GERMANY: domestic accident or accident at work?

The accident suffered by a home worker as a result of a boiler explosion was not recognised as an occupational accident. In a decision of May 2021, the Social Court of Munich (LSG) and the competent accident insurance institution considered that the main cause of the accident was not work, but the adjustment of the boiler with a more domestic purpose and the protection of his family.

However, with effect from 18 June 2021, the legislator has revised the concept of home accident insurance cover. And from now on, a paragraph of the Social Code (SGB VII) provides for a clause of equality of place of work, between home and the company’s premises. Thus, on reading the Social Code, it seems now clear that what is fundamental is the work done, not the place where it is done. In fact, a worker who wanted to regulate the temperature in the workplace as part of his insured activity and who was the victim of an accident following the explosion of the boiler would have been recognised as an accident at work.

Source (in German)