A person injured in a traffic accident is entitled to claim significant amounts for bodily and health injuries that cause or may cause permanent disability or deformation, etc. A necessary condition for this is that the related claim is sufficiently detailed and substantiated in the lawsuit.
According to the law, the injured party has the right to claim through their lawsuit—beyond other compensation usually provided in such cases—additional compensation for permanent disability or deformation suffered and any that may continue in the future, provided it is mentioned and proven that it affects their social and economic development.
Under Article 931 of the Civil Code (AC), “the disability or deformation caused to the injured party is taken into particular consideration when awarding compensation, if it affects their future.”
“Disability” is considered a lack of physical, mental, or psychological integrity of the person, while “deformation” is any significant alteration of the external appearance of the person, determined not necessarily by medical opinions but according to societal perceptions. Furthermore, “future” refers to the professional, economic, and social development of the person.
From this provision, combined with Articles 298, 299, 914, 929, and 932 AC, it follows that disability or deformation caused to the injured party, regardless of gender, in addition to its impact on entitlements under Articles 929 and 932, may also constitute an independent claim for compensation if it affects their future—that is, their professional, economic, and social development. It is not required to prove a certainty of negative impact on the person’s future; even a mere possibility according to the usual course of events is sufficient.
In professional and economic terms, disability or deformation, according to common experience, constitutes a disadvantage in terms of competition and career advancement. The adverse consequences are more pronounced during economic hardship and tight labor markets. Those burdened with disability or deformation are at a disadvantage and risk being excluded from employment compared to healthy colleagues.
The wording of Article 931 provides a basis for such a claim, if the disability or deformation affects the injured party’s economic future, which cannot be fully covered by the provisions of Articles 929 and 932. This monetary provision does not constitute “compensation” in the conventional sense, which is conceptually tied to claiming and proving financial loss—i.e., the difference between the person’s financial situation after the harmful event and what it would have been without it.
Moreover, the consequence of disability or deformation—incapacity for work—if it causes financial loss to the injured party, forms the basis for a claim under Article 929 AC (lost income claim). However, disability or deformation as such does not necessarily imply financial loss. This is the case, for example, for a minor who has not yet entered the labor market and cannot, due to the accident and resulting disability or deformation, claim financial loss. It is impossible to predict that disability or deformation will cause a specific financial loss to the injured party.
It is, however, certain that disability or deformation, depending on its degree and other relevant circumstances (age, gender, inclinations, and desires of the injured party), will undoubtedly have an adverse effect on their economic development, though it cannot be precisely determined. This adverse effect is considered given, and therefore an exhaustive determination of the specific way this effect manifests and its consequences for the social and economic future of the injured party is not required.
Accordingly, the most accurate interpretation of Article 931 AC is that it provides for awarding the injured party a reasonable monetary amount precisely because of the disability or deformation, without connection to specific financial loss. The amount awarded is determined based on certain determining factors, such as the type and consequences of the disability or deformation, the age, gender, and inclinations of the injured party, and taking into account the degree of contributory fault of the injured party in causing the disability or deformation.
Therefore, for calculating the monetary award under Article 931 AC, the rules applicable to Article 929 AC (lost income compensation) do not apply. Under Article 929, compensation is first calculated based on the positive and consequential loss of the injured party, then reduced by the degree of their contributory fault. Monetary compensation under Article 931 AC, however, is not considered “compensation” but is awarded solely due to the disability or deformation, as determined reasonably by the court, based on the aforementioned factors (Supreme Court Decisions: 416/2012, 1226/2011, 123/2010, 150/2014).
All the above claims (lost income, moral damage, compensation for permanent disability or deformation) can be pursued either cumulatively or separately, as they constitute independent claims, and the establishment of each one is independent and does not necessarily require the existence of the others.
