[Frontal collision in the reclining-sitting position. Medical and legal aspects]

An account is given of a head-on collision involving a sleeping female who was a front-seat passenger in a sitting-reclining position and who was not wearing a safety belt. Biomechanical, clinical and radiological findings are reported (longitudinal fracture at the L3, vertebral compressions, intervertebral disc lesions, vertebral arch lacerations and incomplete paraparesis from L2 distally. In the course of several lawsuits leading up to the Federal Supreme Court, two judgments were pronounced that outline the legal obligations of the driver towards sleeping front-seat passengers. In this case, there was a conviction on account of "neglect." A district (LG) and an appellate court (OLG) acknowledged the liability of the driver for injury to person and property damages. The fact that he had not awakened the women passenger to draw her attention to the necessity of fastening the safety belt in a sitting position and in this way giving her the opportunity to make her own responsible decision was considered as "at least contributory" towards the damages sustained in the accident. The settlements regarding the private insurance liability are also derived from these rulings.