Facts
A. suffered road traffic accidents on January 27, 2005, October 18, 2005, and July 5, 2010, which were caused by drivers of passenger cars whose owners had taken out motor vehicle liability insurance with insurance company X. AG.
On February 13, 2013, A. approached the District Court of Winterthur and filed a request for the precautionary taking of evidence in the form of a court expert opinion on the question of the lasting medical consequences of the accidents suffered. The District Court did not enter into the request, which A. appealed to the High Court of the Canton of Zurich. The High Court dismissed the appeal.
By way of a civil law appeal, A. requested the Federal Court to set aside the judgment of the High Court and to approve the request for the precautionary obtaining of an expert opinion.
Considerations
The Federal Court partially upheld the appeal and remanded the case to the lower court for a new decision.
With regard to the accidents of January and October 2005, the lower court rightly denied a worthy interest in the precautionary taking of evidence, as a suitable multidisciplinary expert opinion from the Medical Assessment Center of Hospital Y. was already available.
However, the lower court fails to recognize the purpose and requirements of the precautionary taking of evidence under Art. 158 para. 1 lit. b CPC, by rejecting the request for the precautionary taking of evidence in the form of a court expert opinion on the question of the lasting medical…