A Woman Froze to Death on an Alpine Trek. Is Her Boyfriend to Blame? - The New York Times

The case has brought to the fore a legal doctrine known as Garantenstellung, a broad concept in Germanic law that establishes a responsibility to intervene for people who have a “duty of care” in a range of situations, including parents caring for children or a driver who hits a pedestrian — and can put liability on those people.

It is often invoked on trips with hired guides, but has rarely been applied to a private hike like the couple’s excursion, experts said.