What is non-pecuniary damage and how to prove it?

What is non-pecuniary damage?

Non-pecuniary damage is damage to health or interference with a person’s personal rights, i.e. with values that are not of a direct pecuniary nature.Typically, it is pain, psychological suffering, impairment of social life, violation of honour, privacy or human dignity.

The Civil Code does not provide a uniform definition, but assumes that non-pecuniary damage can be compensated if there is injury to health or interference with personality rights for which the law imposes liability, even without fault. Compensation is primarily monetary, but may also include compensation in the form of an apology.

Typical situations where a claim arises:

• traffic accidents
• medical malpractice
• accidents at work
• domestic and sexual violence
• defamation, unauthorised disclosure of personal data
• invasion of privacy
• offences against health and life

Non-pecuniary damage is therefore usually linked to a personal impact – an interference that disrupts the victim’s normal life, physical or psychological functioning.

What is the difference between pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage?

The injured party can claim both pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and it is important to clearly distinguish between the two categories. Property damage, sometimes referred to as damages, represents any financial loss caused by the harmful event. Typically, this includes lost earnings, medical costs, household care expenses, as well as loss or damage to property. The aim is to put the injured person in the same condition as they would have been in if the accident had not occurred.

In contrast, non-pecuniary damage refers to interference with a person’s physical and mental integrity or personality rights. It is expressed in monetary terms, but compensates for non-monetary effects such as pain, mental suffering, restrictions on family and social life, interference with honour or privacy or long-term restrictions on normal activities. In the case of more serious health consequences, it is the non-pecuniary damage that is often the part of the claim that brings the highest compensation to the victim, as it reflects the quality of life, personal experience and individual impact of the whole situation.

How the courts assess non-pecuniary damage to health

As non-pecuniary damage often constitutes an interference with health – one of the most important personal rights – the legal system allows the victim to claim monetary compensation.

However, the courts must decide fairly and proportionately so that two similar cases are not treated diametrically opposed. When assessing non-pecuniary damage to health , the courts distinguish between pain and social disadvantage, taking into account the psychological and personal effects of the injury.

1. Pain: Pain compensation compensates for the physical and psychological pain suffered by the injured party from the time of the injury until his or her condition stabilises. This can include acute pain after a car accident, pain during treatment and medical procedures, or long-term pain during rehabilitation. The court will take into account how intense the pain was, how long it lasted, whether the treatment was complicated and whether the victim had to undergo multiple interventions.

2. Hardship on social life: This category is usually the most important. It compensates for long-term to permanent effects that prevent the injured person from living life as he or she did before the injury. It is not just about work restrictions – the courts assess the injured person’s entire lifestyle. The aim is to compensate not only for the objective limitations, but also for the subjective impact on a particular person’s life. An injury to a pianist will be assessed differently from an injury to a person who was active in sport, even if it is the same injury.

3. Psychological and personal effects in the context of personal injury: These are situations where the personal injury also causes other interference with the personality that is neither painful nor a hindrance to social life. Typically: trauma following a serious car accident, anxiety about driving, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or loss of life prospects due to permanent health effects. This section allows the courts to take into account psychological and personal effects that are not always reflected in a purely medical assessment.

Czech courts can increase the compensation for non-pecuniary damage to several times the basic amount for extremely serious injuries. For example, in the case of a young person with very severe permanent injuries or loss of self-sufficiency, who permanently loses the ability to pursue his or her profession or sport due to the accident, the total compensation may exceed CZK 5 million.

What the Supreme Court’s methodology for compensation for non-pecuniary damage to health contains

It is the complexity and individuality of each case that led to the creation of the 2014 document – the Supreme Court Methodology on Compensation for Non-Material Damage to Health. Its aim is to unify court decisions across the country, allow predictable results, avoid extreme differences in compensation and create a clear procedure for calculating pain and suffering and social hardship.

