Traffic accident
If you are injured in a traffic accident, such as a car or motorcycle accident, you are generally entitled to compensation regardless of whether you caused the accident or not. This is due to the compulsory insurance on vehicles under Icelandic law, which covers the driver and passengers, as well as any other parties, e.g. pedestrians, who are injured by the vehicle.
Traffic accident
Details
The claim is directed at the insurance company of the offending vehicle.
You may be entitled to compensation for temporary loss of earnings, pain and suffering, loss of amenities (also known as medical disability), loss of earning capacity (also known as financial disability) as well as medical expenses due to the accident.
Consumption of alcohol or other intoxicants and/or other serious traffic offences may result in reduction or removal of the right to compensation.
Fortis
Here to help
It is of vital importance to report all accidents to the relevant insurance company as soon as possible to ensure that your right to compensation is not lost. Fortis will provide you with a comprehensive assessment of your case free of charge.
Examples of cases
Traffic accident
38-year-old / Neck injury
Contacted Fortis for an assessment three months after the accident. Fortis assisted the client in reporting the accident to the car’s insurance company as well as the employer’s accident insurance company, as the client had around the clock coverage due to their wage agreement/union contract. Fortis took care of all case elements, communication with liable parties, collection and analysis of the necessary data and arranged for the reimbursement of medical expenses.
Eight months after the client’s first meeting with Fortis, all necessary data had been compiled and two impartial assessors assessed the extent and severity of the damages suffered in the accident.
The results of the assessment arrived eight weeks after the assessment meeting: 8% loss of amenity/medical disability and 8% loss of earning capacity/financial disability. The total compensation amounted to approx. 9.700.000 kr.
27-year-old / Neck injury
Contacted Fortis for an assessment nine months after the accident. Fortis assisted the client in reporting the accident to the car’s insurance company. Fortis took care of all case elements, communication with liable parties and collection and analysis of the necessary data
Five months after the client’s first meeting with Fortis, all necessary data had been compiled and two impartial assessors assessed the extent and severity of the damages the client suffered in the accident.
The results of the assessment arrived eight weeks after the assessment meeting: 5% loss of amenity/medical disability and 5% loss of earning capacity/financial disability. The total compensation amounted to approx. 5.300.000 kr.
We kindly ask you to keep in mind that each case is unique and that numerous variables affect the outcome of a case and by extension the amount compensated, such as the terms of the insurance policy, the age of the injured person and the result of an assessment for permanent impairment and disability. For accidents based on tort law the average income of the injured person before the accident is also an important variable.
Step-by-Step
The General Process of a Personal Injury Case
Step 1
Reporting the accident
It is of vital importance to report your accident to the relevant insurance company as soon as possible to ensure that the right to compensation does not expire. We at Fortis will report the accident on your behalf or assist you with filling out the correct form.
Step 2
Data collection
The necessary data varies across case types, but for personal injury cases the main case data is data that proves and documents the accident and the injury; such as police reports, doctor’s reports and medical records, records from physical therapists, psychologists, dentists and other parties that assist the injured person in recovery. We at Fortis will take care of the data collection on your behalf.
Step 3
Assessment of injuries
When all the necessary data has been collected it is time to commission an impartial third-party assessor to assess the extent and the severity of the injuries suffered in the accident. As a general rule the assessment is not conducted until at least one year has elapsed from the accident’s occurrence. We at Fortis will guide you every step of the way during the assessment period of the case.
Step 4
Settlement
We use our decades of experience to make a claim for monetary compensation based on the result of the assessment. In the vast majority of cases the insurance company agrees to settle the case based on the assessment. Should the claim for compensation be disputed or the settlement unsatisfactory we can take the insurance company and other liable parties to court at your discretion.
More about the process Questions and Answers
FAQs
It is of vital importance to seek medical assistance as soon as possible after an accident, be it a hospital or health care centre. Otherwise, it may be difficult to prove that an injury or a symptom is a consequence of the accident.
You need to save and collect receipts due to healthcare visits, medicine and physical therapy costs to prove your expenses so that we may arrange for your costs to be reimbursed.
If you want to seek compensation for clothing or other damaged items you need to safely store the items in question, as the insurance company may require such items to be turned in.
Fortis will provide you with an assessment of your case free of charge.
In the vast majority of cases, Fortis takes care of the cost associated with gathering medical records and other necessary data. In the beginning stages of your case, you will neither be billed for data collection and gathering, nor lawyer fees.
The cost for the assistance of a lawyer is generally paid at the final stage of the case, when a settlement has been agreed upon and paid by the insurance company and other parties if applicable. If the case is based on tort law, i.e. when the case is a traffic accident or a work accident on sea, the insurance company is generally liable to pay the majority of the costs of legal representation.
Without the assistance of a lawyer, you do not stand on equal ground. You represent your own interests against expert employees of the insurance company, who safeguard their employer’s interests. There is a considerable risk that by not having expert representation you will not receive all the benefits and compensation you are entitled to. Furthermore, employees of insurance companies are not obligated to inform you of compensation you may be entitled to from other parties (e.g. due to a collective wage agreement/union contract).
In short, yes.
There is a widespread misunderstanding that the at-fault driver in an accident is not entitled to compensation for their personal injuries. A driver, passengers and all other parties that are harmed in a vehicular accident do as a general rule all have the right for compensation. The same does not apply for the damage caused to the vehicle itself.
However, it must be noted that the consumption of alcohol or other intoxicants and/or other serious traffic offences may result in reduction or removal of the right to compensation.
Am I entitled to compensation?