Urs Schwarz, a respected doctor at Zurich University Hospital, died in 2021 at the age of 64. He had worked at the university hospital for 17 years without a single day off. It could be the first known case of a “karoshi” death in Switzerland. This term comes from Japan and describes “working until you drop”. For Urs Schwarz, his professional sacrifice ended in death. After 5,500 days of intense labor, his body collapsed on June 2nd.
In the first years of his career, Schwarz took regular breaks. But as his experience grew, his approach to work changed. “He is far superior to regular assistants,” said an assessment from his superiors in 1994. His skills made him one of the most sought-after doctors at the university hospital and he was constantly given new responsibilities.
Painkillers were part of everyday life
Schwarz devoted himself entirely to his work. He gave his days off to other employees while not taking any vacation himself. His wife later said: “I really took care of everything in our private life.” Occasionally, Schwarz would bring his two daughters to the office, where they would watch him work for hours. “We loved that,” they recalled in an interview with the “Tages-Anzeiger”. Schwarz even set up a bed in his office so he would be available at all times. His activities later expanded to include lecturing and scientific work.
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The extreme stress had an increasingly negative impact. His daughter Emilie described: “He often came home after a long day in a bad mood and we blamed him for hardly ever being there.” At the same time, he remained a reliable father who his daughters could count on when he picked them up in the car. But over time, physical problems also became apparent. Painkillers soon became part of everyday life for Schwarz, as he treated himself and ultimately forewent visits to the doctor. As his wife recounted, she failed to convince him to change his lifestyle: “I wish I could have stopped him, I kept trying.”
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Black should be fired due to incapacity for work
In 2016, Schwarz accumulated a total of 380 vacation days that he was entitled to. But because of an agreement with the hospital, these days were lost – only 30 days remained. His colleagues at the hospital were worried about him and called for measures to relieve him. Ultimately, the hospital management planned to fire him due to his inability to work, but Schwarz successfully resisted. Instead, he was declared 60 percent disabled and was allowed to continue working at 40 percent. However, he was no longer allowed to have patient contact.
Professional restrictions before retirement meant that he lost the right to the entire capital from his pension fund. After a legal dispute, he received almost 740,000 francs in 2020 as compensation for lost income, hospital stays and satisfaction. But the transition to part-time work and the financial compensation did not change his poor condition, which was visible to many. On June 2, 2021, Schwarz died.
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Shortly afterwards, Schwarz’s daughters filed a criminal complaint against the head of the university hospital, as the “Tages-Anzeiger” reports. They accused him of negligent homicide and grievous bodily harm. The defendant denied the allegations and blamed Schwarz himself for his condition. “Excessive self-medication” and refusal of medical help ultimately led to the tragedy. The authorities accepted this argument: the proceedings were closed at the end of 2024. The public prosecutor’s office argued that Schwarz had rejected all offers of support and had done nothing to improve his condition.
