I Was Injured in a Road Accident – What Now?
Being injured in a road accident presents two simultaneous demands: taking care of your health and protecting your legal rights. Mistakes made in the first hours after the incident – a lack of documentation, failure to collect witness details, signing statements hastily – can make it significantly harder to pursue claims at a later stage.
Contents
- First steps at the scene
- How to preserve evidence
- Criminal proceedings against the driver – the injured party’s role
- Subsidiary prosecutor status – what it is and why it matters
- The driver’s guilty plea – what the injured party can do
- When it is worth instructing a lawyer
- Practical examples from our caseload
- FAQ
First Steps at the Scene
Immediately after the accident, the most important thing is to check on the health of everyone involved – yourself and others. Even if injuries appear minor, it is worth calling an ambulance: many injuries, particularly to the spine and head, only become apparent several hours after the incident, and medical records created at the scene or in hospital are crucial for later claims.
The police should always be called where anyone has been injured, where there is any doubt as to who was responsible, where the driver does not admit fault, or where they appear to be under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. Where an accident has resulted in casualties, vehicles should not be moved before the police arrive – the positions of the vehicles after the incident are one of the key elements of any subsequent reconstruction.
How to Preserve Evidence
Evidence gathered immediately after an accident cannot be recreated. It is worth taking photographs of the scene, vehicle damage, visible bodily injuries, skid marks, road conditions and road markings. If the vehicle is fitted with a dashcam, the footage should be secured before it is overwritten.
Witness details are particularly valuable. Witnesses frequently leave the scene quickly, so it is worth collecting their contact details as soon as possible – name and phone number. Their statements may prove decisive if the driver changes their account at a later stage of the proceedings.
The at-fault driver’s details should also be noted – name, vehicle registration number, the name of the insurer and the third-party liability policy number. If the driver refuses to provide this information, the police will establish it during their intervention.
Criminal Proceedings Against the Driver – The Injured Party’s Role
Where the injured party sustained injuries impairing bodily functions or causing a health disorder lasting more than seven days, the driver is liable for a criminal offence under Article 177 of the Criminal Code and criminal proceedings are initiated against them. The injured party has the status of a victim in those proceedings.
As a victim, you will be summoned to give a statement at the pre-trial stage. It is worth giving detailed and truthful evidence – both about the course of the incident and about the injuries sustained and their impact on daily life. The victim’s statement is one of the pieces of evidence on which the indictment is based.
It is worth knowing that where the only person injured is a person closely related to the driver – a spouse, parent or child – criminal proceedings can only be initiated at the victim’s request (Article 177 § 3 of the Criminal Code). Without such a request, proceedings cannot be initiated or continued.
Subsidiary Prosecutor Status – What It Is and Why It Matters
A victim in criminal proceedings may remain a passive participant or may actively join the proceedings by taking on the status of a subsidiary prosecutor. The latter option gives significantly more procedural rights and real influence over the outcome of the case.
A subsidiary prosecutor may instruct a professional legal representative (a lawyer), submit applications for evidence – for example for additional witnesses to be heard or an expert to be appointed – ask questions of witnesses, experts and the defendant during the hearing, seek an order for a financial remedy, compensation for pain and suffering or an obligation to make good the damage directly in the criminal judgment, object to the defendant’s guilty plea, deliver a closing speech and lodge an appeal against the judgment.
To join the proceedings as a subsidiary prosecutor, a formal declaration must be submitted – in writing or orally on the record – no later than the commencement of the examination of evidence at the first hearing. After that point, the opportunity to join is closed.
The Driver’s Guilty Plea – What the Injured Party Can Do
In road accident cases, the driver frequently applies for a conviction to be entered without a full hearing – under Article 335 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (on the prosecutor’s application) or Article 387 (on the defendant’s application). This is the so-called voluntary submission to sentence, which allows the case to be concluded more quickly and often on terms more favourable to the driver.
