Personal injury lawyer in Luxembourg

Luxembourg has no equivalent of the French Badinter Act: liability is assessed under general law (articles 1382 et seq. of the Luxembourg Civil Code) and the Act of 16 April 2003, which makes insurance compulsory and gives the victim a direct action against the insurer. Where the vehicle at fault is unknown, uninsured or its insurer is insolvent, the Motor Guarantee Fund covers bodily injury. Luxembourg and France are both parties to the 1971 Hague Convention on the law applicable to traffic accidents: in principle, the law of the place of the accident governs compensation, save for particular cases linked to the vehicles' registration.

A victim domiciled in France may nevertheless, under the Brussels I bis Regulation as interpreted by the Court of Justice of the EU, sue the Luxembourg insurer before the courts of their own domicile. The choice of country is made case by case, depending on the scale applied, the likely duration and the victim's situation.

The amended Act of 12 March 1984 allows the victim of an intentional offence causing bodily harm (assault, rape, violent robbery) to obtain compensation from the Luxembourg State where the perpetrator is unknown, cannot be found or is insolvent. The application is made to the Ministry of Justice and examined by a commission; it is open to persons lawfully and habitually resident in Luxembourg, to persons lawfully present at the time of the offence and to nationals of an EU or Council of Europe Member State, which covers French cross-border workers. Joining the criminal proceedings as a civil party remains, in parallel, the way to have the offender ordered to pay.

A cross-border worker employed in Luxembourg is insured with the Accident Insurance Association (AAA), which covers treatment, benefits and, where there are lasting effects, pensions and compensation for non-material loss under a flat-rate scheme distinct from general law. Where the accident was caused by a third party (for example a commuting accident caused by another vehicle), a general-law claim against the person liable and their insurer remains possible for the uncovered part. The accident must be reported to the employer without delay; AAA decisions can be challenged before the Social Security Arbitration Council.

Luxembourg has no scheme comparable to the French conciliation commissions or a fund for no-fault medical accidents. The liability of the doctor or institution is assessed under general contractual or tort law, which makes the medical expert examination decisive: access to the medical file, appointment of an expert, assistance from a victim's medical adviser. For a French resident treated in Luxembourg, or the reverse, the question of the applicable law and competent court arises again; see also the guide to medical error in France.

Luxembourg practice compensates the classic heads of personal injury (temporary and permanent incapacity, pain and suffering, disfigurement, loss of amenity, third-party assistance, loss of earnings) according to its own case-law references, without an official schedule comparable to the Dintilhac nomenclature. Insurers often propose a quick settlement before consolidation. A signed release extinguishes the right to further compensation: assistance from a lawyer and a medical adviser at the adversarial medical assessment allows every head of loss to be quantified before anything is signed.