Compensation Lawyer

As a compensation lawyer in Mersin, I handle claims for material and non-material damages for people who have been injured or have lost a relative in a traffic or workplace accident, who have suffered harm because of medical malpractice, whose personal rights have been violated, who have been wrongfully detained, or who have suffered loss because of an act of the administration. Three factors decide the outcome of a compensation case: documenting the loss fully and under the correct heads of damage, choosing the right defendants and the right authority, and meeting the statutory time limits.

On this page you can find in which situations compensation can be claimed, the difference between material and non-material damages, from whom and through which route compensation is claimed, the mandatory steps before filing a case, limitation periods and how the process works in Mersin.

In Which Situations Can Compensation Be Claimed?

• Traffic accidents: Injury, death, vehicle damage and loss of value. For details, see the traffic accident compensation and vehicle depreciation pages.
• Workplace accidents and occupational diseases: Material and non-material damages claimed from the employer. Details are on the workplace accidents page.
• Medical malpractice: Errors in diagnosis and treatment, mismanagement of surgical complications, and failure to obtain informed consent. See the medical malpractice page.
• Violation of personal rights: Non-material damages for insult, defamation, disclosure of private life and content spread on the internet. For removal of internet content, see the removal of online content page.
• Wrongful custody, detention and seizure: Compensation from the State for protective measures applied unlawfully during a criminal investigation or prosecution.
• Acts and actions of the administration: A full remedy action (tam yargı davası) against the administration, for example for a medical error in a public hospital, an accident during municipal works or the taking of property without expropriation.
• Breach of contract: Losses arising from non-performance or improper performance in sales, work, lease and construction-for-flats contracts.
• Divorce: Material and non-material damages for the events that caused the divorce. You can find details on the compensation and alimony in divorce page.

The Difference Between Material and Non-Material Damages

Material damages compensate for the reduction in a person’s assets and are calculated from documents. The Turkish Code of Obligations (TBK) lists bodily harm as treatment costs, loss of earnings, losses arising from reduced or lost capacity to work, and losses arising from damage to one’s economic future (TBK Art. 54). In the event of death, funeral costs, treatment costs if death did not occur immediately, and the losses of the persons deprived of the deceased’s support can be claimed (TBK Art. 53).

Non-material damages (manevi tazminat) partly compensate with money for the pain, grief and suffering experienced. A person whose bodily integrity has been harmed can claim non-material damages, and in cases of serious bodily harm or death, so can the relatives of the injured or deceased person (TBK Art. 56). A person whose personal rights have been violated can also claim non-material damages; in addition to compensation, the judge may issue a decision condemning the attack and order it to be published (TBK Art. 58). The amount of non-material damages is set by the judge according to the circumstances of the case, the degree of fault and the situation of the parties.

From Whom and Through Which Route Is Compensation Claimed?

• The person who caused the damage: Anyone who causes damage to another through a faulty and unlawful act must compensate for that damage (TBK Art. 49). The injured party must prove the damage and the fault of the person who caused it (TBK Art. 50); where the law provides for strict liability (such as for a vehicle operator, an employer or a building owner), proof of fault is not required.
• The insurance company: For compulsory traffic insurance, a written application must be made to the insurance company before filing a case; if the company does not reply within 15 days or the reply does not meet the claim, a case can be filed or an application made to the Insurance Arbitration Commission (Highway Traffic Law, KTK Art. 97). See also the unpaid insurance claims page.
• The employer: Compensation cases arising from workplace accidents and occupational diseases are filed at the labour court.
• The administration: Before filing a case, those harmed by an act of the administration must apply to the relevant administration within one year of learning of the act and in any event within five years of the date of the act. If the application is rejected or not answered within thirty days, a full remedy action is filed at the administrative court (Administrative Procedure Law, İYUK Art. 13).
• The State (protective measures): Compensation for protective measures such as wrongful custody and detention must be claimed within three months of being notified that the decision has become final, and in any event within one year of its finality (Code of Criminal Procedure, CMK Art. 142). The claim is generally made to the high criminal court where the injured person lives; in some cases, such as detention of persons who later received a decision of non-prosecution or acquittal, the application has been made to the Compensation Commission (Tazminat Komisyonu) since 2024.

