HW Legal
What compensation can an injured person claim after suffering a personal injury?
The law protects an individual's personality rights, including their natural rights. These natural rights include the right to life and health. Such rights are considered absolute rights, meaning that everyone else has a duty to respect them and refrain from interfering with them.
Accordingly, where one person (the tortfeasor) causes injury to another person (the injured party), there is an infringement of the injured person's absolute right to health. If the following conditions are met:
- the tortfeasor acted unlawfully;
- the injured party suffered personal injury;
- there is a causal link between the injury and the unlawful conduct; and
- the tortfeasor acted negligently or intentionally (fault is generally presumed),
the injured party becomes entitled to compensation for non-pecuniary harm resulting from the injury.
Depending on the circumstances, several distinct claims may arise.
1. Compensation for pain and suffering
Compensation for pain and suffering is intended to compensate an injured person for the pain they have endured. It is the most common of the claims discussed here.
Its purpose is to provide monetary compensation for acute painful conditions experienced in connection with the injury and for the ordinary temporary difficulties associated with it. These effects are temporary in nature and may manifest themselves physically or psychologically.
Examples include a broken arm, a concussion, or a short-term post-traumatic stress disorder. More serious injuries such as amputations, severe burns, and similar conditions are also included.
Compensation is awarded in the form of a monetary payment.
The calculation generally consists of two stages:
a) Medical assessment
The treating physician, general practitioner, or a medical expert assesses the extent of pain and suffering based on the injured person's medical records relating to the injury.
The assessment is carried out in accordance with the Methodology under Section 2958 of the Czech Civil Code, commonly referred to as the "Supreme Court Methodology". The calculation follows Part B of the Methodology. The current version has been effective since 1 January 2025 and is available on the website of the Faculty of Law of Charles University.
Practical note: If you ask a physician to prepare an assessment of pain and suffering and the case does not concern a workplace accident or occupational disease, it is advisable to remind them that the assessment should be performed in accordance with the Supreme Court Methodology. Some physicians continue to use Government Regulation No. 276/2015 Coll., which applies specifically to workplace injuries and occupational diseases.
b) Financial calculation
The number of points assigned by the physician is then multiplied by an amount corresponding to 1% of the average gross monthly salary for the year preceding the injury.
For injuries occurring in 2022, the value of one point was CZK 378.39.
The resulting amount represents the compensation for pain and suffering.
2. Compensation for permanent impairment of social functioning
Compensation for permanent impairment of social functioning is intended to compensate for permanent health consequences.
Its purpose is to compensate the injured person for the loss of opportunities and limitations affecting their future life. Where an individual is permanently excluded from certain social, cultural, professional, sporting, or other life activities, they are entitled to appropriate compensation.
The assessment is relatively complex.
The methodology evaluates nine broad categories of life activities, including:
- learning and applying knowledge;
- self-care;
- domestic life;
- and several other areas of daily functioning.
In simplified terms, the severity of permanent consequences is assessed according to the difficulty of performing ordinary activities within the relevant domains. Impairment is expressed as a percentage ranging from 0% to 100%.
A prescribed methodology is then used to determine the overall degree to which the injured person has been excluded from normal life.
A person who is completely excluded from all areas of life—for example, someone in a permanent vegetative state—would be entitled to compensation amounting to 400 times the average monthly salary for the preceding year.
Had the injury occurred in 2022, such compensation would have amounted to CZK 15,135,600.
The amount of compensation for permanent impairment of social functioning is determined by a court-appointed medical expert.
The expert should be qualified in the field of healthcare, specialising in the assessment of pain and functional limitations resulting from personal injury.
The expert primarily relies on medical records but may also examine the injured person directly where appropriate.
The assessment is carried out in accordance with Part C of the Supreme Court Methodology.
3. Compensation for other non-pecuniary harm
Compensation for other non-pecuniary harm is intended to address additional forms of suffering that deserve compensation.
The Czech Supreme Court has described this category as a "residual category" covering adverse effects on the injured person's life that are neither painful in nature nor permanent.
These are temporary limitations, hardships, anxieties, and emotional suffering exceeding the ordinary inconveniences associated with the injury itself.
The Supreme Court Methodology does not provide guidance for assessing these claims. Instead, courts rely primarily on previous case law involving comparable situations.
Example
If a person breaks their leg and must wear a cast, the resulting discomfort and restrictions are ordinary consequences of the injury and are already compensated through the award for pain and suffering.
However, if complications arising from the injury require the person to remain in hospital over Christmas and prevent them from spending the holidays with their family, the resulting emotional distress may justify additional compensation as other non-pecuniary harm (see Supreme Court judgment of 2 May 2019, Case No. 25 Cdo 2635/2018).
Other examples include:
- being unable to spend Christmas or other important occasions with close family members;
- missing an important professional or academic placement, sporting event, or other significant planned activity;
- a miscarriage suffered by a pregnant woman as a consequence of psychological trauma rather than the harmful event itself.
Limitation periods
A limitation period is the period within which a claim must be brought before a court.
If the claim is asserted after the limitation period has expired, the court may refuse to award compensation if the defendant raises a limitation defence.
Each of the claims described above constitutes a separate cause of action and is therefore subject to its own limitation period.
The limitation period begins to run from the date on which the particular claim could first be asserted.
For compensation for pain and suffering, this is generally the date on which the compensation can be quantified, usually when the injured person's condition stabilises.
For compensation for permanent impairment of social functioning, the limitation period begins when the permanent consequences can be reliably assessed, typically approximately one year after the medical condition has stabilised.
For compensation for other non-pecuniary harm, the limitation period begins when the relevant emotional suffering or hardship arises.