Art. 493, para. 1 of the Insurance Code explicitly regulates the following compensation for non-pecuniary damages: “The insurer under the compulsory Motor Third Party Liability (MTPL) insurance shall cover the insured’s liability for third party injury or damage, including pedestrians, cyclists and other road users, and damage resulting from the possession or use of a motor vehicle while in motion or stopped”. Art. 493, para. 1, item 1 of the Insurance Code regulates that in the above cases the insurer shall cover non-pecuniary damage due to bodily injury or death.
There are two ways to claim compensation for traffic accident-related non-pecuniary damages from a Motor Third Party Liability (MTPL) insurer – through judicial and extrajudicial settlements. The limitation period for commencing legal proceedings to bring a compensation claim is five (5) years from the date of the accident. A prerequisite for bringing a claim in court is that the injured party first claims compensation from the insurer within 3 months of the insured event, which is actually the out-of-court remedy. Immediately thereafter, the insurer may refuse to pay compensation or fail to decide on the claim within the statutory time limit, or the injured party may disagree with the compensation amount offered. Only then does the injured party have the right to pursue a claim in court.
Most insurers are willing to offer an out-of-court settlement relying on the fact that the injured party is usually not familiar with the option of obtaining compensation in case law. Insurers often offer compensation that is minimal in view of the particular non-pecuniary damage the injured party has suffered. Once such out-of-court settlement has been made, in most cases it is the main reason for a subsequent court’s decision rejecting a claim for higher compensation. This above is expressly proclaimed by the Supreme Court of Cassation in its Decision No 158/01.02.2021 in Lawsuit No 2569/2019, which states that “The injured party’s satisfaction and statement that the injured party considers the compensation received to be consistent with the amount of the relevant non-pecuniary and/or pecuniary damage the injured party has suffered shall be considered as extinguishing the injured party’s right to seek alternative compensation. The injured party, as a party to an out-of-court settlement, is bound by the injured party’s out-of-court agreement to be fully compensated by payment of the compensation agreed in the out-of-court settlement. The receipt of compensation fulfils the purpose of the insurance indemnity to compensate the injured party for the loss suffered.”
You will need to obtain a set of documents in order to be legally able to make a claim or seek out-of-court compensation from the insurer. The Traffic Accident Report (drafted by the authorities of the Ministry of the Interior) is essential when people were injured in the traffic accident. Other documents which may also be necessary, depending on the specific situation, include a document for the emergency medical aid provided, an outpatient sheet for a medical check-up by a specialist, and/or a medical discharge summary, and an inventory of damage.
It is of the utmost importance for non-pecuniary damages to state what facts and circumstances are taken into account when determining the compensation amount. Art. 52 of the Obligations and Contracts Act regulates that “Compensation for non-pecuniary damage shall be determined by the court in equity” Here the following question arises – what is to be understood by “equity”? The answer can be found in the established and long-standing case-law settled by the Plenum of the Supreme Court in its Decree No 4 of 23 December 1968: “The court’s assessment needs to be based on any and all the circumstances relevant to the amount of the damage, namely the assessment of a number of specific and objectively existing circumstances, such as the nature of the injury, the manner in which it occurred, the circumstances in which it occurred, any further deterioration of the health status, moral suffering caused, mutilations, defacement injuries, etc.”.
The compensation amount for non-pecuniary damage in an out-of-court procedure will be set by an insurance expert committee at the insurance company. For example, the compensation amount for fractured limbs or pelvis will depend mainly on a number of factors, namely: recovery period; any surgical operations; age of the person injured, etc. When setting the compensation amount, it is also necessary to take into account any negative consequences affecting the injured party or their relatives in personal, professional, social and psychological terms.
In the event of a fatality in a traffic accident, the compensation amount due and payable to the deceased’s relatives will depend primarily on their kinship with the deceased person prior to their death, and how the deceased’s death has affected their lives.
The extent of the injuries is determined according to the legal definitions of severe, medium and light bodily harm, as set out in the Articles 128, 129 and 130 of the Penal Code Any case in which the injured party has suffered medium or severe bodily harm is more specific – with penal initiated against the perpetrator. Claiming compensation for traffic accident-related non-pecuniary damages from the insurer may also be made before the penal proceedings have been finalized. In order to do so, it will be necessary to establish exactly how the accident occurred beyond any doubt.
If you have been injured in a car accident and are seeking compensation, we can assure you that you can fully rely on our legal assistance in obtaining the most satisfactory possible compensation for non-pecuniary damages.
