Six-year-old girl being sued in Austria 'for causing skiing accident'

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A six-year-old girl is being sued for £25,000 in Austria for allegedly causing a skiing accident which left a woman with serious injuries.

The woman has started legal action against the child, with the Feldkirch Provisional Court considering this week whether someone of this age could be held responsible for causing an accident, news site The Local Austria reports.

Under Austrian law, a child aged under 14 cannot be held responsible in cases of civil wrongs, such as personal injury accidents.

“First and foremost, supervisors such as the instructors and the parents would be sued for neglecting their supervising responsibilities,” according to a court spokeswoman.

The case against the six-year-old was brought after an earlier attempt to sue the adult who had been supervising the girl at the time of the accident was dismissed, according to the Daily Telegraph.

An exception to 14 being the age of legal responsibility in Austria is when a child under this age would have been capable of judging the consequences of their actions.

The court is now considering whether the girl was at fault in this way and can therefore be held legally responsible for the accident.

The incident reportedly occurred when the child and the woman were both skiing on the slopes of the Hochhäderich mountain in the Bregenzerwald forest, near the border with Germany.

The child was taking part in a ski lesson with a group when she allegedly suddenly turned in front of the woman, who fell.

The woman claims she suffered serious injuries and that she has not been able to ski since.

It is understood that she is also suing for compensation to cover future damage that might occur as a result of the accident.

Evidence given by a court expert suggested both the child and the woman were not paying enough attention and both were partly to blame.

The court case is due to continue in three weeks’ time.