Abstract

The article analyses the issue of establishing “an appropriate amount of financial compensation” for a non-material loss suffered in connection with such injury or health impairment (Art. 445 § 1 in connection with Art. 445 § 1 of the Civil Code) as a result of which the victim remains in a vegetative state. The discussion is based on the position of the Supreme Court articulated in the Supreme Court judgment of 16.4.2015, I CSK 434/14 (unpublished). In the summary of that judgement, the Supreme Court stated that “In view of the individual nature of the loss, when determining the compensation the usefulness of being guided by the amounts adjudged in other cases is limited, though this criterion is not totally meaningless, however. The homogeneity of court rulings in this respect is in line with the sense of justice and equality before the law. This postulate may be considered correct if it is compatible with the principle of individualization of the circumstances determining the magnitude of the loss with respect to a concrete victim and allows for considering specificity of individual cases.”