It is not a legally binding decree, but in practice it is used by courts, experts and insurance companies to make decisions uniform and predictable. In particular, the methodology includes:

• Assessment units for pain and lasting effects: the Methodology uses its own system of assessment units (often informally referred to as “points”) to allow an objective assessment of individual injuries, their course and long-term effects. It is not a classical normative scoring table as in the old decree, but a methodological tool for the fair assessment of injury.
• The methodology works with an indicative point value (e.g. CZK 250), which is based on the courts’ decision-making practice and can be adjusted by the court in a particular case. This allows the total amount of compensation for pain and suffering to be derived.
• Rules for exceptional increases in compensation: the methodology allows for a significant increase in the resulting amount if this is appropriate to the specific circumstances of the injured party. For example, the court may take into account the specific effects of the injury on the victim’s profession, hobbies, family life or psychological state. The document also describes how to assess exceptional cases.
• Recommended practice for experts: The methodology provides detailed guidance for medical experts. It indicates how to assess the extent of the injury, describe the course of treatment, assess the long-term consequences, and how to justify their conclusions in a professional manner. It is therefore commonly used by experts as a professional standard.

The methodology allows them to estimate fairly accurately what compensation may be realistic, while also providing a strong argument in a dispute with an insurance company. If the latter offers a low claim, the methodology gives concrete points on which to build.

Non-pecuniary damage in criminal proceedings

A large proportion of claims for non-pecuniary damage are brought directly in criminal proceedings, particularly for violent or otherwise serious crimes. This procedure is advantageous for the victim because he or she does not have to bring a separate civil action – the criminal court decides on both the compensation and the punishment of the perpetrator in one single proceeding.

In the criminal proceedings, the public prosecutor establishes facts relevant to the assessment of the crime, which may also be relevant to the victim’s claim, and the victim may claim not only pecuniary damage but also broader compensation for interference with health or personal rights. However, the claim must be made in time, at the latest at the start of the evidence. If the injured party fails to do so, the court cannot consider the claim.

Limitation of non-pecuniary damage

Like other civil claims, a claim for compensation for non-pecuniary damage is time-barred. The general limitation period is 3 years from the time when the injured party became aware of the damage and who caused it.

A special limitation period applies to non-pecuniary damage to health. The injured party has 3 years from the time when he becomes aware not only of the injury itself but also of the person who caused it – this is called the subjective time limit. At the same time, there is an objective limitation period, which is usually 10 years from the harmful event, and up to 15 years for intentional injuries.If the claim is not filed within this period, it cannot be successfully enforced.

In the case of particularly serious crimes against health or life, the objective period may be up to 15 years.

A time-barred claim is not extinguished, but the debtor (usually the insurance company or the perpetrator) can raise a statute of limitations objection. If they do, the court will not allow the claim. Therefore, we highly recommend that you resolve the injury as quickly as possible.

How to proceed with a claim for non-pecuniary damage?

First, obtain documentation, which may be medical reports, police file extracts, witness statements and expert reports (especially if psychological effects are involved)

Then get a professional opinion. An expert report or qualified legal opinion is essential for the correct quantification of the claim according to the methodology.

Do not be afraid to negotiate with the insurance company. Insurance companies often only pay the minimum and negotiations can lead to significantly higher amounts.

Consider taking criminal action if it is a felony. However, you need to make a claim early – ideally in the preliminary proceedings.

If the other party refuses to perform, a civil action is in order. However, court proceedings require good arguments and an accurate quantification of the claim. We will be happy to help you with the preparation and filing of the claim.

Summary

Non-pecuniary damage is an interference with a person’s health or personal rights that cannot be quantified directly in monetary terms but significantly affects their life – typically pain, mental suffering, interference with honour, privacy or the consequences of injuries that limit normal functioning. The claim arises mainly from car accidents, medical malpractice, workplace accidents and criminal offences, and is assessed by the courts on the basis of three components: pain and suffering, impairment of social life and other psychological or personal effects. To make compensation fair and predictable, courts and experts use the Supreme Court’s methodology, which offers a system of assessment units, their financial valuation and rules for increasing compensation in exceptional cases. The claim can also be pursued in criminal proceedings, which makes it easier for the victim to prove the claim and eliminates the need for a separate civil action. The limitation period is three years from the moment the victim becomes aware of the injury and the pest, but no later than ten years from the event itself. To successfully pursue a claim, it is crucial to secure medical documentation, expert reports, proactively negotiate with the insurance company and, in the event of a dispute, go to court. For serious injuries, compensation can run into millions of dollars, so it is advisable to have the entire process professionally managed.