How compensation for personal injury works under German law: who pays, what you can claim, the three-year limitation period with its unusual start date – and why German awards differ structurally from US verdicts.

Personal Injury Lawyer in Germany: How Your Claim Actually Works

📅 Last updated 10 August 2026 • ✏ Henrik Momberger, Attorney at Law (Rechtsanwalt) • ⏱ Reading time: 9 min

The three routes to compensation

German law does not have a single “personal injury” cause of action. Which rules apply – and how hard your case will be – depends entirely on how you were injured.

Type of accident	Legal basis	Do you have to prove fault?
Road traffic accident	§ 7 StVG (strict liability of the keeper), § 18 StVG (driver), § 115 VVG (direct claim against insurer)	Usually no – strict liability applies
Accident at work	SGB VII (statutory accident insurance); claims against employer largely barred by §§ 104, 105 SGB VII – but not for commuting accidents (§ 8 Abs. 2 Nr. 1–4 SGB VII)	No; at work, compensation is capped and pain and suffering generally excluded. Commuting: full civil claims
Slip, trip, defective premises, animals, products	§ 823 BGB (fault liability), § 833 BGB (animals), ProdHaftG (products)	Yes, except for animal keepers and product liability
Medical treatment	§§ 630a–630h BGB, § 823 BGB	Yes, subject to the reversals of proof in § 630h BGB

The strict liability rule in § 7 Abs. 1 StVG is the single most useful provision for anyone injured on a German road. The keeper of a motor vehicle is liable for injury caused “in the operation” of that vehicle regardless of fault. The defence of force majeure under § 7 Abs. 2 StVG is narrow, and ordinary driver error does not qualify. What the insurer will usually argue instead is contributory negligence under § 254 BGB – and in traffic cases, the operating risk of your own vehicle under § 17 StVG.

What you can actually claim

Material loss – § 249 BGB

The principle is restitution: you are to be put in the position you would have been in had the accident not happened. In practice this covers medical and rehabilitation costs not met by health insurance, loss of earnings (present and future), the cost of care and household help, medically necessary adaptations to your home or vehicle, travel to treatment, and a lump sum for incidental expenses. In catastrophic cases these heads of loss are usually paid as an annuity under § 843 BGB rather than a single sum, adjustable later under § 323 ZPO if circumstances change – something claimants from common law jurisdictions often do not expect.

Pain and suffering – § 253 Abs. 2 BGB

This is a separate award of “equitable compensation in money” for injury to body, health, liberty or sexual self-determination. There is no official table. The commercially published “Schmerzensgeldtabellen” are private collections of decided cases used for orientation, and they bind no one. The Federal Court of Justice held on 15 February 2022 (VI ZR 937/20) that calculating the award day by day is impermissible; what is required is an overall assessment of the extent and duration of the impairment, the claimant's age, permanent consequences and the degree of fault.

Fatal accidents

Germany has no “wrongful death” action in the US sense. Dependants may claim loss of maintenance under § 844 Abs. 2 BGB and funeral costs under § 844 Abs. 1 BGB. Since 2017, close relatives may also claim bereavement damages under § 844 Abs. 3 BGB for their own suffering; the necessary closeness is presumed for spouses, civil partners, parents and children. The sums awarded are modest by international standards.

Why German awards look small – and why that is only half the story

Three structural features explain the gap between German figures and US verdicts:

• No punitive damages. § 253 Abs. 1 BGB restricts non-material compensation to cases the law expressly provides for, and § 253 Abs. 2 BGB speaks of “equitable compensation”. Punishment is a matter for the criminal law. The Federal Court of Justice confirmed in its judgment of 4 June 1992 (IX ZR 149/91) that a US punitive damages award cannot be enforced in Germany because it offends the German ordre public (§ 328 Abs. 1 Nr. 4 ZPO).
• No juries. Civil claims are decided by professional judges; claims above 10,000 euros go to the Landgericht (§ 23 Nr. 1, § 71 Abs. 1 GVG, thresholds raised with effect from 1 January 2026), where representation by a lawyer is mandatory (§ 78 Abs. 1 ZPO). There is no sympathy multiplier.
• No true contingency fees. § 49b Abs. 2 BRAO prohibits them save for the narrow exceptions in § 4a RVG, and lawyers may not advance your court costs. The economic incentive to inflate claims simply does not exist.

Time limits – the trap in § 199 BGB

The three-year period in § 195 BGB is straightforward. Its start date is not. Under § 199 Abs. 1 BGB, time runs from the end of the calendar year in which the claim arose and you obtained – or, absent gross negligence, would have obtained – knowledge of the circumstances giving rise to the claim and of the identity of the person liable. A claim arising from an accident on 3 March 2026 therefore normally becomes time-barred on 31 December 2029, not on 3 March 2029.

For injuries to life, body, health or liberty, § 199 Abs. 2 BGB sets an outer limit of 30 years from the event, independent of knowledge. This matters in cases where the injury manifests years later. Negotiations with the insurer suspend the running of time under § 203 BGB, but the scope of that suspension is frequently disputed – obtain a written waiver of the limitation defence rather than relying on correspondence.

Working with a German lawyer from abroad

Personal injury claims in Germany are conducted almost entirely in writing. We can act for you under a power of attorney regardless of where you are, obtain the police file and the medical records, instruct a German medical expert, and negotiate with the insurer. Court attendance is required only in the minority of cases that proceed to a hearing at which you must be examined.

