The number of personal injury accidents in 2014 increased by 1.7%. They resulted in the death of 3,388 people, 120 more than the year before. More than ever, the particular dangerousness of the road and the potentially serious injuries it inflicts justify the special scheme of car insurance.
If it has been acquired for nearly thirty years that all the victims of a road accident are entitled to compensation for the injury, the driver at fault is less well covered, and will be well inspired by protect yourself by subscribing an additional guarantee. In terms of car insurance, the rules for compensation for bodily injury are very much framed and must be known to everyone. You can hire road accident attorney Napoli Shkolnik for your claim.
Victims of road accidents: a right to compensation…
A motorist is obliged to insure at least in civil responsibility (that is to say for the damages that it could cause to a third) since 1958. Subsequently, the famous law Badinter of July 5, 1985 has The logical consequence is the introduction of a right to compensation for all victims of an accident involving at least one motorized vehicle, such as a car, truck, two-wheeler or tractor. Pedestrian, cyclist, passenger, driver victim: all have the right to be fully compensated, and up to their prejudice, by the insurance of the driver at fault.
The victim’s right to compensation can only be annulled in rare and very specific cases, in particular when he has provoked the accident (attempted suicide) or when he has committed another misconduct of an inexcusable nature. This latter circumstance, however, may not apply to a minor under the age of 16, a person over the age of 70 or any victim previously with a disability of 80% or more, for an injured person who is a passenger, pedestrian or cyclist.
… for a wide variety of prejudices
The damage that can be caused to a person by a road accident, including bodily injury, can affect innumerable spheres of its existence, resulting in a large number of injuries to be taken into account by insurers and courts, and listed more fully in the official “Dinthilac” nomenclature .
First of all, there are “economic” losses , which result in a direct financial burden for the victim or a loss of income: health and surgical expenses, of course, but also expenses related to the development of the property. ‘a housing or vehicle adapted to reduced mobility, the salary of a carer, the loss of income related to a job, the premature termination of a school curriculum …
The prejudices “pecuniary”, meanwhile, are less tangible and more difficult to estimate, but can also degrade the quality of life of the very significantly victim. It can be simply the suffering endured daily, but also a permanent impairment of physical or mental integrity(AIPP), aesthetic damage (such as a scar), a loss of pleasure (loss of favorite hobby) or sexual prejudice (impotence).
Moreover, these different types of harm, depending on the case, may be permanent or temporary, which further complicates the calculation of compensation.
Declaration and compensation procedure
The insured or the victim, provided of course that he is in a condition to do so, must declare the accident of the road to the insurer within five working days following the incident. He will then receive a complete file, which he will have to inform and return within a usual period of six weeks, accompanied by all the relevant supporting documents (medical certificate, work stoppage …). In the absence of a file received, the victim remains free to constitute it himself, and to send it to the insurer.
Depending on the severity of the injury, the insurer may then decide to rely solely on the information in the file to determine the amount of compensation that will be paid to the victim: this is called a “notice on documents”. Most of the time, however, bodily injury is serious and complex enough to warrant the convening of the victim by an expert physician, mandated by the insurer. The victim, informed at least fifteen days in advance, is free to be assisted by his own specialist doctor. The conclusions of the medical examination are delivered to the insurer within twenty days.
It should be noted that, as a general rule, a ” casualty inspector ” is sent to the injured victim and establishes a regular relationship with him, adjusting as closely as possible the estimate of the amount of compensation at stake with the victim. evolution of the damage suffered.
The insurer may postpone his decision if he considers that the state of health of the victim is not yet consolidated, but in any case he must make his offer at most within eight months after the disaster.
