Workplace Accident Compensation

A workplace accident affects an employee's health, income and, very often, the entire order of their family life. The law obliges employers to protect workers' health and safety, and it also guarantees compensation for damages arising from a breach of that obligation. Workplace accident compensation is the compensation claimed to cover the material and non-material damages suffered by a worker injured in an accident, or by the surviving relatives of a worker who lost their life in one.

The main factors that determine the outcome of these cases are whether the incident qualifies legally as a workplace accident, the parties' respective degrees of fault, and the percentage of loss in the worker's earning capacity in their profession. Every case is unique; the specific circumstances must be assessed separately in light of the accident reports and medical records.

Which incidents are considered workplace accidents?

The Social Insurance and General Health Insurance Law No. 5510 does not limit workplace accidents to incidents that occur at the workplace. Incidents that cause the insured person to become physically or mentally disabled and that occur in one of the following situations are considered workplace accidents:

• While the insured person is at the workplace,
• While carrying out work for the employer, or when sent outside the workplace on assignment,
• During the periods set aside for a female insured person who has been granted nursing leave to breastfeed her child,
• While insured persons are traveling to and from the place of work in a vehicle provided by the employer.

For this reason, a traffic accident in a company shuttle or an incident at another location visited for work purposes may also qualify as a workplace accident. An occupational disease, on the other hand, is an illness that arises from the nature of the work and from a repeated cause, and it is subject to separate rules.

The employer's liability and the fault assessment

The Occupational Health and Safety Law No. 6331 imposes on employers the obligation to ensure work-related health and safety: carrying out risk assessments, providing the necessary training, supplying personal protective equipment and supervising its use are all part of this obligation. The Turkish Code of Obligations likewise provides that the employer is obliged to take every measure necessary to ensure occupational health and safety in the workplace.

In a compensation lawsuit, the court usually commissions an expert examination in the field of occupational safety and determines the degrees of fault of the employer, the worker and, if any, third parties. The worker's own fault does not eliminate compensation; however, it may lead to a reduction of the calculated compensation in proportion to that fault.

Compensation items that can be claimed

In case of injury

• Permanent incapacity compensation: Compensation for the permanent loss of working capacity resulting from disability.
• Temporary incapacity loss: The loss of income incurred during the recovery period.
• Treatment expenses and losses arising from the disruption of one's economic future.
• Non-material compensation: Awarded to partially redress the pain, suffering and distress experienced.

In case of death

• Loss of support compensation: The damage suffered by those who have lost the support of the deceased worker, such as a spouse, children and parents.
• Funeral expenses and non-material compensation for relatives.

In the calculation, insurance payments such as the capitalized present value of the income granted by the SGK (Social Security Institution) are deducted from the compensation in order to prevent duplicate payment. For this reason, the SGK process must also be followed alongside the lawsuit.

SGK notification and determination of the disability rate

The employer is obliged to notify the SGK of a workplace accident within three working days after the accident. If notification is not made, or if the incident is not accepted as a workplace accident, a separate lawsuit may need to be filed to establish that it was a workplace accident. The percentage of loss of earning capacity in the profession is determined on the basis of medical board reports, and there are also avenues for objecting to the report. Because the disability rate forms the basis of the compensation calculation, it is important that this stage be handled with care.

In the case of an occupational disease, the situation is more complex. Establishing that the disease stems from the nature of the work is done through workplace environment measurements, work history and medical board assessments. Even if the symptoms of the disease appear after leaving the job, it may be recognized as an occupational disease under the conditions stipulated by law. For this reason, it is important for people who have worked for long periods in noisy, dusty or chemical-laden environments to evaluate their health problems together with their work history.

The lawsuit process, competent court and statute of limitations

1. Gathering the accident reports, witness information, medical reports and SGK records.
2. Reviewing the criminal investigation file, if any, and the labor inspector's report.
3. Filing a lawsuit for material and non-material compensation in the labor court.
4. Obtaining expert reports on fault and calculation, and submitting objections.
5. Following the appeal and cassation stages after the judgment.

Unlike worker receivables, lawsuits for material and non-material compensation arising from workplace accidents and occupational diseases fall outside the scope of mandatory mediation; the lawsuit can be filed directly in the labor court. Because the employer's liability is based on the employment contract, the ten-year general statute of limitations is applied to these claims in the practice of the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay). The General Assembly of Civil Chambers of the Court of Cassation accepts that, where bodily damage develops over time, the period begins on the date the damage becomes definitively known, for example the date the disability rate becomes final. Even so, since the starting date may vary according to the specific circumstances of the case, the calculation of the period must always be made on a case-by-case basis.

If a death or injury has occurred in the accident, the incident also becomes the subject of a criminal investigation for negligent homicide or negligent injury. Although the criminal court's assessment of fault does not bind the civil judge, the criminal file is an important source of evidence.

What to keep in mind right after the accident

• Record the names and contact details of coworkers who know how the accident occurred.
• Keep all hospital records, discharge summaries and reports.
• Do not sign the accident report prepared by the employer without reading its contents.
• Obtain a legal assessment before accepting any payments offered in exchange for compensation.

For other rights that may arise if the contract ends after a workplace accident, see our article on severance and notice pay, and for the general framework of the field, see our labor law page.

Our firm's support

On behalf of workers who have suffered a workplace accident and the relatives of employees who have lost their lives, our firm handles evidence gathering, SGK procedures, objections to fault and calculation expert reports, and the proceedings before the labor court. For employers, we provide legal assessment of occupational safety documentation and defense support in lawsuits that are filed.