Brussels, 24/10/2013 (Agence Europe) - If national law allows family members of the victim of a road traffic accident to seek compensation for non-material damage suffered, that compensation must be covered by compulsory insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of motor vehicles, in which case the minimum coverage under EU law for bodily damage (€1 million per victim and €5 million per accident, irrespective of the number of victims, EU Directive 84/5/EEC on civil car insurance liability) also applies to non-material damage, ruled the European Court of Justice in October 2013 in two similar cases.
In the first case, C-22/12, the regional court of Presov in Slovakia has to rule on compensation for non-material damage claimed by the family of someone killed in a car crash in the Czech Republic (the car was registered in Slovakia). The court wanted to know whether the Slovakian car insurance should pay the damages because, under Czech law, which applies here, compensation for non-material damage is allowed, but this is not covered by Slovakian car insurance. The Court of Justice says that, under their civil liability systems, countries are free to determine, which damage caused by motor vehicles is to be compensated, the extent of such compensation and the persons entitled to it, while respecting EU Directive 84/5. It says the directive “includes any type of damage resulting from an injury to physical integrity, including both physical and psychological suffering.” Since Czech law covers the accident, the non-physical suffering caused to the family must receive compensation from the insurance policy.
In the second case, C-277/12, the senate of Latvia's supreme court examined a request for compensation for non-material damages for a child whose parents were killed in a car crash. In Latvia, although compensation for pain and psychological suffering caused by the death of the family's economic provider, a dependant or a spouse may be claimed from the insurer of the person responsible for a road traffic accident, it is limitedto LVL 100 (approximately €142) for each applicant and per deceased person, and the court wanted to know whether this amount complied with EU Directive 84/5. The Court of Justice ruled that, if national law allows family members of the victim of a road traffic accident to seek compensation for non-material damage suffered, that compensation must be covered by compulsory insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of motor vehicles. Since, according to the information submitted by the national court, Latvian law grants the child the right to compensation for the non-material damage which he suffered as a result of the death of his parents, he should thus be able to benefit from the protection afforded by the directive. When it comes to damages, the directive does not distinguish at all between physical and non-physical damages, setting the minimum amount per accident at 1 million euros, irrespective of the number of victims. (FG/transl.fl)