Montag, 01.06.2015
Car accident abroad
from
Dr. jur. Gerhard WolterLawyer
Specialist lawyer for transportation and shipping law
Give me a call: 0681 - 910 11 0
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It is holiday season and many people travel to their holiday destinations abroad with their own cars. If a traffic accident occurs, the law of the place of the accident regularly applies. This makes things complicated. At least Europe has simplified matters somewhat. Whereas in the past, claims settlement meant corresponding with the (foreign) insurer of the other party involved in the accident and, in the event of a dispute, bring an action before a foreign court, correspondence can now be conducted in German with a domestic claims office of the foreign insurer. And even legal action against the foreign insurer can be taken in Germany, in the court of the injured party's place of residence. However, the German judge must then also apply foreign law, in this case the law of the place of the accident. If he is unfamiliar with this law, which is usually the case, he must have the legal situation clarified by an expert opinion. This not only sounds expensive and complicated, it is.
However, the application of foreign law can sometimes lead to favorable results. This is the case with "enemy green". If an accident occurs at a traffic-light controlled intersection in Germany and each party involved claims that the traffic light showed green, and if there is insufficient evidence to prove one's own account of the accident, then a judge will regularly rule that the damages are to be shared. This means that the respective liability insurer covers 50% of the damage to the other party's vehicle. Personal injuries are settled in the same way.
The situation is different in France. If no party involved in the accident can prove that the other party was at fault, each party will receive full compensation for their damages. So if the 100,000-euro motorhome collides with an old French Renault Clio at a lonely traffic light in Provence, completely destroying both vehicles, the motorhome driver will receive 100,000 euros in compensation. In Germany, he would have to settle for EUR 50,000 and also claim on his comprehensive insurance, if he has one. The Clio owner receives EUR 100 in compensation for his write-off in France – in Germany, he would have only received EUR 50. So for victims, the rule is: green lights in France are less hostile than in Germany, especially for owners of expensive vehicles.
The statements represent initial information that was current for the law applicable in Germany at the time of initial publication. The legal situation may have changed since then. Furthermore, the information provided cannot replace individual advice on a specific matter. Please contact us for this purpose.