Compensation for Traffic Accident Victims: A New Legal Project to Strengthen Justice and Protect Citizens
During a presentation of the proposed amendment to the law on compensating victims of traffic accidents to the Justice, Legislation, and Human Rights Committee in the House of Representatives, Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi revealed a text aimed at ensuring fair compensation for victims while protecting the insurance sector.
The project includes amendments to the royal decree of 1984, with precise definitions of terms such as wages and professional gains, allowing new categories to benefit from compensations, particularly if the victim was in short-term employment or received a raise in the year preceding the accident. Net wages are calculated after tax deductions.
The project stipulates that the limitation period will be unified to five years for both amicable settlements and requests for compensation review in cases of aggravated damage, establishing clear rules for suspending or interrupting the limitation period.
It includes individuals without a steady income, such as students and interns, categorizing them according to the new educational system to ensure compensations that better reflect their actual situations.
The project opens the door for compensating foster children and their guardians in cases of psychological pain resulting from the death of a child, along with provisions for spouses in cases of their partner’s death. Additionally, it gradually raises the minimum compensation from 9,270 dirhams to 14,270 dirhams over five stages, with a mechanism to adjust these limits every five years to reflect economic realities.
New categories of reimbursable expenses are added, such as costs for repairing or replacing damaged devices and necessary medical analyses. It encourages opting for amicable settlements to expedite compensation and achieve justice for victims.
This project is considered a significant step toward enhancing the protection of traffic accident victims and developing a compensation system that aligns with Morocco’s social and economic transformations.
