Doctor Henning Hoyer injured himself when he tried to save a lifeless person at Sørenga. Oslo municipality has now lost in court against the now deceased doctor.
Doctor Henning Hoyer was seriously injured when he tried to save lives at Sørenga. Photo: Torgeir Strandberg / Aftenposten
Published: 10.04.2024 11:06 | Updated: 10/04/2024 14:13
The short version
- Doctor Henning Hoyer seriously injured himself while trying to save a lifeless man in the sea at Sørenga in 2018. The man could not be saved.
The summary is created with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) and quality assured by Aftenposten’s journalists.
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When doctor Henning Hoyer saw a lifeless person in the sea at Sørenga on the night of 15 July 2018, he ran towards the sea, climbed over the railing at the edge of the pier and jumped in to save the man.
The man, who had jumped from the railing on the edge of the promenade, had suffered such severe head injuries after hitting the bottom that his life could not be saved. This despite the fact that Hoyer managed to stabilize the man’s heart and lung function.
In the rescue operation, Hoyer himself suffered a complicated ankle fracture, when he jumped into the shallow water and hit the bottom. The injury led to significant permanent disability.
In 2022, Hoyer took legal action against Oslo municipality with a claim for compensation for the damages. He had hit the same underwater embankment as the man who died when he carried out the rescue.
After losing in the district courtHoyer won in the Court of Appeals with a landslide verdict.
A black ribbon is tied around the railing where a man died during a night bath back in 2018. Photo: Torgeir Strandberg / Aftenposten
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– Liability for compensation
A unanimous Borgarting Court of Appeal is clear that Oslo municipality is liable for damages after what happened. The reason is that the underwater embankment that was on the site is man-made. The Court of Appeal believes that the municipality had a duty to ensure that the danger posed by this embankment was more clearly notified.
The court emphasizes that the municipality already became aware in the spring of 2015 that the 2.5-metre high jetty edge, combined with the embankment under the sea which was difficult for bathers to discover, entailed a risk of serious damage to life and health.
The court also believes that the municipality knew that this was a place with many bathers, also at night. And that there were many bathers under the influence of drugs there. The municipality also knew that the lighting was poor there at night.
It is very shallow where the accident happened.
The court believes that, with simple measures, the danger could have been notified in a better way than what was done. The municipality therefore had a duty to act. And it is the breach of this duty that triggers liability for damages, the court writes in the judgement.
The municipality will not comment directly on the verdict.
– Oslo municipality has received the judgment from Borgarting’s Court of Appeal. We will now review this and will below assess the decision together with our lawyer. The question of whether the judgment should be appealed will also be considered, replies Oslo municipality at Arve Rosland to Aftenposten.
Risk of injury when bathing on site
After several accidents in the area around Sørenga, a report was prepared on the bottom conditions in the area.
The report commissioned by the Urban Environment Agency was published in 2022. It states that it is “significant risk of major damage” when swimming at Sørengkaia. Initially, only the sea bath at the far end of Sørenga and the jetty at the heart of Bispevika are regulated as bathing areas.
Here it is deep, safe and free of underwater obstacles that you can hit when you dive in. Elsewhere in the area, there are several places that are shallow, and there are dangerous objects under water.
Nevertheless, the entire area is used as a bathing area by many people. On fine summer days, 30,000 people pass over the footbridge out to Sørenga.
– Difficult meeting with the municipality
Hoyer’s legal assistant Theodor Karlsen from Haavind says the verdict is a strong signal to the municipality and should call for change.
– No major changes have been made where the accident happened afterwards. The municipality knew very well how the area was used, from the perspective of the surroundings it looks like part of the sea bath, so then the court believes that the municipality has a responsibility to ensure that it is safe, says Karlsen.
Hoyer lived with great and continuous pain from the accident until his death in 2024. Photo: Torgeir Strandberg / Aftenposten
Together with Rasmus Asbjørnsen, he has led the case for Hoyer. The judgment against the municipality will also not make everyone who owns a sea line liable in future bathing accidents.
– The verdict does not mean that everyone who has a sea line must mark and arrange, but if you make man-made changes, then you have a responsibility. If it is natural to interpret the surroundings so that it is safe to bathe there, you have a responsibility. It was impossible to see that the developer had filled twelve meters of stone there, says Karlsen.
Rasmus Asbjørnsen (tv) and Theodor Karlsen are Hoyer’s lawyers. Photo: Haavind
Hoyer died shortly before the case in the Court of Appeal began. It was a natural death, his lawyer states. He says the last few years were very demanding for Hoyer.
– He had to go through several operations and was in great and continuous pain until he passed away.
– How did Hoyer experience Oslo municipality in the matter?
– Henning experienced the meeting with the municipality after the accident as very difficult.
In an earlier version of this case, Aftenposten wrote that Hoyer won the case in the Court of Appeal in 2022. At 1.32pm on Wednesday 10 April, this was corrected to 2024.