Practice Areas
Compensation Law Advisory
Legal support to help those harmed by tortious acts or breach of contract recover material and moral damages.
Last updated: · Prepared by: Av. Barış Kaymaz
Compensation law addresses the remedy of harm suffered as a result of an unlawful act or breach of contract, primarily under the general tort provisions of the Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098.
The type of damage, the severity of fault, the existence of a causal link, and accurate quantification of loss directly affect the outcome of a compensation claim, making early evidence gathering and properly directed expert examination essential.
We act for injured persons looking for a compensation lawyer in Istanbul and for clients who need a compensation lawyer in Ankara, and we assist clients across Türkiye in claims for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages.
Liability Arising from Tort
Under Article 49 et seq. of the Code of Obligations, a person who wrongfully and culpably causes harm to another is liable to compensate for it; tort liability requires an unlawful act, damage, a causal link between them, and fault, while strict liability regimes (such as a motor vehicle operator's liability) impose liability on specific statutory grounds without requiring fault. The injured party's own contributory fault is taken into account as a reason to reduce the compensation, and claims are subject to a two-year limitation period from when the injured party learned of the damage and the responsible party, and ten years from the act in any event, with a longer criminal limitation period applying where the act also constitutes a crime.
Material Damages
Material damages aim to remedy the reduction in the injured party's assets; in personal injury cases this includes treatment costs, lost income, and losses from reduced or lost earning capacity, while in wrongful death cases it covers the loss suffered by those who depended on the deceased's support. Actuarial calculation methods and expert reports play a decisive role in quantifying material damages, taking into account factors such as the injured party's age, income, and degree of loss of working capacity.
Moral Damages
Non-material damages partially compensate for the distress and suffering caused by an infringement of personality rights; Articles 56 and 58 of the Code of Obligations allow such claims in cases of bodily injury, death, and violations of personality rights. The amount is determined based on the severity of the incident, the parties' social and financial circumstances, and equity, with the principle that non-material damages should not serve as a source of unjust enrichment also guiding the assessment.
Compensation from Traffic Accidents
Under Article 85 of Law No. 2918 on Road Traffic, the operator (işleten) of a motor vehicle is held strictly liable for damage caused in traffic accidents; where the vehicle is operated on behalf of a business, the business owner is jointly and severally liable with the operator, who is also answerable for the driver's fault as if it were their own. The driver's personal liability is, as a rule, fault-based (Article 49 of the Code of Obligations). For damages covered by compulsory motor insurance, applying to the insurer first is a precondition for litigation, and if the insurer rejects the claim or fails to respond in time, the claimant may proceed to litigation or arbitration; where more than one party is responsible, joint and several liability may apply, and the injured party may claim the full amount from any one of them.
Medical Malpractice and Workplace Accident Compensation
Where a breach of the duty of care in providing healthcare causes harm to a patient, the physician and/or healthcare institution may be held liable, with medical expert examination playing a decisive role in such cases. In compensation claims arising from workplace accidents or occupational disease, the assessment considers whether the employer took the required occupational health and safety measures, the parties' respective degrees of fault, and the offsetting of amounts already paid by the Social Security Institution.
Services in This Area
- Handling material and moral compensation claims from traffic accidents
- Pursuing compensation claims from workplace accidents and occupational diseases
- Managing medical malpractice litigation
- Preparing loss-of-support compensation claims
- Handling moral damages claims for violations of personality rights
- Managing insurance claims and related litigation
- Supporting damage and compensation calculations with expert examination