Man Accused of Creative Use of Train to Collect Insurance

A MAN put his hands under a train so his fingers would be severed and he could collect an insurance pay-out, prosecutors in Austria have alleged.

The 35-year-old from the town of St Johann, whose name was not released in line with Austrian privacy laws, is being tried on federal charges of insurance fraud stemming from claims filed in November 2003.

The suspect, a former false fingernail designer, told police he was riding his bicycle when he lost control and rolled down an embankment on to rail tracks just as a train was passing. He lost a thumb on one hand and an index finger and a pinky on the other.

Investigators were suspicious when they found the man took out a £700,000 insurance policy a few months earlier.

Maybe he’s guilty, maybe he’s not. I’ve seen too much of the insurance industry here to be able to assume that the man is trying to rip them off and not the other way around. I hope the prosecutor has more than these bare facts.

Related Link: Edible Severed Fingers (pictured above) “The largest selection of marzipan shapes in the world.” I like the animal section best: crocodiles, sheep, pigs, et al. OK, so Related Link is a relative term.



  1. swhitlow says:

    what was really sad was during the court proceedings they asked the defendent to point to the picture of the offending train. oh, the irony.

  2. John Schumann says:

    “The suspect, a former false fingernail designer…”

    We don’t get paid for daydreaming at work, so lets not do it!

  3. Hoo Hoo Nick says:

    sounds like stuff that would happen in Holland! I can’t be fucked googling to see if I remember this correctly, but i believe that the Netherlands has the highest record of ensurance fraud. 50% of dutch ski-tourists claim to have lost their skis.

  4. raddad says:

    Guilty, not guilty, who knows? What I do know is that the insurance industry has become very agressive in denying even valid claims. My wife just signed us up for accidental death and dismemberment insurance (It’s so cheap!) even though I told her it is cheap because no one ever collects. And if you dare to make a claim on your homeowners insurance, you might get dumped and blacklisted and have to shop around for a very expensive policy. And good luck selling your house in the future as prospective buyers have to hunt for affordable insurance to cover your troublesome house. Most insurance has nearly become a scam where they only collect and never pay.

  5. mike cannali says:

    Sounds like self inflicted Islamic Justice. How does he fill out the claim forms now?

  6. ranron says:

    See the news about the 38 year old woman in France who just received the first successful face transplant? Well, this man is in luck as the French can also transplant whole hands, not just the digits. He can pay for it after the insurance companies stop trying to cheat the victims of their share.


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