Driving in France: Don't be a victim

We hope you don’t have the misfortune to be involved in a road traffic accident while visiting France, but if you are, new EU rules may ensure your holiday doesn’t cost you more than you planned. Over the last few years, we have seen an increase in these cases as people who live in the UK are making more trips to Europe.You might be driving your own car, a hire car or perhaps taking a trip in somebody else’s vehicle when an accident happens, causing injury or other losses. Who do you turn to for help?

Accident victims may worry that instructing a French lawyer could be an expensive hassle, indeed it may seem too much trouble to make a claim through the French legal system, especially if the injury or losses are not too serious.

EU laws are rarely simple, and the devil is often in the detail, but thanks to a series of reforms over the last eight years, it is often possible to make these claims through a UK solicitor. Under something called the Fourth EU Motor Insurance Directive, the liable insurance company (responsible party insurer) must appoint a UK representative to deal with your solicitor and, if they admit liability, in theory they should make a settlement offer within three months.

Sharper teeth

Practice and theory do not always match up, however, but English solicitors have now been given sharper teeth by a recent German case which held that injured victims can bring claims against the responsible insurance company through the victim’s home court. This means that if there is a dispute about the case, for example, who was at fault, it can usually be dealt with in the English courts rather than in France.

The German ruling has not yet been applied by the UK courts but most commentators seem to think it’s a sure-fire bet that it will. My firm issued one of the first UK test cases back in July last year and are currently awaiting a decision.

Making your claim through the English legal system could have advantages; for example, you have a better chance of getting your legal costs paid and escaping French legal rules which limit the amount paid for injuries and other losses. Potentially, this could affect anybody who has had such an accident during the last 10 years (the normal French time limit for making a claim).

Small claims

From 1 January 2009 a new European small claims procedure will come into force, making it easier to bring claims worth less than €2,000 and, unlike the English small claims court, you should be able to get most of your legal costs back if you win.

However, there are various traps for the unwary. These cases usually involve quite complicated European regulations and issues of both French and English law, whereas most English solicitors have no experience dealing with the French aspects of a claim. Therefore, it’s important to instruct solicitors who are experienced in dealing with French cases.

There is one fly in the ointment. For accidents on or after 11 January 2009, something called Rome II comes into force which, among other things, is likely to reduce the levels of injury compensation to the amount that would be payable in the French courts, even if the case is dealt with from England, but for any accidents before 11 January 2009, readers can enjoy a little liberté de choix.

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