Personal injury is a legal term for an injury to the body, mind, or emotions, as opposed to an injury to property. In Iran, the laws that govern Personal Injury cases are mainly The Civil Liability Act, The Penal Islamic Code, and the Law on Mandatory Civil Liability Insurance of Owners of Land Motor Vehicles Against a Third Party. These laws are all according to the Islamic Sharia, where the extent of payable damages is strictly determined, these amounts are called Diah.
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The Diah is a financial penalty that has the nature of compensation and is stipulated in the law. Article 448 of the Islamic Penal Code stipulates: “Determined money, is a specific property prescribed in the Holy Sharia As the compensation of an unintentional crime against the life, body, or benefits or intentional crimes in cases where there is no retribution in any way”.
Excess of the Diah
Claiming damages in excess of the Diah means that the victim, due to the occurrence of a crime, both intentional and unintentional, and in line with his treatment, has incurred more costs than what is stipulated by the law and received as ransom.
Imagine that a person suffered an injury in his body due to an accident or as a result of cosmetic surgery and The prescribed ransom according to the law has been supposedly determined 10 million Tomans, that have been paid as Diah but this person has paid much more expenses for other treatments. In many cases, the mentioned expenses are more than the set amount. Now the question that arises is: whether is it possible for the injured person to demand the excess expences from whom committed the harmfull act?
In 1996, the General Board of the Supreme Court of Iran accepted the necessity of compensating damages in excess of the Diah in opinion number 6 dated 26/6/1996: “Considering that from the rulings related to diyat and the content of the law regarding diyat, the negation of compensation for other damages caused to the victim against It cannot be inferred, and considering that the meaning of damage and loss is the same as customary damage and loss, therefore (accordingly) articles 1, 2 and 3 of the civil liability law are used and with reference to the “general rule of no harm“ and also the ”rule of attribution” and the loss of the need to compensate for such damages is without any problems.”
What is Arsh? The definition of Arsh and its difference from Diah?
The definition of Arsh according to Article 449 of the Islamic Penal Code: “Arsh is an indeterminable ransom, the amount of which is not determined in the Shariah, and the courts, and depending on the type and grade of the crime, its impact on the victim’s health, and the amount of damages Taking the opinion of the presumptive ransom and determining its amount with the opinion of an expert. The provisions of the Diah also apply to Arash, unless otherwise stipulated in the law.”
Categories of Personal Injury
Work accident
According to Article 60 of the Social Security Act, work-related accidents are accidents that occur during the performance of [occupational] duties.
The conditions of an accident caused by work
The occurrence of an accident is based on two major conditions that must be fulfilled together:
- a) The accident occurred during the performance of the duty: The period of performance of the duty is the prescribed period of time in which the worker is obliged to work, so if an accident occurs during the said period and due to the duty, it is considered to be caused by the work.
- b) The accident occurred due to the performance of the duty (insured work): the accident due to the performance of the duty is the existence of a causal relationship between the work and the accident that happens to the insured.
How to request an investigation of accidents caused by work?
The victim of the accident or his heirs should refer to the police station to file a case and obtain an opinion from the labor and social affairs and forensic departments.
The victim of the accident should refer to the labor inspection unit of the General Department of Labor and Social Affairs of the province or the city department and submit a letter from the police station to study the case and examine the scene of the accident and record the statements of witnesses in order to prepare an accident report by the labor inspector.
Deliver the incident report issued by the General Department of Labor and Social Affairs of the province or the city department to the police station, in order to refer to the judicial authority to communicate the theory of the labor inspector to the case parties and issue a decision.
What is the employer’s duty in the event of an occupational accident in the workshop?
According to Article 65 of the Social Security Law, in case of an accident caused by work, the employer is obliged to take the necessary initial measures to prevent the aggravation of the situation of the accident victim, and according to the note of Article 95 of the Labor Law, the employer or the officials of the units, subject to Article 85 of the Labor Law are obliged to take all necessary measures.
Vehicular Damage
From the time the accident occurs until the time the amount of the injury is determined and the insurance company or the bodily injury insurance fund decides to pay the compensation, some steps must be taken and certain documents must be submitted.
Based on the meaning of Article 1 and Commentary 1 of Article 1 of the law amending the law on mandatory civil liability insurance of owners of land motor vehicles against a third party, the owner is responsible for compensating the losses caused by the vehicle or trailer or their cargo to third parties.
Note: In Article 19 of the above law, the owner is the person who uses the vehicle and must carry the insurance policy of the vehicle. Based on the concept of the article, the owner is responsible for compensating the losses caused by the vehicle or trailer or their cargo to third parties (damages in accidents).
It is stated in note two of article one of the law amending the law on mandatory insurance: the responsibility of the owner of the vehicle does not prevent the responsibility of the person whose act or omission is the cause of the accident.
