Accidents abroad

In recent years, the number of people going on holiday abroad has increased significantly, and more and more of our citizens are working in the European Union. With the rise in this statistic, the number of Hungarians who have accidents abroad has also increased in proportion. We often hear and read in the news that many Hungarians have accidents abroad, but almost nothing about the subsequent compensation procedures. In many cases, the victims themselves are not even aware of the fact that who will compensate them for the damage caused by their accident abroad?

First of all, we think it is important to say that the travel insurance you buy before you travel will not cover you in the event of such an accident. Passenger insurance only pays an insurance service fee, i.e. it does not cover the damage caused by the accident.

In most cases, it is possible to reach an out-of-court settlement with the foreign tortfeasor or insurer, but civil proceedings may be necessary if this is not possible. Under private international law, it may be possible to bring the action in Hungary before a Hungarian court, or, in certain cases, to ask a Hungarian court to apply foreign law (which in many cases can be significantly more favourable to the Hungarian victim).

According to the general case of the so-called Rome II Regulation, “the law of the country in which the damage occurs shall apply, irrespective of the country in which the event giving rise to the damage occurred and irrespective of the country or countries in which the indirect consequences of that event occur.” This means, by way of example, that if you suffer damage in Austria, as a Hungarian citizen you can bring proceedings before a Hungarian court under Austrian tort law.

Our firm has years of experience in various foreign accident compensation cases and can provide effective and successful legal representation to our clients. If you need legal advice or effective representation, please contact our office, we look forward to hearing from you!