The Civil Code of Hungary (Act V of 2013) differentiates between contractual liability and extra-contractual liability.
Contractual liability essentially means compensation for the breach of contract. If one of the parties causes damage to the other party with the breaching of the contract, the damaged party is eligible for compensation. The liability for breach of contract is a so-called “objective liability”, which means that the exemption from liability is only possible under difficult and strict circumstances.
There are two types of damages that the harmful party is obliged to compensate: damages incurred in the subject of the service, and other damages. The subject of the service is usually the item in which the damage has incurred: it can be a TV which has been damaged during delivery, or even a real estate, if the contractor does poor work and cause damage in the property that needs repair. Other damages are damages that are not specified: could be loss of profit (for example a café couldn’t serve coffee because the coffee beans didn’t arrive), could be costs necessary to eliminate the pecuniary losses (for example lawyer fees).
In the cases of extra-contractual liability, the liability does not arise from a contract, but from an unlawful damage caused by another person. Extra-contractual liability rules are various, depending on the damaging event, meaning there are different rules if for example the damage was caused by a motor vehicle, or caused by a bike, or caused by debris falling from a building. There are three types of damages that the person causing the damages is obliged to compensate: diminution in the value of the assets of the injured party (meaning the damages incurred in the property, for example a phone that breaks), loss of profit, or costs necessary to eliminate the pecuniary losses of the injured party.
In the case of personal injury, regardless if it was caused by breach of contract (for example road accident while traveling in a taxi), or extra-contractually (for example getting hit by a car), the person is eligible for a so-called grievance award (grievance award is the official name it has been given in the Civil Code, which is a metaphrase, but not the best translation). A grievance award is a type of compensation for the violation of personal rights The amount of the grievance award is influenced by many circumstances, such as the age of the injured person, the consequences of the injury, and the severity of the behavior of the person causing the damage. Therefore, the amount of grievance award cannot be calculated in advance; it always depends on the circumstances of the given case, and the amount can only be deduced from judicial practice.
If you have suffered damages and you have any questions, feel free to contact us, we’ll be happy to help you.