Services rendered by the legal office Budzowska Fiutowski & Partners. Legal Counsellors within pursuing compensation for personal injuries caused by a traffic accident cover all activities aiming at obtaining by an injured person compensation, redress or pension. We represent our clients both during the process of pursuing such claims in amicable proceedings and in court proceedings.

Pursuing compensation from a person who caused a traffic accident is governed by two kinds of rules.

A person who caused a damage as a result of a mechanical vehicle's motion, i.e. in practice in the situation of running down a pedestrian by a mechanical vehicle, bears responsibility according to the rule of risk, so irrespectively of the fact whether a person who caused an accident was guilty for an accident or not. In proceedings against a person who caused a damage an injured person must prove circumstances of an accident (including who caused an accident), an incurred damage and a casual nexus between a damage and an accident, but this person does not have to prove guilt of a person who caused a damage.

If a damage was caused as a result of a collision of two or more mechanical vehicles, a person who caused an accident bears responsibility according to the rule of guilt, which means that apart from circumstances mentioned above, an injured person should prove that behaviour of a person who caused an accident was culpable, so that such person may be reproached with deliberate or at least careless acting.

Persons interested in services of the legal office in connection with compensation for traffic accidents are kindly asked to contact Karolina Kolary - phone number: 012 428 00 70.

- process of pursuing compensation

Before a suit for compensation is filed, it is necessary to undertake proper preliminary activities aiming at obtaining a possibly complete documentation which shall be afterwards used while preparation of a suit and as an evidence in the court proceedings.

If a body injury or a health disorder is a result of an accident, an injured person should file a motion to a proper medical post for a full documentation, certified as consistent with an original.

When a decision about pursuing compensation claims in a court has been undertaken, an injured person should gather all kind of documents confirming an amount of expenses born in connection with an incurred damage. These are especially invoices and bills for bought medicines, paid visits by experts, participation in rehabilitation turns, costs of travels to hospital, as well as paid help of third persons, and also costs of adaptation of a flat or a car to needs of a disabled person, etc.

It is advisable to prepare a specification of costs born in connection with an incurred damage in a form of a table, as well as a specification of costs born monthly.

Gathered documents will be used in the suit. A prepared suit shall be afterwards filed in a court. Proceedings in front of a court of the first instance usually last about a period of one year up to three years. Then, if there is an appeal of any party against a judgement, it shall be followed by proceedings in front of a court of the second instance, lasting approximately about a year. A judgement of a court of the second instance is final and valid, however, in some circumstances it is possible to file a cassation claim to the Highest Court.

- what is to be claimed

Claims connected with medical negligence may be of three types. The first one is a compensation understood literally. A compensation aims at a repayment of born material losses (expenses on medicines, experts, help, treatment, etc.); therefore an amount of compensation depends on the amount of those losses. The second type is a claim for redress. The aim of redress is, in contradiction to compensation, to recompense non-material losses (often called moral losses) - like e.g. a body injury or a health disorder, connected with it physical and mental suffering, a possible necessity to change a way of life, worsening of life's perspectives, etc. The last possible type is a claim for a pension. A patient is entitled to a pension when a consequence of an incurred damage is an entire or partial loss of work ability, increase of needs or reduction of possibilities of prosperity for the future.

- costs of proceedings

Court proceedings are connected with a necessity to bear costs related to them. Filing a suit requires payment of a fee which amounts to 5 % of a pursued claim (but not less than 30 zloty). Additionally, during the proceedings it is usually necessary to ask experts for an opinion, which means bearing costs for its preparation. It happens also that a party must pay back to witnesses born costs of travels to the court and must pay costs of translations.

When a party cannot bear the above mentioned costs because of his/her bad property situation, a party may file a motion for exemption from court costs. Filing a motion requires appointment that a party is not able to pay costs without prejudice for maintenance of his/hers or his/her family. A decision on exemption from court costs is made by the court: it may exempt a party from costs in the whole or only partially (usually in such a case the court exempts a party from an obligation to pay a suit fee), or may deny exemption in the whole.

It is to be underlined that an exemption mentioned above is of a temporary character because according to a general rule costs of proceedings are imposed on a losing party.

The above mentioned rules do not concern costs of representation of a party by our legal office. Remuneration for leading the case is settled individually.