Jak správně postupovat při dopravní nehodě
Dopravní nehoda je vždy stresující situace – ať už jde o drobný „ťukanec“ na parkovišti, nebo vážnější kolizi na silnici….
If you were injured, or lost a close person, in an accident that was not your fault, you have the right to compensation. Obtaining full compensation for all your losses, however, is not a given. Insurers often offer lower amounts than you are entitled to.
Free case reviewDon’t let anyone take away what is rightfully yours. I will represent you anywhere in the Czech Republic, both in negotiations with the insurer and in criminal proceedings, and pursue full financial compensation for you for your injuries or the loss of a close person.
Your first consultation with me is completely free. ✔️ No hidden charges, no advance payments, no hourly rate, no complicated conditions — I only claim my fee out of the result.
How does it work in practice? My fee is success-based — it amounts to 10% of the compensation recovered + VAT where applicable. This means two important things:
Example: If I obtain compensation for pain and suffering (bolestné) of CZK 100,000 for you, my fee will be CZK 10,000 + VAT (where applicable) — in other words, the fee is only payable out of the amount you actually receive.
Expert reports assessing pain and suffering and permanent consequences usually cost tens of thousands of crowns. I pay these costs on your behalf and then claim them back directly from the insurer or another liable party. You don’t have to worry about anything – all you invest is your time and trust.
If I recover nothing for you, you do not pay me a fee. If a court case becomes necessary, I will explain the possible costs of the proceedings to you in advance.
After a road traffic accident with injuries, you can claim several types of compensation. Here is an overview of what you are entitled to:
Compensation for pain and suffering covers the physical and mental pain caused by your injury. The amount is determined according to the Supreme Court Methodology (for non-pecuniary harm to health) (Metodika Nejvyššího soudu) and depends on the extent and severity of the injuries. Each individual injury corresponds to a certain number of points, and for injuries sustained in 2026 the value of one point is CZK 492.15. Both surgical procedures and superficial injuries are taken into account.
Example: In an accident you suffer a comminuted fracture of the shaft of the tibia and undergo surgery under general anaesthesia. Compensation for pain and suffering for this injury will be in the region of CZK 100,000.
Tip: Immediately after the accident, take photos of all scars, abrasions, bruises or burns – ideally with a ruler or tape measure next to them.
If your injuries leave permanent consequences that limit you in everyday life, at work or in your leisure activities, you are entitled to compensation for permanent consequences / loss of amenity (ztížení společenského uplatnění). This is a one-off compensation for the reduction in your quality of life compared with your situation before the accident. Permanent consequences can be assessed at the earliest one year after the accident, provided that your state of health has already stabilised. The assessment is carried out by a specialised court-certified expert (znalec) on the basis of your medical records and a personal examination.
Example: If after the accident you suffer from restricted mobility of a leg and cannot fully return to your profession and leisure activities, you are entitled to compensation of at least several hundred thousand crowns.
Tip: See your doctor regularly and keep all medical reports.
If, as an employee or a business owner, you were unable to work and lost income as a result of the accident, you are entitled to compensation for loss of earnings (ztráta na výdělku). This also applies where, because of your injuries, you have to change to a less qualified and lower-paid job.
Example: If, as a professional driver, you have lost the ability to drive because of your injury, you are entitled to the difference between your income before the accident and the new income you earn in a different job.
Tip: Insurers usually pay loss of earnings only after your sick leave (pracovní neschopnost) has ended, but in some cases it is possible to request an advance payment while you are still on sick leave.
The insurer will reimburse reasonably incurred medical expenses (náklady léčení) — not only medicines and medical aids (crutches, orthoses) but also rehabilitation, physiotherapy or psychological help that are not covered by public health insurance.
Recommendation: Keep all receipts related to the treatment of your injuries.
You can also claim travel costs (cestovné) to medical facilities, regardless of whether you travelled alone or accompanied by another person, by car or by public transport.
Tip: To prove your travel costs, keep all medical reports, including confirmations of attendance at rehabilitation and other treatments.
If, as a result of the accident, your health requires care from another person because you are temporarily unable to look after yourself, you can claim compensation for the costs of care (náklady péče) provided to meet your basic needs.
Tip: You can claim both services provided by a professional care service and care provided by a family member or another close person.
In more serious cases, it is also possible to claim compensation for other non-pecuniary harm (další nemajetková újma) for temporary psychological distress or emotional harm that is not covered by compensation for pain and suffering or loss of amenity. This may include, for example, missing important life events, anxiety about the future or long-term isolation from family and friends.
