Facts
On 7 March 1977, soldiers from the air protection troop destroyed a building in Beringen. The debris was transported by private contractors with their trucks to a gravel quarry, where Corporal Mehr and soldiers Meyer and Dossenbach were deployed. Mehr was injured when he tried to open the rear wall of a truck. The Militärversicherung compensated Mehr for the consequences of the accident and then sued the insurer of the truck owner, Alpina-Versicherungs AG, for reimbursement of the costs.
The cantonal court and the court of appeal of the canton of Schaffhausen dismissed the claim. The Militärversicherung appealed to the Federal Court.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined the question of whether the accident was due to the operation of the motor vehicle. The Road Traffic Act (RTA) provides that the owner of a motor vehicle is liable for damage caused by the operation of their vehicle. However, in this case, it was not clear whether the accident was due to the operation of the vehicle or other factors.
The Federal Court considered that the question of whether an accident is due to the operation of a motor vehicle is a question of fact. The cantonal court had left open the question of whether the accident was due to the operation of the vehicle, as other causes were imaginable. The Federal Court estimated that this could not be considered as a violation of a principle based on life…