unknown (private person) – Court Ruling (Austria, 2019)

In June 2017, a Greek medical doctor working for a Greek clinic performed a hair transplant on the claimant. Shortly after, the claimant lost his hair even in places that were not affected by the surgery. His hair only regrew months later. In the course of the claimant's stay in Greece, both the doctor and employees of the Greek clinic had taken picture of the claimant - even during the surgery. These pictures were published on the Greek clinic's website, together with the claimant's name. The claimant had not consented to this processing of personal data and requested the removal of the photographs and his other personal data. A dispute ensued between the claimant and the doctor (the defendant). The claimant requested a) repayment of the remuneration paid to the defendant of EUR 5,880 and b) damages of EUR 20,000 for the photographs published on the Internet. The defendant argued that the surgery had been performed lege artis and that the photographs had been published by the Greek clinic without the defendant's knowledge and had been removed immediately after the claimant's request. As there was no economic or personal interdependence between the Greek clinic and the defendant, the defendant should not be liable for any damages occurred. The OLG Linz dismissed the appeal (which only concerned the claim for damages) and upheld the decision of the Landesgericht Linz which had dismissed the claim. The unauthorised action of employees of the Greek clinic to put the claimant's name on the photographs and to publish them on the internet without his consent constituted an interference that was unforeseeable for the defendant. As a result, under Article 82(3) the defendant cannot be held responsible for the processing of the claimant's personal data by the Greek clinic.