Dr. Ronald Pedergnana Attorneys-at-law and Notaries · St. Gallen
DE / EN / HR/SR
071 279 20 63
Practice areas

Four areas. In each one a different body decides — and in each one a deadline is running that no one keeps for you.

The deadlines set in red are the short ones. Once one has expired, the claim is as a rule lost — no matter how well founded it was.

01

Liability law

What we do

We quantify the entire personal injury loss — loss of earnings up to retirement age, pension loss, household loss, care and nursing costs, satisfaction — and conduct the negotiation with the other party's liability insurer. If no settlement is reached, we litigate.

Who decides

First the liability insurer itself — it is a party, not an authority. Then the district court (Kreisgericht) at the defendant's domicile or at the place of the accident, followed by the Cantonal Court of St. Gallen and the Federal Supreme Court.

Deadlines
3 years

relative limitation period from knowledge of the loss and of the person liable Art. 60 CO

20 years

absolute limitation period for personal injury from the harmful conduct Art. 60 para. 1bis CO

[PLACEHOLDER — to be verified by the firm before publication]
02

Social insurance law

UVG · IV · KVG
What we do

We review daily allowance, pension and integrity compensation decisions, read the insurance-medical expert reports ourselves and, where they do not hold up, counter them with a reasoned critique. Objection, appeal to the insurance court, appeal to the Federal Supreme Court.

Who decides

Suva or a private UVG insurer, the IV office of the Canton of St. Gallen, the health insurer. Then the Insurance Court of the Canton of St. Gallen, and finally the Federal Supreme Court in Lucerne.

Deadlines
30 days

objection to a ruling Art. 52 ATSG

30 days

appeal to the cantonal insurance court Art. 60 ATSG

30 days

objection to the IV preliminary decision Art. 73ter IVV

6 months

waiting period: an IV pension entitlement arises at the earliest six months after registration — registering late means losing benefits Art. 29 IVG

[PLACEHOLDER — to be verified by the firm before publication]
03

Injured parties in criminal proceedings

What we do

We constitute you as a private claimant on the criminal and the civil points, inspect the files, file evidentiary motions and accompany you to hearings. What is established in the criminal investigation later carries the liability case — or is missing from it.

Who decides

The public prosecutor's office of the Canton of St. Gallen, then the district and cantonal courts. Victim assistance is decided by the cantonal victim assistance centre, independently of the criminal proceedings.

Deadlines
3 months

criminal complaint for offences prosecuted on complaint, from knowledge of the offender Art. 31 SCC

10 days

appeal against procedural acts, notice of appeal against a judgment Art. 396 / 399 CCP

5 years

application for victim assistance compensation and satisfaction from the offence Art. 25 OHG

[PLACEHOLDER — to be verified by the firm before publication]
04

Law of succession

What we do

Division, hotchpot and abatement, execution of wills, actions for invalidity and inheritance actions. After a fatal accident, succession and the survivors' liability claims come together — we conduct both.

Who decides

The division authority or the district court at the last domicile of the deceased. We carry out public authentications ourselves as notaries.

Deadlines
3 months

renunciation of the inheritance Art. 567 CC

1 year

action for invalidity and abatement from knowledge of the ground Art. 521 / 533 CC

[PLACEHOLDER — to be verified by the firm before publication]

If you have received a ruling, the date on the envelope counts. Call before the 30 days run out.