Personal Injury in Bulgaria – Insurance claims in Bulgaria
If you suffer a personal injury in Bulgaria there are several ways how you can get compensation for your damages. If there is insurance coverage you can claim your damages from the insurance company.
Our team can help you to get your compensation.
You can read more information below:
I. Insurance claims in Bulgaria
A. First of all, it is quite important to make sure when a tort occurs and you are the victim of it to have all the necessary documents regarding the same tort – who is the tortfeasor, who is the victim, what injuries have occurred, are they mild or severe, are they temporary or permanently reduced working capacity. If there are any specific sources related to medical assessment of working capacity and forensic assessments, they also should be considered as important evidence.
B. If there is a road incident for example there are several things to be considered – the driver or pedestrian who has suffered damages has the right to file a claim to the insurer of the driver, who is responsible for the same accident, and insurance compensation right after the accident. If there is a police protocol that states that the guilt for the occurred accident has been established there is no need to wait for the end of the criminal procedure, if one has commenced. In this situation the insurer has a term of 15 days to 3 months to decide his what shall be his actions. The claim in this case scenario shall be submitted in a written form and usually the procedure last no more than a couple of months, during which the negotiation and correspondence is taking place in the process.
C. List of the damages that the Motor third party liability insurance covers in Bulgaria:
1. Material and non-material damages which have causality with the occurred accident – physical injury or death.
2. Damages on other vehicles or property
3. Loss of employment remuneration, etc.
4. Any loss of other incomes of a permanent nature
5. It is a must to know that there is no need for the injured party to demand the liability insurance from the responsible driver. The compensation can be demanded directly from the insurer of the delinquent.
II. Personal injury in Bulgaria
A. When a personal injury in Bulgaria happens there a multiple extrajudicial experts opinion and forensic assessments which are taken consideration of. Examples – expert witnesses, medical assessments and others.
B. The victim of the damage has the right to claim both material and non-material injuries.
1. Material damages
a) Material damages representing costs for medical treatment and overcoming the consequences of the injury
b) Material damages representing loss of incomes – which can be due to loss of employment remuneration, loss of other incomes of a permanent nature
c) Aggravated material damages – when the health condition of the injured party starts to aggravate due to the damage it suffered, then the said party shall be entitled to a new claim for compensation resulting from the new condition.
2. Non-material damages – the amount of compensation due to non-material injuries is usually estimated from the facts of the case and a unification in its determination is impossible because each injury is different than others. Compensation is awarded ex aequo et bono (according to the right and good). Some of the non-material injuries relate to the name of the victim, his reputation, position in society, etc.
3. Other damages are those suffered by the victim’s relatives as a result of the tort. They can be both material and non-material
a) Material – they represent the deprivation of the income of a deceased person in case with a view to the legal provisions, the latter has been obliged to provide his relatives with maintenance or has provided them with such. Also – such material damages are the costs for funeral expenses and similar.
b) Non-material – they are awarded as compensation to the parents, children, and spouse of the victim. The Bulgarian case-law threatens equally adopted and born children and also compensation is given to the persons being in cohabitation without having entered into marriage.
The expiry of the claims arising out of a tort is a 5-year prescription period, which is considered from the detection of the tortfeasor.
III. Conclusion
Nowadays in Bulgaria when it comes to dispute resolution the parties still prefer court proceedings instead of arbitration or mediation.
Once you get your compensation awarded by the court we can also help you to collect it through the debt collection procedures.
You can reach us at:
tel.: +359895443792
email: ivanov@bi-lawfirm.com
This article is written by Simeon Bozhinov.