Ski rental and binding setting: when the rental shop is liable from the contract for work, what role the setting record plays and what matters for the proof.
Mag. Christopher Angerer, Rechtsanwalt
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Many winter sportspeople rent skis and bindings from the ski rental shop, especially when travelling. The binding is a safety component. It should release under a dangerous load and free the foot, but otherwise hold reliably. If it does not release, serious knee and lower-leg injuries threaten. If it opens without cause, a fall can result.
With the rental the ski rental shop takes on a duty. From the contract for work it owes the proper setting of the binding under the recognised rules, for instance the standard ISO 11088, based on weight, height, ability, age and sole length. If it sets wrongly and this leads to the loss, it can be liable. Decisive remains the proof of causation.
This post explains the duties of the rental shop, the role of the setting record and the questions of proof. How liability is apportioned in a collision independently of the equipment is covered in the post on the apportionment of fault under the FIS rules.
Two short questions on the function of the binding and on the setting place a possible liability of the rental shop.
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A binding should release under dangerous load and otherwise hold. Both faults can go back to the setting.
If the binding worked normally, there is no indication of fault on the part of the rental shop. Not every fall rests on a material or setting error. Liability then follows the general rules, for instance the FIS rules in a collision or personal responsibility in a solo fall.
Next steps: document the course of the accident, check another cause and have the liability assessed under the general rules.
The ski rental shop owes the proper setting of the binding from the contract for work. If it was set wrongly and therefore did not release or released too early, the rental shop can be liable for the consequences. Important is the proof that the faulty setting precisely caused the loss. Secure the setting record, the rental contract and the equipment.
Next steps: secure the binding and the setting values, obtain a technical expert opinion and have the contract for work with the record reviewed.
If the binding was demonstrably set properly under the recognised rules and documented, fault of the rental shop is rather remote. A binding can fail to release in certain situations even with a correct setting, because the physical limits are reached. Other causes or personal responsibility then come into consideration.
Next steps: weigh the setting record as exoneration, check other causes and have the prospects realistically assessed.
With the rental of skis and binding the customer concludes a contract that covers the proper setting. The rental shop owes not only intact equipment but also a binding setting adapted to the person. The standard is the recognised rules of technology, as described for instance by the standard ISO 11088. It assigns each skier a release value based on objective figures.
These figures include weight, body height, age, the skiing ability and the sole length of the ski boot. A careful rental shop records this data and notes the values set in a setting record. This record is later a central means of proof, both to exonerate the rental shop and to prove an error.
For liability it is not enough that the binding did not release. Decisive is that the faulty setting precisely caused the loss. A binding can reach physical limits even with a correct setting and fail to open in certain twisting falls. A technical expert opinion is therefore usually needed that relates the setting to the specific injury.
After the accident secure the equipment as unchanged as possible, together with the rental contract and the setting record. Do not alter the binding and do not return the skis prematurely. How the self-borne costs and the loss of earnings are calculated is shown in the post on loss of earnings and household management damage.
Do not return the equipment. Anyone who returns the rented skis at once after suspecting a binding fault loses the most important means of proof. Keep the equipment unchanged and have the release values examined by an expert before you alter anything.
Only if the setting was faulty and this very error caused the loss. The mere failure to release is not enough, because a binding can reach physical limits even with a correct setting.
Under the recognised rules, for instance the standard ISO 11088, weight, height, age, ability and the sole length of the boot. From these values the release value results, which must be set correctly.
It documents the data recorded and the values set. It is thus a central means of proof that can prove an error or exonerate the rental shop. Keep it carefully after the accident.
Keep skis and binding as unchanged as possible and do not return them prematurely. Secure the rental contract and the record. Only a technical expert opinion can relate the release values to the injury.
Anyone who has the binding set themselves or in a workshop shifts the responsibility accordingly. With your own skis a liability of the workshop comes into consideration, which likewise owes a proper setting.
How liability is apportioned in a collision independently of the equipment.
Which losses are compensated and how they are calculated.
When a claim is realistic and which losses are compensated.
The sooner we secure the evidence, the better we can enforce your claim. Call us directly or send an email, callback within one business day.
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BRANDAUER Rechtsanwälte GmbH Giselakai 51 5020 Salzburg
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