How Is Compensation Calculated in Turkey?

In Turkey, the money you can claim after an accident is not a round number a judge picks — it is calculated actuarially. The court projects the income you lose because of your injury over your working life and remaining years, then scales it by your disability rate and reduces it by any share of fault that was your own.

The short answer: how the figure is built

Pecuniary (financial) compensation for a permanent injury in Turkey is, in essence, a single sum that replaces the earnings you will lose. It is built in four moves:

• How long you would have earned — your remaining life expectancy is read from the TRH-2010 National Mortality Table by your age and sex.
• What you would have earned — your real net income for the working years, and the net minimum wage for the years after retirement age.
• How badly you were hurt — the total is multiplied by your disability rate (the percentage of working capacity you lost).
• Whose fault it was — the total is reduced by your own share of fault, if any.

You can put your own numbers into this method in a couple of minutes with our free compensation calculators before you speak to a lawyer.

What you can claim: pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages

Turkish law separates two kinds of damage, and they are decided in completely different ways.

Pecuniary (maddi) damages are your measurable financial loss: lost earnings, loss of earning capacity, medical and care costs, and similar. This is the part that is calculated with the actuarial method described below, and the part our calculators estimate.

Non-pecuniary (manevi) damages compensate pain, suffering and loss of quality of life. There is no formula for them — the judge sets the amount at their discretion, weighing the severity of the injury, the fault involved and the parties' circumstances. For that reason, moral damages are never included in any calculator figure. For the wider picture of what each head of damage covers, see our guide to pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages.

The method the courts use: TRH-2010, active and passive periods

The binding calculation in a Turkish case is produced by a court-appointed actuarial expert (aktüer bilirkişiBilirkişiCourt-appointed expertAn independent expert appointed by the court to report on a technical question the judge is not expected to decide alone.Glossary →), and the courts now expect a specific method.

Your remaining lifetime is split into two periods:

• Active period — from the date of the accident to retirement age (taken as 60 by convention). For these years your real net income is used.
• Passive period — from 60 to the end of your statistical life. For these years the net minimum wage is used, because a person is assumed able to earn at least that much.

Each future year's income is then brought to a present-day sum using a progressive annuity: income is assumed to rise about 10% a year and is discounted by about 10%, so the two effects cancel and each year counts as roughly one year's income. (The old fixed 1.8% technical-interest discount is no longer accepted by the Court of Cassation.) Older life tables such as PMF-1931 have likewise been replaced by TRH-2010.

What raises or lowers the amount

Four inputs move the figure more than anything else:

• Income. A documented salary produces a much higher award than the minimum wage. If you cannot prove your earnings, the net minimum wage is used as the floor — so payslips, contracts and tax records matter.
• Disability rate. This comes from a forensic medical report (often the Council of Forensic Medicine, ATK). A 40% rate yields roughly twice a 20% rate.
• Your own fault. If you were partly to blame — for example, not wearing a seatbelt — your share is deducted. 25% contributory fault removes 25% of the award.
• Age. A younger claimant has more working years ahead, so the projected loss — and the award — is larger.

Traffic, work and medical accidents: how the basis differs

The calculation engine is the same, but the legal route and who pays differ by accident type.

• Traffic accidents are governed by the Highway Traffic Code (Law 2918) and the Code of Obligations (TBKTBKTurkish Code of Obligations No. 6098The statute behind almost every private agreement in Türkiye — contracts, liability for harm, lease, employment, agency and unjust enrichment.Glossary → 6098). Compulsory traffic insurance (ZMSS) pays up to the policy limit, and the at-fault driver or operator covers the rest. Estimate one with the traffic accident compensation calculator.
• Work accidents fall under the Occupational Health and Safety Law (6331), the Social Security Law (5510) and TBK 6098. The employer is liable in proportion to its fault, and the present value of any SGK disability pension is deducted from the award. Try the work accident compensation calculator.
• Medical and other injuries rest on TBK 6098 (tort and bodily-integrity rules) — the framework for malpractice, assault and general bodily harm. See the disability compensation calculator.

Why a calculator is an estimate, not the final figure

An online tool applies the right method to the numbers you enter, which makes it a genuinely useful way to set expectations and plan. It is not, however, the figure the court will award.

The binding amount depends on the forensic disability rate, the official apportionment of fault, the income evidence accepted by the court and the dates in your file — all of which are settled through the court-appointed expert report. Treat a calculator result as a well-grounded ballpark, then have a lawyer pressure-test it against your documents.

How foreigners injured in Turkey make a claim

You do not have to be in Turkey, or speak Turkish, to claim. Most foreign clients grant a Turkish power of attorney, which lets a lawyer file, negotiate and appear on their behalf while they recover at home.

What protects the value of a claim is evidence gathered early: the accident or incident report, hospital and forensic records establishing the disability rate, and proof of income. Time limits are real — traffic claims, for instance, are generally subject to a two-year limit from when you learn of the harm and the responsible party (longer where a criminal limitation period applies). If you are unsure where your claim stands, tell us what happened and we will review it.

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