Two practical points for claimants outside Germany. First, get the German medical documentation before you leave the country if you can – German courts and insurers work from German records, and reconstructing them later is slow. Second, if you are resident in another EU or EEA state and were injured in a traffic accident in Germany, Article 20 of Directive 2009/103/EC entitles you to deal with the insurer's claims representative in your own country – but the substantive law applied is generally that of the place of the accident under the Rome II Regulation (Regulation (EC) No 864/2007).

Related pages

• Car Accident Lawyer in Germany
• Medical Malpractice in Germany
• Criminal Defense Lawyer in Germany

Frequently asked questions

Who pays compensation after an accident in Germany?

It depends on the type of accident. In a road traffic accident, the liability insurer of the vehicle at fault pays, and you can sue that insurer directly under § 115 VVG – you do not have to sue the driver personally. In an accident at work, the statutory accident insurance (Berufsgenossenschaft) covers treatment and loss of earnings, and claims against the employer or a co-worker are largely excluded by §§ 104, 105 SGB VII. An important exception: that immunity does not apply to commuting accidents on a route insured under § 8 Abs. 2 Nr. 1 to 4 SGB VII – there you keep full civil claims, including pain and suffering. For accidents on someone's premises, the owner or occupier may be liable under § 823 BGB for breach of the duty to maintain safety.

What can I claim?

German law separates two categories. Material loss under § 249 BGB covers medical costs not paid by insurance, loss of earnings, travel costs, care and assistance, adaptation of your home, and future losses – often paid as an annuity in severe cases. Non-material loss (“Schmerzensgeld”) is a separate award under § 253 Abs. 2 BGB for pain and suffering. In fatal cases, close relatives may claim bereavement damages under § 844 Abs. 3 BGB. There is no separate award for “emotional distress” as a stand-alone claim: § 253 Abs. 1 BGB allows non-material damages only where the law expressly provides for them.

How much is a personal injury claim worth in Germany?

Considerably less than a comparable US verdict, and the difference is structural rather than accidental. There are no punitive damages in German law – the Federal Court of Justice held in its judgment of 4 June 1992 (IX ZR 149/91) that US punitive damages awards are not even enforceable in Germany because their punitive function is incompatible with fundamental principles of German law. There are no juries in German civil courts; professional judges decide. And there is no formula: the Federal Court of Justice rejected day-by-day calculation of pain and suffering awards in its judgment of 15 February 2022 (VI ZR 937/20), requiring instead an overall assessment of all circumstances. Awards around one million euros exist, but they are reserved for the most catastrophic permanent injuries.

How long do I have to bring a claim?

The standard limitation period is three years (§ 195 BGB), but the way it is counted surprises most non-German claimants: under § 199 Abs. 1 BGB the period does not start on the date of the accident. It starts at the end of the calendar year in which the claim arose and in which you learned, or should have learned without gross negligence, of the relevant circumstances and the identity of the liable party. For injuries to life, body, health or liberty there is an additional long-stop of 30 years from the event, regardless of knowledge (§ 199 Abs. 2 BGB). Negotiations with the insurer suspend the period under § 203 BGB – but do not rely on that without written confirmation.

Can I hire a lawyer on a no-win, no-fee basis?

Generally no. Contingency fees are prohibited by § 49b Abs. 2 Satz 1 BRAO, and § 4a RVG allows them only in narrow situations – claims up to 2,000 euros, out-of-court debt collection, or where the client would in the specific case reasonably be deterred from pursuing the claim without such an arrangement. German lawyers are also not permitted to advance court costs for you in the way US firms do. In practice, claims are funded through legal expenses insurance, commercial litigation funding, legal aid (§§ 114 ff. ZPO, available to foreign nationals as well), or – after a road accident that was not your fault – by the opposing insurer, who must reimburse your reasonable legal costs as part of the damage under § 249 BGB.

What is the cost risk if I lose?

Germany applies the “loser pays” principle: under § 91 Abs. 1 Satz 1 ZPO the unsuccessful party bears the costs of the proceedings, including the necessary costs of the opponent. Importantly, § 91 Abs. 2 Satz 1 ZPO limits reimbursement to the statutory lawyer's fees under the RVG, not whatever the other side actually agreed to pay. The advantage is predictability: court fees and statutory lawyer's fees follow published scales based on the value in dispute, so the maximum exposure can be calculated before you file.

Do I need to be in Germany to pursue a claim?

No. Most personal injury claims are conducted in writing, and we can act for you under a power of attorney while you are abroad. Correspondence, medical records and expert reports can be handled remotely; your personal attendance is normally only required if the court orders a hearing at which you are to be examined. We work in German and English.

Should I accept the insurer's first offer?

Not before the medical picture is stable. German insurers routinely make an early payment on account and then propose a global settlement with a waiver of further claims. Once you sign a settlement covering future losses, later deterioration is usually irrecoverable. In serious injury cases the correct approach is to keep the claim open for future damage – through a declaratory judgment or a written acknowledgement from the insurer – until the long-term prognosis is clear.

This page provides general information on German law as of the date shown above and does not constitute legal advice for an individual case. German statutes and case law may change. Momberger Rechtsanwälte is a German law firm admitted to the Rechtsanwaltskammer Düsseldorf; we advise on German law only.