Do I have to pay compensation for unintentionally causing a traffic accident?

Clause 1, Article 584 of the 2015 Civil Code on the basis of liability for compensation for damages stipulates:

1. Anyone who commits an act that infringes upon the life, health, honor, dignity, reputation, property, rights, or other legitimate interests of another person and causes damage must compensate, except in cases where this Code or other relevant laws provide otherwise.

2. The person causing damage shall not be liable for compensation in case the damage arises due to force majeure or is entirely due to the fault of the damaged party, unless otherwise agreed or otherwise provided by law.

Liability for compensation for non-contractual damages only arises when all of the following elements are present:

There must be damage: Damage includes physical damage and damage due to mental loss.

- Material damage includes: damage caused by property infringement; damage caused by health infringement; damage caused by life infringement; damage caused by honor, dignity, and reputation infringement.

- Damages due to personal spiritual loss are understood as the health, honor, dignity, and reputation of the victim being violated or the victim's life being violated, causing the victim's closest relatives to suffer pain, sadness, emotional loss, loss or deterioration of reputation, being shunned by friends due to misunderstanding... and need to be compensated an amount of money to compensate for the loss they have suffered.

Damages caused by spiritual loss of legal entities and other entities that are not legal entities (collectively referred to as organizations) are understood to be due to the honor and reputation being violated, the organization being reduced or losing credibility, trust... due to being misunderstood and needing to be compensated with an amount of money to compensate for the loss that the organization has suffered.

There must be an act causing damage: Illegal acts are specific human behaviors expressed through actions or inactions that infringe upon the life, health, honor, dignity, reputation, property, rights, and other legitimate interests of others.

Causing an accident, whether intentional or unintentional, must be compensated.

There must be a causal relationship between the damage and the act: The damage must be the inevitable result of the act and vice versa, the act must be the direct cause of the damage.

When resolving disputes over compensation for damages outside of the contract, it is necessary to properly implement the principles of compensation for damages stipulated in Article 584 of the 2015 Civil Code. It is necessary to respect the parties' agreement on the level of compensation, form of compensation and method of compensation, if such agreement is not contrary to the law or social ethics.

Clause 1, Article 590 of the 2015 Civil Code on damage caused by health infringement stipulates:

1. Damages caused by health infringement include:

a) Reasonable costs for treatment, rehabilitation, and restoration of health and lost or reduced functions of the injured person;

b) Actual lost or reduced income of the injured person; if the actual income of the injured person is unstable and cannot be determined, the average income of the same type of worker shall be applied;

c) Reasonable expenses and actual lost income of the person caring for the injured person during the treatment period; if the injured person loses the ability to work and requires regular care, the damages include reasonable expenses for caring for the injured person;

d) Other damages as prescribed by law.

2. The person responsible for compensation in case of damage to another person's health must compensate for damages as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article and another amount of money to compensate for the mental damage suffered by that person. The level of compensation for mental damage shall be agreed upon by the parties; if no agreement is reached, the maximum level for a person whose health is damaged shall not exceed fifty times the basic salary prescribed by the State.

Thus, in the case of participating in traffic, whether intentionally or unintentionally causing a traffic accident, the injured party must still compensate for the damage. The level of compensation for damage will first be agreed upon by the parties.

If no agreement is reached, the matter will be resolved based on the principle that the responsibility for compensation for damage caused to health is stipulated in Article 585 of the 2015 Civil Code, guided by Article 3 of Resolution 02/2022/NQ-HDTP and Article 590 of the 2015 Civil Code, guided by Article 7 of Resolution 02/2022/NQ-HDTP of the Supreme People's Court's Judicial Council.

BAO HUNG

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