Road accident victim in Belgium: your right to compensation

If you are injured as the victim of a road accident, insurance forms are the last thing on your mind in the first few weeks. Yet this is precisely when the decisions are made that determine how much you will receive: which medical certificates exist, what the police report says and whether you accept an insurer’s offer without legal assistance. This article explains how road accident compensation in Belgium works: who pays, which losses are compensated and how the procedure unfolds.

The first days after the accident: what to do

• Have your injuries recorded immediately, even if they seem minor. A certificate from the emergency department or your GP on the day of the accident will later be the key evidence of the causal link.
• Ask for the police report number and the details of the drivers involved, their insurer and any witnesses.
• Keep everything: photos of the scene and the vehicles, the accident report form, medical reports, invoices, payslips and a record of your journeys for treatment.
• Do not sign a release or accept a final offer as long as your condition has not stabilised.

Who pays your road accident compensation?

You were a pedestrian, cyclist or passenger

In that case, you are generally protected as a vulnerable road user (zwakke weggebruiker / usager faible). Article 29bis of the Act of 21 November 1989 on compulsory motor liability insurance (WAM-wet / loi RC auto) requires the insurer of the motor vehicle involved to compensate the loss resulting from your bodily injuries or death, even if the driver was not at fault. This also covers damage to your clothing and to functional prostheses. Who was at fault plays no role in this compensation, not even if you yourself made a mistake.

There is one important exception: victims over the age of fourteen who intended the accident and its consequences cannot rely on this scheme. Property damage, such as your bicycle or mobile phone, is not covered by Article 29bis; it is compensated under the ordinary liability rules.

You were the driver

Your compensation then depends on liability: you must prove that someone else is liable, usually because the other driver committed a fault that caused the damage. For accidents from 1 January 2025 onwards, these rules are set out in Book 6 of the Civil Code; for earlier accidents, in Articles 1382 et seq. of the old Civil Code. You can bring a claim directly against the liable driver’s insurer (Article 150 of the Insurance Act of 4 April 2014).

Where liability is shared, the loss is apportioned between the parties. That is why analysing the police report, the statements and the traces at the scene is so important. The road authority may also be liable, for example in the case of a deep pothole or defective signage.

The other party is unknown or uninsured

You can then turn to the Belgian Common Guarantee Fund (Fonds commun de garantie belge / Gemeenschappelijk Waarborgfonds), which steps in for the insurer in those cases. If the vehicle remains unidentified, the Fund generally compensates only personal injury. The Fund can subsequently recover what it pays you, as a rule from the owner of the uninsured vehicle. Read more about driving without insurance.

Your own insurance and your health insurance fund

Check your own policies too. Legal expenses insurance covers the costs of your lawyer and of experts within the limits of the policy; as soon as judicial or administrative proceedings are involved, you are in any event free to choose that lawyer (Article 156 of the Insurance Act). Driver’s insurance may cover your own injuries as a driver.

In the meantime, your health insurance fund (mutualité / ziekenfonds) contributes to your medical costs and pays you a benefit if you are unable to work. It later recovers these amounts from the liable party or its insurer (Article 136, § 2, of the Compulsory Health Care and Benefits Insurance Act, coordinated on 14 July 1994), so that the same loss is not compensated twice. If you are an employee and the accident happened on your way to or from work, it counts as a commuting accident and the occupational accident insurer pays first (read more about compensation for accidents at work).

Which losses are compensated?

• Medical costs: hospital, doctors, physiotherapy, medication, aids and travel for treatment.
• Temporary incapacity: loss of income during your recovery, but also the impact on your household tasks and your personal life.
• Permanent incapacity: the injuries that remain after consolidation, expressed as a percentage and compensated for the future.
• Non-pecuniary loss: pain, anxiety and loss of quality of life.
• Aesthetic damage: scars and other visible after-effects.
• Loss suffered by relatives: in the event of death or serious injury, also the non-pecuniary and financial loss of relatives such as a partner, children and parents, as well as funeral costs.

Judges and insurers use the Indicative Table (Tableau indicatif / Indicatieve tabel) as a guideline for many heads of loss. It is a tool, not a law: if you show that your actual loss is higher, you can obtain more. Evidence of your loss of income and of the costs you incurred makes all the difference here.

How does the compensation procedure work?

The medical assessment

Once your condition has stabilised, known as consolidation, the permanent damage is assessed. This is done by a medical expert, appointed by agreement or by the court. Have yourself assisted by your own medical adviser: the insurer’s doctor acts for the insurer, not for you.

Settlement or the police court

Many cases are settled amicably with the insurer. While your case is ongoing, you can request interim payments so that you do not have to wait years for compensation. If no agreement is reached, the police court (tribunal de police / politierechtbank) decides; it has jurisdiction over all claims for damages arising from a road accident, regardless of the amount and even if the accident took place on private property (Article 601bis of the Judicial Code).

Civil party in the criminal case

If criminal proceedings are brought against the driver, you can join them as a civil party (partie civile / burgerlijke partij). Your damages claim is then dealt with by the same judge who rules on the driver’s guilt. As long as the criminal case is pending, separate civil proceedings on the same facts must generally wait.

For offences committed from 1 September 2026, the new Criminal Code usually treats such cases as harm to physical integrity in road traffic (Article 218) or, in the event of a fatal accident, as homicide in road traffic (Article 107). Earlier offences were classified as unintentional wounding or unintentional homicide. Read more about the new Criminal Code and road traffic and about fatal road accidents.

Mind the time limits

A claim for damages is generally time-barred after five years. When that period starts to run depends on whom you are claiming against and on whether there are criminal proceedings. So do not wait until your treatment is fully completed to safeguard your rights: a writ of summons is sometimes needed to interrupt the limitation period in time.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to accept the insurer’s first offer?

No. A first offer is a starting point. Have it reviewed before you sign: a release is generally final.

As a cyclist or pedestrian, am I compensated if I was at fault myself?

Yes, as a rule, for your personal injury: Article 29bis applies regardless of who was at fault. Only victims over the age of fourteen who intended the accident and its consequences are excluded. For property damage, however, your own fault does matter.

Who pays my lawyer?

Your legal expenses insurance, if you have one. Otherwise, we agree on a transparent arrangement in advance. If you win proceedings, you also receive a procedural indemnity from the other party, a fixed contribution towards legal fees. See also what a lawyer costs in traffic cases.

How long does it take before I am compensated?

That depends mainly on your recovery: the permanent damage can only be assessed after consolidation. Simple cases are settled within a few months, while serious injury cases often take several years. Interim payments help bridge that waiting period.

Novex Advocaten is here to help

We assist road accident victims from the first medical certificate to the final payment, in Dutch, French, English and Arabic. Send us the police report number and your medical records for an initial assessment of your compensation.

Call 0484 99 22 72 or email asfour@novexadvocaten.be.