Compensation Following a Work Accident

Workplace injury claims and procedure

A workplace accident can affect a person’s health, income and daily life. In construction incidents, such as falls from height or machinery accidents, the first questions concern what happened, the medical consequences and the safety precautions taken. Compensation is assessed against that evidence.

What is a workplace accident, and who may be liable?

Law No. 5510 defines workplace accidents for social-security purposes; its scope is not confined to the workplace itself. The employer’s duties concerning safety, risk prevention, training and equipment must also be examined. Recognition of a workplace accident and the employer’s liability to pay compensation are separate questions. Loss, causation and the applicable grounds of liability must be established.

What losses may be claimed?

An injured worker may experience:

• Temporary or permanent loss of capacity to work.
• Physical injury or psychological harm.
• Restrictions affecting everyday life.

Where the legal conditions are met, pecuniary and non-pecuniary compensation may be claimed from those responsible.

Pecuniary compensation addresses financial loss. Potential heads of loss include:

• Incapacity: income lost during temporary inability to work and loss resulting from a permanent reduction in working capacity.
• Care costs: reasonable assistance required because of the injury.
• Treatment costs: medical expenses connected with the accident and recoverable under the applicable law.
• Loss of earnings: a reduction in income following the accident.

Non-pecuniary damages address pain, distress and other personal consequences of the injury. The court assesses the amount against the circumstances of the case.

How does a claim proceed?

1. Notification and records: for employees insured under Article 4(a), the employer must notify the competent law-enforcement authority immediately and, as a general rule, SGK within three working days after the accident. Special rules apply outside the employer’s control and to other insured categories. Keep incident reports, medical records and notification documents.
2. Mediation: Article 3(3) of Labour Courts Law No. 7036 excludes pecuniary and non-pecuniary compensation claims arising from workplace accidents or occupational diseases, and related declaratory, objection and recourse proceedings, from mandatory pre-action mediation. Mediation is therefore not a compulsory prerequisite for these claims.
3. Proceedings: claims based on the employer’s liability generally come before the labour court. If the worker dies, the persons entitled to claim and their individual losses must be identified separately. Disputes with SGK also require consideration of any obligation to apply to the institution first.
4. Liability and fault: the court examines safety precautions, the sequence of events, the parties’ conduct and causation. Fault and any applicable strict-liability rules depend on the case.
5. Assessment: medical and SGK records, expert evidence, age and income inform the calculation of financial loss.

Limitation periods

No single limitation period applies indiscriminately to every workplace accident. Contractual claims against an employer generally require consideration of the ten-year period in Article 146 of the Code of Obligations. Tort liability, any longer criminal limitation period, developing injury and the starting date must be examined separately. Notification deadlines are not the same as the deadline for bringing a claim.

Assessment of the individual case

A claim requires examination of incident records, medical evidence, the employment relationship, responsibility and loss. The appropriate procedure and time limits depend on those facts.