Example: If, due to a long stay in hospital, you could not attend your child’s wedding or a long-planned family holiday, you can claim compensation for this interference with your life.
A road traffic accident often damages personal belongings too — a mobile phone, laptop, clothing, glasses and so on. You have the right to adequate compensation for this property damage (věcná škoda) as well.
Example: An injured motorcyclist can claim compensation for a destroyed or damaged helmet, motorcycle clothing and other equipment.
Tip: The best way to prove the value of your belongings is with purchase receipts and photos of the damaged items.
If your partner, parent, child, sibling or another close person dies of their injuries as a result of the accident, you can usually claim the following compensation.
If someone dies in a road traffic accident, you as a close person have the right to compensation for the mental suffering of bereaved relatives (duševní útrapy). This is the most important claim of bereaved relatives; it aims to ease emotional and psychological pain and is intended above all for the closest family members of the deceased (children, husband, wife or partner, parents, siblings or grandchildren). The amount depends on how close the relationship was and is not set by law.
Example: A minor lost their only parent in a road traffic accident. The claim for compensation for mental suffering may reach as much as CZK 1,200,000.
Tip: To obtain full compensation, it is necessary to prove the close relationship between the deceased and the bereaved relative, for example by means of a sworn statement (čestné prohlášení) and family photographs.
Bereaved relatives can claim reimbursement of the funeral costs (náklady pohřbu), in particular the costs of the funeral reception, flowers, the headstone, the rental of the grave and other funeral service fees.
Tip: To prove that the costs were reasonable, it is essential to keep the order for the funeral director’s services and the related receipts.
In some cases, people who were financially dependent on the deceased can claim maintenance for dependants (pozůstalostní výživné). This compensation is intended mainly for dependent children and the husband, wife or partner.
Tip: This is a complex type of compensation, so it is essential to provide a detailed account of the household finances during the life of the deceased and after their death.
Claiming correctly is key to obtaining full compensation. How should you proceed?
No need to worry: I offer the first consultation free of charge.
Consulting an attorney who specialises in compensation after road traffic accidents early on will help you set the right course and avoid mistakes that could reduce the amount of compensation.
Don’t wait until your treatment or the criminal proceedings have ended – contact a specialist as soon as possible, even right after you are discharged from hospital.
Be careful when choosing professional help: consider the provider’s references, fee structure and the size of the percentage fee. Avoid providers who are not authorised to provide legal services. Unfortunately, there are a large number of them in this field.
Tip: Do not sign any contract under pressure – for example if someone visits you in hospital or at home without your having asked them to. The terms will often be unfavourable, and ending the representation can be complicated if you are not satisfied with the service.
To claim the individual types of compensation, you will of course need to provide various documents, and your lawyer will help you with this during the representation.
At the outset you will need at least these documents:
Keep collecting medical reports from all examinations and rehabilitation, as well as receipts for medicines or other costs related to your injury or treatment – e.g. rehabilitation or physiotherapy. If your belongings were damaged in the accident, don’t forget to photograph them.
Tip: I also recommend taking photos of your injuries, specifically scars and other superficial injuries, with a ruler or tape measure next to them.
Each claim is calculated differently and requires specific supporting documents. The key evidence, however, is always your complete medical records. Medical reports are not only used to determine the amount of compensation for pain and suffering or loss of amenity (i.e. permanent consequences); they are also essential for proving other claims – for example travel costs to medical facilities, costs of care, medical expenses or loss of earnings.
The calculation of some types of compensation is laid down directly by law (e.g. loss of earnings or travel costs), while others are based on case law – for example mental suffering or other non-pecuniary harm. Pain and suffering and loss of amenity are assessed according to the Supreme Court Methodology for compensation for non-pecuniary harm to health.
Tip: Entrust your case to an experienced specialist who will arrange expert reports on pain and suffering and permanent consequences. Only then do you have a chance of fair compensation.
Good news: I pay the cost of expert reports assessing pain and suffering and permanent consequences on behalf of my clients
Claim compensation for a road traffic accident directly from the at-fault driver’s insurer under their compulsory motor third-party liability insurance (MTPL) (povinné ručení). You can also join the criminal proceedings with a compensation claim, but this is not mandatory.
Even if you claim against the at-fault driver or are awarded compensation by the criminal court, it is likely that the compensation will ultimately be paid by the insurer anyway. Claiming compensation directly under the MTPL insurance is the fastest and easiest route.
