The goal of compensation is to restore the condition of the injured person to the condition that preceded the occurrence of the harmful event. The responsible person is obliged to restore the state that existed before the damage occurred. If the restoration of the previous state does not remove the damage completely, the responsible person is obliged to pay compensation in money for the rest of the damage. When establishing the previous state is not possible, or when the court considers that it is not necessary for the responsible person to do so, the court will order that he pay the injured party the appropriate sum of a money in the name of compensation for damages.
In practice, the question of how to write a claim for compensation is often asked; how to write a claim for damages; what is the deadline for filing the claim for damages; before initiating court proceedings, is it necessary to send a warning before filing the claim for damages; whether the claim for damages can be premature; how to write a response to the claim for damages, etc. We will try to answer some of the mentioned questions in the continuation of this text.
An obligation to compensate for damage is considered due from the moment the damage occurred. The claim for compensation for the caused damage expires three years after the injured party became aware of the damage and of the person who caused the damage. In any case, this claim expires five years after the damage occurred.
Therefore, the law provides for a subjective and objective statute of limitations when it comes to damages. The subjective term is calculated from the day of learning about the damage and lasts 3 years, while the objective term lasts 5 years from the day the damage occurred, regardless of whether the injured party learned about the damage.
When the damage was caused by a criminal act, and a longer statute of limitations is provided for the criminal prosecution, the claim for damages against the responsible person expires when the statute of limitations for the criminal prosecution expires. The termination of the statute of limitations for the criminal prosecution entails the termination of the statute of limitations for the claim for damages.
If the party that caused the damage does not want to voluntarily compensate the injured person, the injured party can exercise his rights by filing a claim for damages before the court with jurisdiction over the matter before the expiration of the statute of limitations.
The injured party has the right to both compensation for ordinary damages and compensation for lost profits. An amount of compensation is determined according to the prices at the time of the court decision, except when the law orders otherwise.
When assessing the amount of lost benefit, the profit that could reasonably be expected according to the regular course of things or according to special circumstances, and the realization of which was prevented by the harmed person’s act or omission, is taken into account.
When a thing is destroyed or damaged by a criminal act committed with intent, the court can determine the amount of compensation according to the value the thing had for the injured party. The court, taking into account the circumstances that occurred after the damage was caused, will award compensation in the amount needed to bring the material situation of the injured party to the state in which it would have been if there had been no harmful act or omission.
The court may, taking into account the material condition of the injured party, sentence the responsible person to pay less compensation than the amount of the damage, if it was not caused either intentionally or by gross negligence, and the responsible person is in poor financial condition and the payment of full compensation would put him in poverty.
If the party caused the damage by doing something for the benefit of the victim, the court can determine a smaller compensation, taking into account the care that the victim shows in his own affairs.
The injured party who contributed to the damage occurring or being bigger than it would otherwise be, is only entitled to a proportionally reduced compensation.
When it is impossible to determine which part of the damage originates from the injured party’s actions, the court will award compensation taking into account the circumstances of the case.