An injured party who has joined the proceedings as a subsidiary prosecutor has the right to object to this procedure. They may also make their consent conditional on the driver meeting certain conditions – the ordering of an appropriate award for pain and suffering or a financial remedy to their benefit, an obligation to make good the damage, or a driving disqualification for a specified period.
Proposals made by the driver in the course of negotiations over a guilty plea are sometimes inadequate relative to the actual extent of the harm suffered. Before giving consent or lodging an objection, it is worth consulting a lawyer, who can assess whether the proposed terms are commensurate with the injuries sustained and the losses incurred.
When It Is Worth Instructing a Lawyer
Instructing a lawyer is particularly advisable where the injured party has sustained serious injuries and wishes to obtain appropriate compensation for pain and suffering and damages; where there is doubt as to the course of events or the driver’s liability; where the driver changes their account or disputes their responsibility; where an expert has been appointed whose opinion appears unfavourable or incomplete; or where the driver is applying for a voluntary submission to sentence.
The injured party’s lawyer analyses the evidence and plans the strategy, applies for evidence favourable to the injured party, asks questions during the hearing, ensures that the level of the claims is properly established and prepares arguments at every stage of the proceedings. The injured party does not need to be present at every hearing if their state of health does not allow it – in many cases the lawyer can represent them independently.
Practical Examples from Our Caseload
A client injured in a road accident had not initially joined the proceedings as a subsidiary prosecutor. The driver applied for a voluntary submission to sentence with no financial claims for the injured party included. The firm helped the client submit a declaration of participation in the proceedings at the last possible moment – before the commencement of the examination of evidence – and lodged an objection to the proposed terms. The court accepted the subsidiary prosecutor’s position and ordered the payment of compensation for pain and suffering to her in the judgment.
An injured driver gave a statement immediately after the incident, omitting some symptoms he considered insignificant. When it emerged several weeks later that the spinal injury was more serious than initially thought, the firm helped supplement the evidence with medical records and a medical opinion, and then apply for an appropriately higher award of compensation for pain and suffering in the criminal judgment.
FAQ
Do I have to participate in the criminal proceedings as an injured party? There is no such obligation – other than attending when summoned as a witness or victim. Active participation as a subsidiary prosecutor is a right, not a duty. It is, however, worth exercising, as it gives real influence over the course and outcome of the proceedings.
Can I pursue a compensation claim against the at-fault driver’s insurer at the same time? Yes. Criminal proceedings against the driver and civil or claims handling proceedings against the insurer are two independent routes that can be pursued simultaneously. A criminal judgment establishing the driver’s guilt can be helpful in civil proceedings, as the civil court is bound by the findings of a final criminal judgment as to the fact that the offence was committed.
What if the driver had no insurance or fled the scene? In both cases, compensation is paid by the Insurance Guarantee Fund (UFG). The injured party is entitled to the same claims as in the case of an insured driver – compensation for property damage, pain and suffering awards and other personal injury benefits.
How long do I have to join the proceedings as a subsidiary prosecutor? The declaration of participation must be submitted no later than the commencement of the examination of evidence at the first hearing. After that point, the opportunity to join is permanently closed – which is why it is worth making this decision as early as possible, ideally after consulting a lawyer.
Contact Us
An injured party in a road accident is often unaware of the procedural rights available to them – and not knowing about them can mean losing real influence over the outcome of the criminal proceedings and the level of compensation obtained.
It pays to be properly prepared: both in knowing what you can claim and in having a clear strategy.
We handle cases for drivers in Poznań and across the Wielkopolska region, with in-person and online consultations available for clients elsewhere in Poland.
Adwokat Marta Krzyżanowicz and Adwokat Michalina Koligot Law Firm “Adwokat dla Kierowców w Poznaniu”
ul. Adama Mickiewicza 18/3, 60-834 Poznań
tel. +48 795 001 536 · +48 531 335 713
kontakt@adwokatdlakierowcy.pl · www.adwokatdlakierowcy.pl
This text is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every case requires individual analysis.