When damage worsens after an initial accident, can the victim claim compensation if the initial harm was never compensated?
The French Court of Cassation (Cour de cassation) gave a clear answer to this question in a ruling of 3 April 2025 and reaffirmed an essential principle of the law of liability: prior recognition of the initial harm is sufficient, even without compensation, to give rise to a right to compensation for its aggravation.
Recognition of the damage, not necessarily its compensation
In this case, a child who had been the victim of a road traffic accident claimed, several years later, that his state of health had worsened. The insurer opposed his claim, arguing that the initial harm had never been compensated. The Court of Appeal found in the insurer’s favour, but the Court of Cassation quashed that decision. It made clear that what matters is not whether the victim has been compensated, but whether liability has been recognised and the initial harm determined. It is irrelevant that the compensation was never paid.
The concept of full compensation confirmed
By restating this principle, the Court guarantees that victims’ right to compensation is effective. It stresses that the right to compensation for aggravated harm depends on liability having been recognised and the initial damage having been established, not on a compensatory sum having been paid beforehand. This reasoning protects victims against the overly restrictive interpretation adopted by some lower courts.
A strong signal for legal practitioners
This decision has obvious practical significance: it clarifies for lawyers, insurers and courts the actual conditions under which a claim for compensation for aggravated harm is admissible. Victims do not have to show that they received compensation for their initial condition, provided that this condition has been established and the third party’s liability has been accepted.
This ruling of 3 April 2025 is a clear and welcome affirmation of the principle of full compensation. It is a reminder that justice is based not on the prior payment of a sum, but on the recognition of the damage and of the person responsible for it. It is a fundamental safeguard for victims, in a system focused on fair and complete compensation for the harm suffered.