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Who is liable for a collision while sledging?

In short

Who is liable for a collision while sledging? Whoever is at fault, for example by going too fast or braking too late, owes the other person medical costs and compensation for pain. Riders must be able to stop within the stretch they can see, ruled the Munich Higher Regional Court, awarding a pedestrian EUR 15,000. Personal liability insurance pays justified claims. Children under seven are not liable.

Who is liable for a collision while sledging?

What it costs

Cover for sledging is included in the normal annual premium of personal liability insurance. For comparison, what a collision can cost.

ExampleTypical range
Personal liability insurance, singleabout EUR 40 to 120 a year
Personal liability insurance, couple or familyabout EUR 60 to 180 a year
Compensation for pain and suffering after a sledging accident with a knee injury, Munich Higher Regional Court 2022EUR 15,000, plus compensation for future damage
Pre-trial lawyer's fees in the same caseEUR 1,171.67

As of November 2026.

Annual premiums from publicly quoted tariff examples (as of May 2026),

court figures from the Munich Higher Regional Court, judgment of 23 February 2022, 7 U 1195/21.

How high the sub-limit for children under seven is depends on the tariff;

we obtain the exact quote for you.

Worked example

Evening on the sledging run, a pedestrian is hit

These were the facts before the Munich Higher Regional Court: two people on one sledge ride down a dimly lit forest track in the evening and hit a pedestrian walking uphill on the knee.

Speed according to the courtwell above 20 km/h; at 20 km/h the sledge would have stopped in time
Contributory fault of the pedestrian without a head torchdenied; he had called out, the run was lit and the moon was shining
Compensation for pain and sufferingEUR 15,000
Future damagethe rider must compensate this as well
Personal liability insurance, familyabout EUR 60 to 180 a year

The rider was fully liable. With personal liability insurance the insurer takes over justified claims such as compensation for pain and suffering and follow-up costs; without it the rider pays out of his own pocket.

When a rider is liable

German law has no special liability rule for sledging and no strict liability of the kind that applies to cars. You are only liable if you made a mistake, for example went too fast, braked too late or followed others without keeping a distance. Then you owe treatment costs, lost earnings and compensation for pain and suffering (Schmerzensgeld).

A case decided in February 2022 shows how strict the courts are. In the evening, on a forest track, a sledge carrying two people hit a pedestrian who was walking uphill with his own sledge. The Munich Higher Regional Court (OLG München) required a rider to go only so fast that he can stop within the stretch he can see. Merely steering around someone is not enough, because nobody can steer precisely on slippery snow. The rider was going well above 20 km/h and was fully liable.

SituationWho is usually liable?
You go too fast and run into a slower sledge from behindyou, because you could not stop within the stretch you could see
A pedestrian walks up the run and you brake too lateyou; contributory fault of the pedestrian is for you to prove
What happened stays unclear, no witnessesoften nobody, because the injured person must prove the mistake
Your six-year-old runs into someonenot the child; you only if you breached your duty to supervise
Your twelve-year-old speeds into a groupthe child, if it was able to see the danger

When children are on the sledge

On a sledging hill the riders are often children. Under seven they are not liable at all (§ 828 (1) BGB). Under § 832 BGB the parents are only liable if they breached their duty to supervise. If they supervised the child adequately, the injured person gets money from nobody.

So that the other person is still compensated, many family tariffs pay for damage caused by children under seven voluntarily, often only up to a sub-limit. Children aged seven to 17 are liable themselves if they were able to see the danger of what they were doing. If they are included in your family liability policy, it pays.

What personal liability insurance pays and what it does not

Sledging is part of private life, so your personal liability insurance (Privathaftpflicht) also applies on a sledge. The insurer checks whether you are liable, pays justified claims and defends you against inflated or unjustified ones, in court if need be.

It never pays for your own injuries; health and accident insurance are there for that. If you run into your partner or a child who lives with you, it usually does not pay either, because claims between people insured under the same policy are excluded. It only replaces a borrowed sledge if your tariff includes borrowed items.

Sledging on a school outing

If a class goes sledging on a trip that the school organises and supervises, the children are covered by statutory accident insurance. The public accident fund (Unfallkasse) pays regardless of who was at fault. Pupils and teachers are then in principle released from liability towards each other for personal injury, except in cases of intent.

That release does not apply to damage to property, which must be made good even for simple negligence. If your child negligently breaks a classmate's sledge, your family liability policy is the one to turn to.

When you need nothing extra

You do not need separate insurance for sledging if you have personal liability insurance. Just check whether damage caused by children under seven is included and whether the sum insured is high enough. Without personal liability insurance you are liable with your own money, often for many years if the other person is left with lasting harm.

Step by step

  1. Stop after the collision, give first aid and call the emergency services if anyone is injured.
  2. Note names, addresses and witnesses, and photograph the place and any tracks with your phone.
  3. Do not admit fault and do not offer money before the insurer has looked at the case.
  4. Report the incident to your personal liability insurer promptly and pass any claims on to it.
  5. If you are injured yourself, also report the accident to your accident insurer.

Checklist

  • Personal liability insurance in place, including for children in the household
  • Damage caused by children under seven included
  • Sum insured at least EUR 10 million
  • Borrowed items included if you borrow sledges
  • Ride slowly enough to stop within the stretch you can see, above all in the evening

Common mistakes

  • Believing that steering around someone is enough instead of riding slowly enough to stop
  • Admitting fault or promising payment at the scene
  • Going home without the names of witnesses
  • Assuming liability insurance also pays for your own injury

Questions and answers

Frequently asked

Do traffic rules apply to sledging?

The German road traffic regulations do not apply directly on a sledging run.

The Munich Higher Regional Court nevertheless adopted their idea that you may only go as fast as

allows you to stop within the stretch you can see.

What if both riders made mistakes?

Then the damage is split according to each side's share of the fault.

Whoever relies on a mistake by the other must prove it.

My child is five and ran into someone. Do I have to pay?

Only if you breached your duty to supervise.

Many family tariffs still pay the damage up to a sub-limit so that the injured person is not left

empty-handed.

Does personal liability insurance also pay on a summer toboggan run?

Yes, that is leisure too and part of private life.

Whether you are liable depends, as in winter, on whether a mistake can be proved against you.

What if I am injured by a rider who has no insurance?

Then default cover (Forderungsausfalldeckung) in your own personal liability policy helps,

provided there is a court judgment and the person responsible cannot pay.

Am I insured when sledging in Austria or Italy?

Yes, if your personal liability insurance applies abroad, which is usual for trips within Europe.

Whether you are liable may then be decided by the law of the place of the accident.

Sources

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