Compensation Claims for Occupational Accidents — Rights, Procedure and Heads of Damage

How is a compensation claim for an occupational accident brought? Detailed information on pecuniary, non-pecuniary and loss-of-support damages, the procedure and the apportionment of fault.

What Is an Occupational Accident and Where Is It Defined?

Under art. 13 of Law no. 5510, an occupational accident is an event that renders the insured person physically or mentally disabled, immediately or subsequently, and that occurs in one of the situations listed in that article. Those situations cover the time the insured person spends at the workplace, an event occurring by reason of work carried out by the employer or, for a self-employed person, work carried out on their own account, time spent by an employee sent outside the workplace on assignment without doing their principal work, the nursing breaks of a breastfeeding insured woman, and travel to and from the place where the work is done in a vehicle provided by the employer.

Correctly identifying the legal character of an occupational accident is critical to the basis of any compensation claim. An occupational accident produces consequences both in social security law and in the law of obligations. In social security law the benefits and payments provided by the Social Security Institution (SGK) arise; in the law of obligations, compensation claims against the employer.

What Is the Duty to Report an Occupational Accident and What Are the Deadlines?

For an insured person within the scope of art. 4/a, an occupational accident is reported by the employer immediately to the competent law enforcement authority and to the SGK within three working days of the accident. If the accident occurred somewhere outside the employer's control, the period for reporting to the SGK runs from the date the accident came to the employer's knowledge. Law no. 5510 art. 13 contains a different reporting rule for self-employed persons.

The employer must also comply with the recording, investigation and reporting obligations under Law no. 6331. Making a report is not an admission of fault; failing to make one may give rise to administrative sanctions and financial consequences vis-à-vis the SGK. Emergency medical records, the scene of the accident, equipment, camera footage, witness details, training records, the risk assessment and personal protective equipment documents must be preserved lawfully.

Late reporting or a failure to report may result, in addition to an administrative fine, in the recovery from the employer of the payments and costs provided for in Law no. 5510. The employer's general liability in recourse is not the same as liability attached solely to a delay in reporting; which costs may be claimed, for which period and on what condition of fault, is calculated separately under arts. 21 and 23.

The employee's prompt reporting of the event to the employer, the medical unit and, where necessary, the police helps to preserve the evidence. Delay does not on its own deprive the event of its character as an occupational accident; but the loss of the scene, witnesses, camera footage and medical records can make proof more difficult.

Which Heads of Damage Does a Compensation Claim for an Occupational Accident Cover?

Social security benefits and compensation claims against the employer are separate. Where the conditions are met, the SGK provides temporary incapacity benefit, permanent incapacity income and, in the event of death, income for the dependants entitled.

For the employee's bodily injury, medical expenses, loss of earnings, loss of working capacity and losses arising from the impairment of economic prospects may be claimed under art. 54 of the Code of Obligations. Non-pecuniary damages are subject to the conditions in art. 56. In the event of death, funeral expenses, and where death did not occur immediately, medical expenses and loss of working capacity, together with the loss suffered by those deprived of their support, may be claimed. For tortious acts or loss-causing events occurring on or after 31 July 2026, statutory interest runs on the part of the calculation of loss of working capacity and loss of support relating to the period in which earnings are known from the date of the event, and on the part relating to the period in which earnings are unknown from the date of the judgment. This new distinction as to interest does not apply to earlier events.

A claim for loss of support is not confined to statutory heirs or to persons holding the status of SGK “dependant”; an actual and regular relationship of support must be proved. Not all SGK payments are automatically deducted; the portion the Institution may recover is determined by a technical calculation according to the type of payment and of loss. For events occurring on or after 31 July 2026, payments made by way of performance in respect of these losses before the investigation begins are deducted from the compensation determined as at the date of payment, by the new proportional set-off method in art. 55 of the Code of Obligations. Non-pecuniary damages are assessed under art. 56 by reference to the impairment of bodily integrity and the features of the event. The gravity of the loss, the fault of the parties, any lasting effect, the date of the event and equity are taken into account. The purpose of non-pecuniary damages is not to calculate pecuniary loss or to punish, but to contribute, by an appropriate sum, to redressing the non-pecuniary effect suffered.

Loss-of-support damages may be claimed by those whom the deceased actually and regularly supported during their lifetime, or whom they could reasonably have been expected to support. While for a spouse and minor children the fact of support can often be inferred from the ordinary course of life, for parents and other persons the concrete relationship of support is investigated. In the calculation, income, age, shares of support and their duration are determined technically.

How Are the Degrees of Fault Determined in an Occupational Accident?

The degrees of fault in an occupational accident are determined by a panel of experts appointed by the court. In apportioning fault, the court assesses whether the employer took occupational health and safety measures, whether the employee complied with the rules, and the influence of third parties.

Fault in occupational accidents may be classified as follows: employer's fault, employee's fault (contributory fault), third-party fault, and unavoidability. The employer's fault covers matters such as failing to take occupational health and safety measures, failing to provide training, failing to supervise, and failing to provide suitable work equipment.

