CLAIM FOR COMPENSATION IN A TRAFFIC ACCIDENT

What and who can claim

In the event of a fatal traffic accident, the relatives of the deceased can claim substantial compensation and financial demands (property damages, loss of support, mental anguish, funeral expenses, etc.).

A necessary prerequisite and essentially the only effective means for this purpose is a legally sound, well-founded, and technically substantiated lawsuit.

Contacting a specialized traffic accident lawyer from the very first moment and involving them immediately in the case is not only recommended but essential.

More specifically, the amounts that can be claimed include:

  1. Compensation for Mental Anguish
    Death inevitably causes deep emotional pain to those who had close emotional and psychological ties to the deceased. Although no monetary amount can compensate for this loss, the Court may award reasonable compensation to all persons affected by the mental anguish caused by the death. This compensation is only granted to those closely connected to the deceased. According to case law, close connections include family members of the deceased, such as:
  • Parents
  • Children
  • Grandchildren
  • Great-grandchildren
  • Stepchildren
  • Unborn child
  • Child of the deceased’s spouse
  • Son-in-law, Daughter-in-law from children
  • Uncles, Aunts
  • Stepfather, Stepmother
  • Grandfather, Grandmother
  • Father-in-law, Mother-in-law
  • Full siblings
  • Half siblings
  • Spouse
  • Fiancé/Fiancée
  • Partner – cohabiting without marriage
  1. Funeral and Burial Expenses
    The heirs of the deceased can request from the Court the total monetary amount spent on the funeral and burial of the deceased.

III. Compensation for Loss of Support, Contribution, and Services
The law explicitly provides that, in the case of a fatal traffic accident, the person liable for compensation for the death must compensate all persons who, according to law, could claim support from the victim (e.g., spouse, ascendants, descendants, siblings, etc.).

Furthermore, according to the provisions of the Civil Code, parents, under certain conditions, can claim the provision of services from their children. Therefore, if in this case a child dies in a traffic accident, the parents lose these services and are entitled to compensation for the deprivation of these services.

  1. PROPERTY DAMAGES
  2. Compensation for the full repair and restoration costs of the vehicle (value of spare parts and labor costs of the repair shop mechanics, plus the applicable VAT). The injured party, after repairing the vehicle, may claim the full value of the parts and repair labor. At this point, the preparation of a special and well-reasoned assessment of the material damages to the vehicle and the total monetary amount required for the repair by a specialized expert in collaboration with an experienced network of technical consultants is crucial.
  3. Compensation for the reduction in the vehicle’s market value. Due to the traffic accident, the value of the involved vehicles inevitably decreases, even if they have been fully repaired. The reduction in the market value of a vehicle involved in a traffic accident is due to the fact that any future potential buyer, based on common experience and logic, will inevitably have reservations. This factor significantly reduces the vehicle’s market value, thus forming an equivalent compensation claim in favor of the vehicle’s owner.
  4. Full market value of the vehicle in case of total destruction (after deducting the salvage value). This significant amount can be claimed by the injured party from the Court if the vehicle has suffered such substantial material damage that repairing it becomes economically unfeasible. This practically happens when the cost of repair exceeds or approaches the market value of the vehicle at the time of the accident. When calculating the current market value of the completely destroyed vehicle, the salvage value (the amount recoverable from any remaining parts after total destruction) is deducted. For this reason, the preparation of a thorough, well-reasoned, and detailed expert report is essential, which must establish: 1) The total cost of repairing the vehicle’s material damage, 2) the vehicle’s total market value at the time of the accident, and 3) the total salvage value, which is deducted from the market value of the destroyed vehicle.
  5. Expenses for appointing experts and technical consultants to analyze and document the specific conditions of the traffic accident. At all stages of the process, from the moment the accident occurs until the issuance of a court decision or the collection of maximum compensation by the injured vehicle owner, the preparation and submission of a specialized technical expert report is decisive. This report reflects the exact value of the material damages and the cost of fully restoring the vehicle to its prior condition, i.e., the state it was in before the accident.
  6. Compensation for destruction or damage to the personal belongings of the driver and passengers (e.g., clothing, mobile phones, helmets, electronic devices, etc.). Beyond the above, the impact intensity and strong friction force during an accident often lead to the destruction of clothing and other personal items that the driver and passengers may have with them (e.g., helmet, watch, mobile phone, prescription glasses, sunglasses, tablets, etc.).
  7. Compensation for transportation and storage of the damaged vehicle. Moreover, depending on the severity of the collision, involved vehicles may not be safely drivable. This inevitably results in additional expenses for transporting the vehicle from the accident site and storing it in a safe location. This cost is not waived even if the injured party is insured for roadside assistance, as case law consistently holds that the injured party can claim any monetary amount they would have spent if they were not covered by roadside assistance.
  8. Compensation for destruction or damage to any additional special equipment installed in the vehicle (e.g., alarm system, TV, radio installation, etc.). If the involved vehicle is equipped with additional equipment—i.e., equipment added by the owner after purchase at their own expense—the injured party can claim the full monetary value of these additional items that were either destroyed or otherwise impaired due to the accident.

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