If you are a foreigner who have been injured in a road accident in Bulgaria, in this article hereinbelow you will find useful information about your rights under the Bulgarian law.
In case you have sustained moderate or severe bodily injury, or a relative of yours has died in the road accident, criminal proceedings are initiated against the at-fault driver. In such cases, it is advisable to inform the investigating authorities that you wish to participate in the criminal proceedings as an injured party, and that you intend to review all evidence in the case once the investigation is concluded. Naturally, it is highly advisable to engage a lawyer to represent you, including: to monitor the progress of the pre-trial phase, review all collected evidence – once the investigation concludes, and represent you in court when the criminal case against the at-fault driver reaches the trial stage. Тhe lawyer can act on your behalf and that is why there is not an obligation for you to be in Bulgaria during the procedures.
Claim for compensation for injuries after road accident
Regarding your right to compensation for damages sustained, it is important to note that you cannot apply directly to the court. According to the Bulgarian law, at first you should submit a claim to the at-fault driver’s insurer under their Motor Third-Party Liability insurance policy. In cases where the traffic accident was caused by an unidentified vehicle, or by a vehicle for which no Motor Third-Party Liability insurance policy was in effect, the injured party must submit their claim for compensation to the Bulgarian Guarantee Fund.
It is also important to note that there is no deadline for submitting a claim to the insurer of the at-fault driver under the compulsory motor third-party liability insurance policy. The only time limit the injured party must keep in mind is the 5-year limitation period for filing a lawsuit against the insurer. Once a claim has been submitted to the insurer, the maximum period within which the insurer must issue a decision on the claim is 3 months from the date of its submission. If the insurer refuses to pay or within the 3-month term the insurer does not pay to you the due compensation, respectively no agreement regarding the compensation payment is reached, you have the right to initiate court proceedings against the insurer.
How the compensation for the injured party is determined?
The compensation that the injured party is entitled to receive from the insurer includes both the material damages sustained (most commonly medical treatment costs) and the non-material damages sustained.
In Bulgaria there isn’t any table or universe method for calculation of non-material damages (pain and sufferings). Under the Bulgarian law, compensation for non-material damages is determined by an expert commission at the insurance company or by the court, based on the principle of fairness. When determining the amount of compensation for a personal injury, a number of factors are taken into account, such as: the recovery period; the presence or absence of permanent residual effects resulting from the injuries sustained; the age of the injured party; the negative consequences of the incident for the injured party in personal, professional, social, and psychological terms.
In case of death in a road accident, the amount of compensation, that the relatives of the victim are entitled to receive, depends on various factors, such as: the age of the deceased; the nature of the relationship between the deceased and the person seeking compensation; the nature of their relations while the deceased was alive—including whether they shared a household, whether one provided financial support to the other, etc. The amount is also influenced by the pain and suffering experienced by the claimant as a result of their relative’s death, including how the loss has affected their life—whether in personal, social, psychological, health-related, professional, or other aspects.
Having in mind the above-mentioned, it is very important the claim of the injured party to be professionally prepared and legally grounded. A car accident lawyer, who is well-grounded in the insurance matter, knows how to prepare the claim, what documents to present and how to conduct the negotiations because there are big differences in the amounts of the awarded compensations. A lawyer, who has specialized in the insurance and car accident matter, could successfully defend the rights and interests of the damaged person before the insurer and/or the court – in order to reach a better compensation for the client.