Occupational Health and Safety Law no. 6331 imposes a comprehensive duty on the employer to take preventive measures. Under that law the employer must take every measure necessary to ensure employees' health and safety, supervise compliance with those measures, and carry out a risk assessment. An employer's failure to fulfil these duties leads to a higher degree of fault being found.

Fault on the employee's part contributing to the occurrence or increase of the loss may lead to a reduction in the compensation. Nevertheless, failure to use protective equipment or a breach of the rules is not assessed in isolation; whether the employer fulfilled its duties of risk assessment, training, provision of equipment and supervision also forms part of the examination of fault. Unavoidability means the part of the event that could not be prevented despite all the measures available at the level reached by science and technology at the time. Its existence is assessed as a matter of law, not merely by an expert's percentage, by identifying the specific hazard and the measures that could have been taken; its effect on compensation is determined according to the basis of liability and the apportionment of fault.

What Is the SGK's Right of Recourse and How Is It Exercised?

The SGK's ability to have recourse against the employer for an occupational accident or occupational disease is subject to the special conditions in art. 21 of Law no. 5510. The employer's intent or its conduct contrary to occupational health and safety legislation, fault, causation and the statutory limit of liability are examined. Not every payment made by the Institution is automatically charged to the employer without limitation.

In calculating recourse, the payments made or to be made by the Institution and the initial capitalised value of the income awarded as at the date it began are assessed within the framework of the ground of the employer's liability and its degree of fault. Third-party liability and situations such as failure to file the insured person's employment registration in time are subject to separate rules in the same article.

Where an occupational accident is not reported to the SGK in time, the temporary incapacity benefit payable to the insured person up to the date of reporting may be recovered from the employer; the other sanctions for delay are applied under their own provisions. This consequence should not be broadened into “all expenditure made up to the date of reporting”.

In calculating the employee's pecuniary damages, SGK payments are not all automatically deducted. The portion the Institution may recover, the initial capitalised value of the income, the head of loss and the principle against double recovery are determined by technical calculation.

What Is the Limitation Period for a Compensation Claim for an Occupational Accident?

Saying simply “ten years from the accident” is not sufficient for every file. Whether the claim is based on breach of contract or on tort, when the loss became apparent, developing loss, the date of death, and whether the longer criminal limitation period applies because the act constitutes an offence must all be assessed.

The ten-year general period in art. 146 of the Code of Obligations and the two-year and ten-year tort periods in art. 72 rest on different legal bases. A file in which the occupational accident occurred and the loss became apparent on the same day should not be treated in the same way as one involving disability that develops later. Because of the risk of losing rights, the period should be calculated at once by reference to the date of the event and the claim made.

In cases of occupational disease and developing loss, when the extent of the loss became apparent may affect the calculation of the period. This cannot in every case be resolved by a single period running from the subjective date of knowledge; whether the claim rests on contract or tort, arts. 72 and 146 of the Code of Obligations and any longer criminal limitation period are examined together.

Proceedings, enforcement action and acknowledgment of the debt may, where the conditions are met, interrupt limitation. The suspension of time from the application for mediation until the final record is governed by the relevant provisions of Laws nos. 6325 and 7036. Although compensation for occupational accidents falls outside compulsory mediation, the effect of voluntary mediation on the period may be assessed separately.

What Is the Criminal Liability of the Occupational Safety Specialist and the Employer?

An investigation into a death or injury does not mean that the employer, a manager or the occupational safety specialist will automatically be punished. For each suspect, the duties and powers, the duty of care and diligence, the foreseeability of the breach, personal fault and causation are established separately.

A delegation of authority or the appointment of a specialist does not of itself remove all the employer's obligations; conversely, merely holding a title is not sufficient for criminal liability. Criminal liability cannot be established against legal persons; the security measures and administrative sanctions provided for in the statute are reserved.

The occupational safety specialist must record their findings and recommendations in the approved register and, where there is a danger to life, inform the employer and, on the conditions laid down in the statute, the competent unit of the Ministry. However, the status of specialist does not give rise to automatic criminal liability for an accident. For liability, a concrete breach within the scope of the specialist's duties, fault, foreseeability and causation must each be shown.

No criminal penalty may be imposed on a legal person; the security measures provided for in the statute are reserved. A company manager, employer's representative, workplace manager or site supervisor is not liable merely by reason of their title. The powers under the actual division of work, the duty of supervision, actual decision-making authority and the effect on the accident are examined for each individual.

In Which Court Is a Compensation Claim for an Occupational Accident Brought?

Claims for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages arising from an occupational accident or occupational disease, together with declaratory, objection and recourse claims relating to them, fall outside compulsory mediation under art. 3/3 of Law no. 7036. Mediation may be required for wage or other employment claims connected with the same event; the claims must be kept separate.

The competent court is the labour court. Under art. 6 of Law no. 7036, venue is determined by reference to the defendant's place of residence, the place where the work or transaction was carried out and, in an occupational accident, the place where the accident or the loss occurred. The parties to a social security dispute and any declaratory claim must be assessed separately.

Official sources: Social Insurance and General Health Insurance Law no. 5510, Occupational Health and Safety Law no. 6331, Turkish Code of Obligations no. 6098, Labour Courts Law no. 7036, Law no. 7589