Traffic accidents
The car gets repaired. Do not forget the compensation for your health.
What is compensated after a road traffic accident
A road traffic accident often causes more than damage to the car; unfortunately injuries frequently follow too. Compensation for such an injury may then include compensation for pain, compensation for impaired social functioning or the costs of treatment.
What makes road traffic accidents different from other kinds of injury is that the damaging event is almost always insured, through compulsory motor insurance. That means both that even an insolvent party at fault can compensate the injured person, and that the injured person can turn directly to the insurer instead of to the person at fault, which is often easier and quicker.
Does any of this sound familiar?
- You were a passenger and were injured in the accident, even though you did not cause it.
- You were hit by a vehicle as a pedestrian and the consequences of the injury persist after the treatment has ended.
- A car coming out of a side road failed to give way and a collision followed.
What you are entitled to
Compensation for pain
Compensation for pain is a one-off payment for the physical and mental suffering connected with the injury itself and with its treatment.
Compensation for impaired social functioning
If the injury leaves permanent consequences that limit you in ordinary life, at work, in sport or in other activities, you may also be entitled to compensation for impaired social functioning.
Loss of earnings
If the accident means you cannot work, or you earn less after returning to work than you did before it, you may be entitled to compensation for the loss of earnings. That may be compensation for the period of incapacity for work and also long-term compensation after it ends.
Costs of treatment
You are entitled to reimbursement of reasonably incurred expenses — for example:
- medicines, rehabilitation, medical aids and the like,
- transport to a medical facility,
- help in the household, where the injured person cannot manage alone as a result of the accident.
Damage to the vehicle and other property
Compensation need not concern health alone. You can also claim for damage to the vehicle and to any other property damaged in the accident.
When the insurer or the liable person is not liable
Not every harm arising in connection with a road traffic accident means a right to compensation. What matters most is the connection between the operation of the vehicle and the harm. In some situations liability may be excluded, or the compensation may be reduced depending on the circumstances.
How compensation is calculated
Compensation for pain and for impaired social functioning is based on a medical report and a points assessment. For loss of earnings what matters most is the earnings before the injury, the income after it and the length of the incapacity for work. The assessment has to take all the individual claims into account, together with the way they relate to one another.
What to do straight away
- If it is needed, call the Czech Police and have the accident properly documented.
- Get examined as soon as possible and tell the doctor that the injury happened in a road traffic accident.
- Keep every document from the police, the insurer and the doctors, along with receipts and records of any other costs.
- Get in touch with us.
The most common mistakes
- A common mistake is dealing only with the damage to the vehicle and never pursuing compensation for the injury.
- Inadequate medical documentation can also be a problem.
- Injured people often overlook the insurer of the driver who caused the accident, or forget about their own commercial insurance.
Frequently asked questions
How much will it cost me?
We are aware that paying for professional legal services is often not easy for injured people. That is why, alongside the free assessment, we also offer a contingency fee (a percentage of the amount we manage to recover for the client). No compensation — no fee.
How long does it take?
Unfortunately there is no simple answer. Straightforward cases can be settled in days or weeks; serious injuries and complicated circumstances can mean months or even years of work.
Do I have to go to court?
A large proportion of cases is resolved before court, once our firm contacts the liable person or the insurer. Sometimes filing a claim is enough for the other side to give up the dispute. Occasionally, though, a case cannot be settled without court proceedings. We are ready to represent you there, so as to obtain your compensation quickly and in the fullest amount possible.