Odszkodowanie za ubytek wartości handlowej pojazdu po naprawie
Compensation for a decline in commercial value of a vehicle after repair

Summary/Abstract: Engine vehicles damaged in traffic accidents are usually repaired in order to be restored to the condition in which they were before the accident. Unfortunately, it is not always possible – de- spite the fact that service stations use the strict repair regime and exercise due care when repair- ing the car – to fully restore the car’s value to the value it had before the accident. If the owner subsequently sells such a car, the lowered sales value is from his point of view a loss within the meaning of Article 361 §2 of the Civil Code.Is this type of a decline in vale always covered by the scope of liability of the person who caused the accident and is liable for it under provisions of the Civil Code (and, consequently, by the scope of his insurer’s liability) or maybe it should be not subject to compensation. The article analyses this problem in various contexts: in view of judicial practice, compensation standards shaped in insurance (Polish and foreign) practice and from a doctrinal point of view.In the conclusions it is emphasised that determining a uniform standard which could apply in this respect is impossible. In other words, a decline in the commercial value of a vehicle which was damaged in an accident and repaired is compensated only in certain situations, and, in addition, the compensation depends on specific circumstances and factors of a given case. Usually, such a standard applies to new cars (or relatively new ones) whose decline in value was significant; as a rule, however, it is the court looking into the injured party’s claim, which needs to be well- documented (e.g. by an adjuster or expert), that decides about such reimbursement of a decline in the commercial value.

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