Victim of a road accident in Poland. Your rights in the criminal case

When a road accident is a crime

Under Article 177 § 1 of the Criminal Code, a person who breaches the rules of road safety, even unintentionally, and unintentionally causes an accident in which another person suffers injuries lasting more than seven days, faces up to 3 years’ imprisonment. If the result of the accident is the death of another person or serious damage to their health, the penalty is from 6 months to 8 years (Article 177 § 2).

Accidents in which the injuries lasted seven days or less are usually dealt with as petty offences (Article 86 § 1 of the Code of Petty Offences). This guide concerns criminal cases.

Who is the victim

A victim is a natural or legal person whose legal interest was directly infringed or endangered by the offence (Article 49 § 1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). A person injured in a road accident that is a criminal offence is a victim.

If the victim has died, the rights the victim would have had may be exercised by the closest persons or by persons the deceased maintained (Article 52 § 1). The authority conducting the case that knows of such persons must inform at least one of them of these rights (Article 52 § 2).

Joining the case as auxiliary prosecutor

In cases prosecuted by the public prosecutor, the victim may act as a party in the capacity of auxiliary prosecutor (oskarżyciel posiłkowy), alongside the public prosecutor or instead of him (Article 53). This is your right, not your obligation.

There is a deadline. Once the prosecutor has filed the indictment, you can declare that you will act as auxiliary prosecutor until the judicial proceedings at the main trial begin (Article 54 § 1). After that moment the declaration is too late. If the prosecutor withdraws the indictment, an auxiliary prosecutor keeps his rights. A victim who has not joined before can do so within 14 days of being informed of the withdrawal (Article 54 § 2).

As a party, you have access to the court file and can make copies of it (Article 156 § 1). Evidence is taken at the request of the parties or by the court of its own motion (Article 167), so you can ask for evidence to be taken. You can also appeal against the judgment, insofar as it infringes your rights or harms your interests (Article 425 § 1 and 3). You can appoint an attorney to represent you (Article 87 § 1).

Compensation in the criminal judgment

If the driver is convicted, the court may order him to make good the damage caused by the offence or to pay compensation for the harm suffered, in whole or in part. On the motion of the victim or another entitled person, the court must make this order (Article 46 § 1 of the Criminal Code). The court applies civil law, but it does not award an annuity.

If ordering such compensation would be considerably difficult, the court may instead order the offender to pay the victim a supplementary payment (nawiązka) of up to PLN 200,000. If the victim died, the payment can be awarded to a close person whose living situation has significantly worsened as a result (Article 46 § 2).

An amount awarded in the criminal case does not prevent you from claiming the unsatisfied part of your claim in civil proceedings (Article 46 § 3). The claim against the driver’s insurer is a separate route. How to use the two together depends on the case and is worth planning from the start. See the guide injured in a road accident in Poland.

If you do not speak Polish

An interpreter must be called if a person who does not speak Polish is to be questioned (Article 204 § 1 point 2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). An interpreter is also called where a document written in a foreign language needs to be translated into Polish, or the other way round, or where a party needs to be made familiar with the content of evidence (Article 204 § 2).

Why the investigation stage matters

In road accident cases, the most important evidence is usually gathered during the investigation, before the case reaches court. This is when the accident reconstruction expert prepares an opinion on speed, visibility and whether the accident could have been avoided. That opinion often decides both the criminal case and the amount of compensation, because the insurer relies on it when it argues contributory fault. It is easier to influence the evidence at this stage than to challenge it later.

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