for the crash.

However, in what amounts to a bizarre legal plot twist, the victim is now taking her suit to the child in question. That said, Austrian law prohibits children under the age of 14 from being held responsible in civil cases. The only exception to this rule is if the child knowingly acted with full understanding of the consequences of her actions.

The child, who was part of a ski school group, allegedly made a sharp and sudden turn into the path of the woman.

Now that this case has been brought to bear, the court must decide if the child was acting out of malice or intention.

If the plaintiff wins the case, damages would be distributed by the child’s insurance company.

As of now, court experts interviewed by the Telegraph said that unless further evidence is brought into the light, it appears as though they were both at fault in the accident.

However, FIS slope rules on “Choice of path” and “Overtaking” say otherwise.

Choice of path

Select an appropriate path. If you are skiing behind someone it’s your responsibility to ski around them without causing any danger to them.

Overtaking

You can over-take from either left or right but you must leave enough distance between yourself and other skiers to allow them to manoeuvre properly.

Due to Austrian Privacy Law, neither the plaintiff or defendants identities have been released.

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