Compensation is based on case law, but the amount can vary significantly
Under Polish law, compensation for personal injuries can be based on both pecuniary and nonpecuniary damages. Pecuniary damages include prospective loss of earnings and profits, or the costs of future care. Insurers are required to reimburse victims for all the costs resulting from an insured injury, including paying a certain sum in advance. They may also be required to pay an annuity, if the injury affected the victim’s future prospects. Nonpecuniary damage includes physical and psychological pain and suffering. For this, courts typically require that insurers pay victims a lump sum in compensation. The court sets the amount of this payment.
Although the Polish legal system specifies how to compensate for pecuniary and nonpecuniary losses, it does not offer any compensation tables that courts could use when assessing payments for nonpecuniary damages. Compensation is supposed to be based on case law, so that similar cases guide the amount of redress due in subsequent claims. In practice, however, court decisions on the amount due can vary significantly, even for similar cases.
