BGH ruling 2025: Winter service liability now affects clients too – what it means for your business
A ruling that shook up the winter service industry: in August 2025, Germany's Federal Court of Justice (BGH) decided that clients commissioning winter service can be held fully liable even when they have delegated the duty to clear and grit to a specialist company. Here is what this means for winter service businesses and their clients – and how digital documentation makes the difference in a claim.
The BGH ruling of 6 August 2025 – what was decided?
In the proceedings (case no. VIII ZR 250/23), a tenant had sued after falling on an uncleared path. The landlord had delegated the duty to clear and grit to a professional property management company – and believed this released them from liability. The BGH saw it differently.
The BGH's key statement: Anyone who delegates the duty to clear and grit to a third party remains responsible as the client. The commissioned specialist company is considered a so-called vicarious agent – its fault is attributed directly to the client.
In short: delegating the duty does not protect you from liability. Whoever is liable must be able to prove that the winter service was carried out properly.
What does this mean for winter service businesses?
For professional winter service businesses, this ruling has two consequences:
- The pressure to prove rises. Clients will increasingly demand that winter service businesses document every job seamlessly – when, where, what was cleared and gritted.
- Paper documentation is no longer enough. A handwritten log book is hard to defend in a dispute. Missing entries, illegible handwriting or lost pages can become expensive in court.
Why handwritten documentation loses in a claim
In a liability case, the winter service business bears the burden of proof. It must demonstrate that the job took place – at the right time, in the right place, with the right grit.
A handwritten log book has serious weaknesses here:
- No independent timestamp – the entry could in theory have been made later
- No GPS proof – the exact location of the job cannot be verified
- No photo evidence – the condition before and after the job is not documented
- Human error – forgotten entries, illegible handwriting
The court asks:
"Prove that you cleared and gritted the driveway at Musterstraße 12 at 5:47 a.m." – With a handwritten log book this is barely possible. With Lensus: 30 seconds.
Digital documentation as legally sound protection
Digital winter service software like Lensus documents every job automatically:
- GPS stamp: The driver's exact location at the time of the job is stored unalterably
- Timestamp: Start and end of every job with the exact time
- Photo documentation: Before/after photos taken on site by the driver
- Grit record: What was used, and how much
- PDF export: All records exportable at the touch of a button
This data is tamper-proof, timestamped and available at any time – even years later, when a claim ends up in court.
Conclusion: the ruling is a wake-up call
The BGH ruling of August 2025 makes it clear that the requirements for proof in winter service are rising. Anyone still documenting on paper is taking an unnecessary risk. Digital documentation is no longer a nice-to-have – it is the foundation of legally sound work.
Lensus documents every job automatically
GPS stamp, timestamp, before/after photo – all in one app. For iOS and Android.
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