Injured in a rental car or taxi crash in Türkiye: Who pays your medical and disability claims?

Strict Vehicle Keeper Liability under Turkish Law

Under the Turkish Highway Traffic Act (Karayolları Trafik Kanunu, Law No. 2918, Article 85), liability for bodily injuries caused by motor vehicles is not purely fault-based. The vehicle’s registered keeper or commercial operator (işleten) is held to a standard of strict risk liability (kusursuz sorumluluk).

If you were a passenger in a taxi, transfer van, or dolmuş, you hold an absolute statutory claim for 100% of your bodily injuries, loss of income, and ongoing medical rehabilitation costs against the vehicle's mandatory insurer.

The Compulsory Motor Third-Party Liability Insurer (ZMSS)

In Türkiye, every registered motor vehicle is required by law to carry Compulsory Motor Third-Party Liability Insurance (Zorunlu Mali Sorumluluk Sigortası — ZMSS). The statutory policy limits for bodily injury and death are substantial (often exceeding millions of Turkish Liras per person).

Claims can be pursued directly against the Turkish insurance company through two parallel channels:

1. The Insurance Arbitration Commission (Sigorta Tahkim Komisyonu): A specialized, highly efficient arbitral tribunal established under Insurance Law No. 5684 that typically resolves disputed claims within 4 to 8 months.
2. The Commercial & Civil Courts of First Instance: Where complex multi-party claims or supplementary non-pecuniary moral damages (manevi tazminat) against the individual driver are brought.

What If the Driver Was Uninsured or Fled the Scene? (Güvence Hesabı)

If the at-fault vehicle was uninsured, stolen, or was a hit-and-run driver who fled the scene unidentified, your claim does not fail. Under Turkish Insurance Law, the Turkish Assurance Account (Güvence Hesabı) steps into the shoes of the missing insurer to pay full bodily injury compensation, medical expenses, and loss of financial support to victims and their families.

What Compensation Can You Recover?

Under the Turkish Code of Obligations (TBK Articles 53–56), foreign claimants can recover:

• Permanent Disability Compensation (Sürekli İş Göremezlik): Actuarial loss of lifetime earnings based on medical disability percentage scores and official mortality tables (TRH-2010).
• Temporary Incapacity (Geçici İş Göremezlik): Compensation for lost wages while recovering and unable to work.
• Medical and Repatriation Expenses: Hospital surgery costs, emergency air ambulance, and specialized medical apparatus.
• Loss of Support (Destekten Yoksun Kalma): Monetary support claims for spouses, children, and dependent parents in fatal accident cases.
• Moral Damages (Manevi Tazminat): Financial compensation for severe emotional trauma and suffering.

Handling the Claim from Your Home Country

You do not need to stay in Türkiye or fly back for legal proceedings. Once you sign an apostilled Power of Attorney, your Turkish counsel obtains the official police accident report (kaza tespit tutanağı), collects hospital epicrisis records, instructs court-appointed medical disability boards, and secures the settlement wire transfer into your foreign bank account.

Frequently Asked Questions