If the at-fault driver fled the scene, is unknown or did not have valid MTPL insurance at the time of the accident, you can claim compensation from the Czech Insurers’ Bureau (Česká kancelář pojistitelů, ČKP) out of its guarantee fund.
In more complex cases where fault is not entirely clear, insurers in practice often make payment of compensation conditional either on the opening of a criminal prosecution or on a final decision on guilt.
Tip: For some claims you do not have to wait until your treatment or sick leave has ended – e.g. compensation for pain and suffering can be claimed after you are discharged from hospital.
Insurers often propose lower amounts, typically for pain and suffering and loss of amenity. With an experienced lawyer you have a significantly better chance of obtaining full compensation. I will handle the negotiations entirely for you.
How negotiations with the insurer work
Tip: Do not leave it to the insurer alone to determine the amount of compensation. It is not in their interest to give you full compensation. Find a specialist who will calculate your claims and support them with the necessary evidence, such as expert reports.
If the insurer refuses to pay adequate compensation in out-of-court negotiations, I will prepare a lawsuit and represent you in court. We will always discuss the course of the court case and its risks in detail beforehand. The decision whether or not to go to court is yours alone.
Tip: You can choose whether to sue the at-fault driver or the insurer directly, but for many reasons I recommend suing the insurer.
A motorcyclist with a serious leg injury, repeated surgery and months of treatment. We supported the claim for pain and suffering with an expert report, and the insurer accepted it in full, without deducting a single point.
A cyclist hit by a car, left with permanently restricted movement of the knee and hip after leg fractures. The expert report proved a loss of amenity well above the insurer’s original offer.
The family of a man who died in an accident. Compensation for the mental suffering of his wife, children and grandchildren and reimbursement of the funeral costs.
Anyone who did not cause the road traffic accident can claim compensation for harm to their health. Typically, this includes:
Yes, you are entitled to compensation even if you were partly at fault, but the compensation may be reduced according to your share of the blame.
🔹 Example: If your share of the blame is set at 30%, you will receive 70% of the compensation.
Yes. Even if the accident was caused by the driver of the vehicle in which you were a passenger, you can claim compensation for harm to your health from their MTPL insurance.
💡Tip: You can claim directly from the insurer, without having to join the criminal proceedings against the at-fault driver with a compensation claim.
The general limitation period is 3 years from the moment you learn of the damage.
For harm to health, however, special rules apply – each claim (pain and suffering, loss of earnings, loss of amenity and others) becomes time-barred separately. In practice, the claim for pain and suffering is often the first to become time-barred, while the claim for loss of amenity is one of the last.
❗Please note: For minors, the limitation period only starts to run when they come of age.
Simpler cases can be settled out of court with the insurer within a few months. Claims are usually made one after another, and the settlement of each claim takes approximately 3 months. More complex cases that require expert reports or court proceedings can take considerably longer than a year.
❗ Please note: In more complicated accidents where the at-fault driver’s fault is not clear-cut, insurers may wait to settle until the criminal proceedings have been finally concluded.
Each claim has to be supported by different documents, and your lawyer will help you prepare them.
In general, you will need above all:
In the vast majority of cases you do not have to go to court. A civil lawsuit should be considered if the claim is at risk of becoming time-barred or if the compensation is substantially reduced.
💡Recommendation: The chances of a successful out-of-court settlement with the insurer depend largely on a correct calculation of compensation and sufficient documents to prove your claims.
Yes, the course and above all the outcome of the criminal proceedings have a major impact on claiming compensation from the insurer. The final decision of the criminal court or the public prosecutor usually serves insurers as the basis for determining the at-fault driver’s liability or any contributory fault of the injured party.
💡Recommendation: Seek legal help as early as possible. A legal representative can influence the outcome of the criminal proceedings and minimise any contributory fault on your part.
Yes, you can. This usually happens during criminal proceedings, when the at-fault driver is trying to mitigate their punishment. The at-fault driver may (but does not have to) provide you with financial compensation on top of the insurance payout. This will often be an amount in the thousands or low tens of thousands of crowns.
💡Recommendation: Conclude a written agreement with the at-fault driver that expressly states that the payment is financial compensation on top of the payout from their MTPL insurer. Otherwise, there is a risk that the insurer will reduce its payout by this amount.
I will assess your case and suggest a specific course of action. I will represent you anywhere in the Czech Republic – in negotiations with the insurer and in criminal proceedings.
Tell me about your situation – I will usually get back to you within 24 hours.
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