Pecuniary and Non-Pecuniary Damages Claims

When one person's unlawful conduct harms another, the legal system does not leave the injured party unprotected. A traffic accident, a medical error, a dog attack, an insult posted online, or damage caused by a neighbor's construction work may seem very different at first glance, yet they all raise the same question: who will compensate the damage, and to what extent? A claim for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages is the lawsuit in which this question is answered before the court.

Pecuniary compensation aims to make up for a reduction in a person's assets, while non-pecuniary compensation aims to provide some redress for suffering, distress, and the violation of personality rights. Every case is unique; the specific circumstances must be assessed individually, together with the evidence.

Conditions of liability for compensation

Under the Turkish Code of Obligations, a person who causes damage to another through a faulty and unlawful act is obliged to compensate that damage. As a rule, four elements must be present together for tort liability to arise:

1. An unlawful act: The violation of a right or interest protected by law.
2. Damage: A loss in assets or in personality values.
3. Fault: Intent or negligence; however, in some situations fault is not required.
4. Causal link: The damage must be an adequate and natural consequence of the act.

In some cases, the law does not require fault. The liability of an employer for its employees, of a person who keeps an animal, of the owner of a building or structure, and strict liability for hazardous activities are examples of such cases. For instance, the liability of the operator of a motor vehicle is regulated separately under the Highway Traffic Law. As a rule, the burden of proving the damage and the fault of the person causing it rests on the injured party.

Compensation arising from breach of contract

Damage does not always arise from a tort. If there is a contract between the parties and the debtor fails to perform its obligation at all or properly, the debtor is obliged to compensate the creditor for the resulting damage unless it proves that it was not at fault. In this type of liability, the allocation of the burden of proof differs from tort, and the limitation period also changes. Which type of liability to rely on directly determines the strategy of the case; for monetary claims arising from contracts, our receivables lawsuit page may also serve as a guide.

Heads of damage that can be claimed

Pecuniary damages

• Bodily injury: Treatment expenses, loss of earnings, losses arising from a reduction or loss of working capacity, and the impairment of economic prospects.
• In the event of death: Funeral expenses, treatment expenses if death did not occur immediately, losses arising from the loss of working capacity, and the losses of those deprived of the deceased's support.
• Property damage: Vehicle damage, loss of value, loss of use, and repair costs.

Non-pecuniary damages

An appropriate sum of money may be awarded as non-pecuniary damages, depending on the circumstances of the case, to a person whose bodily integrity has been harmed or, in the event of death or serious bodily injury, to their relatives. A person whose personality rights have been attacked, for example whose honor, dignity, or private life has been violated, may also claim non-pecuniary damages. The judge determines the amount by considering the seriousness of the incident, the economic and social circumstances of the parties, and the degree of fault. This amount is not a means of enrichment but compensation aimed at alleviating the suffering endured. For this reason, it is advisable to set the claimed amount realistically, taking into account decisions issued in similar cases and the characteristics of the file.

Situations in which compensation may be reduced

When determining the scope of compensation, the judge may make a reduction in certain cases. Chief among these is the injured party's contributory fault, that is, having contributed to the occurrence or aggravation of the damage. A reduction may also be justified on grounds of equity where the person causing the damage was only slightly at fault and the compensation would drive them into poverty. Payments made by insurance or the Social Security Institution (SGK) are taken into account in the calculation in order to prevent double payment.

Limitation periods

Compensation claims arising from tort become time-barred two years from the date the injured party learned of the damage and of the person liable for compensation, and in any case ten years from the date the act was committed. If the compensation arises from an act requiring punishment for which criminal law provides a longer limitation period, that longer period applies. For compensation claims arising from breach of contract, the ten-year general limitation period applies as a rule.

Competent court and litigation process

In tort compensation cases, the court of general jurisdiction is the civil court of first instance. However, cases arising from work accidents are heard in the labor court, those arising from consumer transactions in the consumer court, and damages arising from acts or actions of the administration are brought before the administrative courts through a full remedy action. The lawsuit may be filed at the court of the defendant's place of residence, or the court of the place where the tort was committed or the damage occurred.

The proceedings generally follow these stages:

1. Identification of the incident, the damage, and the responsible persons; collection of evidence and medical records.
2. If necessary, a pre-litigation application to the insurance company or the relevant institution.
3. Preparation of the petition as an indefinite receivable claim where the pecuniary damage cannot be precisely calculated.
4. Expert examination for fault, disability, and compensation calculation; objections to the reports.
5. Following the judgment, pursuing the appeal stages and enforcing the judgment.

Items such as loss of support and permanent incapacity for work are determined through an actuarial calculation, taking into account the age, income, and remaining life expectancy of the deceased or injured person. Therefore, submitting complete income documentation directly affects the outcome of the calculation.

In traffic accidents, a written application must be made to the insurance company before filing a lawsuit against the compulsory liability insurance. We have addressed this subject in detail in our article on traffic accident compensation.

Our office's support

Our office works on behalf of the injured party or the party facing a compensation claim in determining the legal nature of the incident, collecting evidence and medical records, making insurance applications, objecting to fault and calculation expert reports, and pursuing the litigation.