In other words, in cases where claiming damages or taking damages in the resulting accidents is subject to the amendment law, a lawsuit can be filed against the person responsible for the accident. The meaning of cause of the accident is a person who has committed a reprehensible act. In fact, it is possible for an accident to occur without committing any fault and cause damage, in which case the person may be found innocent. Therefore, the person responsible for compensating for the damage is not always at fault.
Remember, that in the case of driving accidents leading to death, insurance companies can pay compensation and other physical damages without the need for a judicial decision, if they reach a settelement with the driver who caused the accident and the heirs of the deceased.
- Party A had a duty to act reasonably according to the circumstances.
- Party A breached the duty.
- Party A’s breach of duty caused party B to be harmed.
- Party B suffered monetary damages due to the harm suffered when party A breached its duty of care.
Medical Negligence
When a Doctor or Physician treats a patient, from the first stage of examination and prescribing medicine to surgery and all kinds of necessary operations, he may commit medical malpractice and as a result harm the patient. Because of the damage caused to the patient, which leads to the filing of a criminal case against the wrongful doctor, the patient also considers himself entitled to claim damages from the doctor.
Claiming damages from the doctor is basically divided into two categories:
1) Determining the damage caused to the patient as a result of the doctor’s behavior in the form of diah or Arsh, the percentage of which is determined by the medical association commission.
2) The claim for an amount higher than the prescribed fee under the heading of the cost of re-treatment and removal of the complication has arisen as a result of the doctor’s mistake.
According to Articles 1 to 3 of the Civil Liability Law, anyone who causes damage to the life or property of another without a license (such as a general practitioner performing liposuction cosmetic surgery, abdominal and flank abdominoplasty in his private practice), according to the petition for damages from a Doctor, he will be compensated for material and moral damage.
Product Liability
Article 16 – The responsibility of compensating the damages caused to the consumer is the responsibility of the real or legal person, both private and governmental, which caused the damage and harm to the consumer. In the case of foreign companies, in addition to the parent company, its branch or representative office in Iran will also be responsible.
Note – In all cases where the violation is by legal entities, the damage must be paid from the property of the legal entity, but the criminal liability is directed to the managing director or the responsible manager of the legal entity.
Article 18 – If the goods or services offered by the suppliers of goods or services are defective and due to that defect, damages are caused to the consumer, the violator will be sentenced to pay a fine, up to four times the amount of the damages, in addition to compensation.
Animal Bites and Attacks
Every person has the duty to take care of their own animal and take necessary measures to prevent injury and damage from their animal to others.
Failure to perform this duty will create responsibility for them. In this case, the owner of the animal must compensate for the damages. If the owner fails to keep the animal or commits a fault, he is responsible, and the assumption of fault is also provided for the owner, and that is when a person is the owner or possessor of an animal who has the ability to keep it.
According to Article 522 of the Islamic Penal Code (2013): the owner of any animal who is aware of the possibility of its attack must protect it and if due to his fault, the said animal harms another. The owner is liable. This is despite the fact that if he is not aware of the possibility of an animal attack and the lack of awareness is not due to his fault, he is not liable.
Insurance
What is the bodily injury fund?
The Bodily Damage Fund is an independent public non-governmental insurance institution that was formed with the aim of realizing social justice and supporting the victims of traffic accidents who, for some reason, are unable to receive compensation from the culprit of the accident or the insurance company.
In what cases does the Personal Injury Insurance Fund pay the damages?
- Absence or lack of insurance of the third party responsible for the accident
- Expiration of the insurance of the third-party responsible for the accident
- Cancellation of the insurance of the third party responsible for the accident
- Failure to identify the vehicle responsible for the accident
- Insufficient insurance obligations of the third party responsible for the accident
- Suspension or cancellation of the activity of the insurance company responsible for the accident
- The bankruptcy of the insurance company responsible for the accident
- Damages outside the insurance obligation of the third party responsible for the accident
To what extent does the Personal Injury Fund cover bodily injuries?
According to the definition of Article 21 of the third-party insurance law, the fund shall pay life damages up to the full amount of a Muslim man in Haram months, as well as the second amount and more, regardless of gender and religion, in the form of a daily value.
As it is clear from the name of the fund, the fund has no obligation regarding financial damages.
What damages does the Personal Injury Insurance Fund not cover?
- Damage to the vehicle that caused the accident.
- Direct or indirect damage caused by atomic and radioactive radiation
- Court mandated Fines for crimes
- Proof of the intention of the victim in the case of self-harm, such as suicide, abortion, etc.
If you are involved in a Personal Injury case or seek the consultation of expert Lawyers, you can Contact Us and enjoy the services of Karimi & Associates Law Firm.