Mandatory Applications and Mediation Before Filing a Case

In some compensation claims a case cannot be filed directly; a specific application must be made first:

• Commercial cases: In commercial cases concerning a sum of money, such as receivable and compensation cases, applying to a mediator before filing the case is a precondition for bringing the case (Turkish Commercial Code, TTK Art. 5/A). Cases against insurance companies are often assessed within this scope.
• Workplace accidents: Mediation is mandatory for employment receivables; however, material and non-material compensation cases arising from workplace accidents and occupational diseases are outside this requirement (Labour Courts Law No. 7036, Art. 3/3).
• Insurance application and arbitration: For disputes arising from an insurance contract, an application can also be made to the Insurance Arbitration Commission instead of the court; for compulsory insurance, arbitration can be used even if the insurance company is not a member of the system (Insurance Law, Art. 30).
• Application to the administration: Before a full remedy action against the administration, an application must be made to the administration within the periods mentioned above.

How Is the Claim Amount Determined in a Compensation Case?

The full amount of compensation is often not known when the case is filed; the degree of disability, loss of income and loss of support are established by expert and actuarial reports. With the amendment that entered into force on 31 July 2026, the action for an undetermined receivable (belirsiz alacak davası) was removed from the Code of Civil Procedure (HMK); undetermined receivable cases filed before that date continue under the old provision. In new cases, part of the receivable is claimed and the claim can be increased once in the same case until the end of the evidence-taking stage; for the increased part, limitation is also deemed interrupted from the date the case was filed (HMK Art. 109/4). For this reason, it is important to structure the heads of claim and the possibility of an increase correctly in the statement of claim.

The judge may reduce compensation in proportion to the injured party’s own fault or contribution to the increase of the damage (TBK Art. 52). Objecting to the fault report and the disability report therefore directly affects the scope of compensation.

Limitation Periods

• Tort: Two years from the date the damage and the person liable were learned of, and in any event ten years from the date of the act. If the act constitutes a crime for which criminal law provides a longer limitation period, that period applies (TBK Art. 72).
• Traffic accidents: For material damage, two years from the date the damage and the person liable were learned of, and in any event ten years from the date of the accident; if the accident constitutes a crime subject to a longer limitation period, that period applies (KTK Art. 109).
• Compensation for protective measures: Three months from notification of finality, and in any event one year from finality (CMK Art. 142).
• Against the administration: Application to the administration within one year of learning of the act and in any event within five years of the date of the act (İYUK Art. 13).
• Compensation due to divorce: If not claimed in the divorce case, one year from the date the divorce decision became final (Turkish Civil Code, TMK Art. 178).

Compensation claims arising from breach of contract are subject to different limitation periods depending on the type of contract.

Which Documents Are Needed?

• Reports showing the incident, the accident report, the criminal file or administrative records
• Hospital records, discharge summary, treatment documents and invoices
• A medical board report showing the degree of disability
• Income documents (payslips, social security service record, tax records)
• In the event of death, the death certificate, certificate of inheritance and the income details of the supporting person
• For violations of personal rights, screenshots, links to publications and witness details
• The insurance policy, the application made to the insurer and the replies

Care should be taken with releases signed when accepting a payment offered by the insurance company or the other party; they may contain wording that makes it difficult to claim the remaining amount.

Where Is a Compensation Case Filed in Mersin?

In addition to the court of the defendant’s domicile, cases arising from tort can also be filed at the court of the place where the tort was committed, where the damage occurred or may occur, or where the injured party is domiciled (HMK Art. 16). For this reason, people who live in Mersin or suffered damage in Mersin can in most cases file the case in Mersin. The competent court depends on the dispute: general compensation cases are heard by the civil court of first instance, commercial cases by the commercial court of first instance, workplace accident cases by the labour court, cases arising from consumer transactions by the consumer court, and cases against the administration by the administrative courts in Mersin. In districts such as Tarsus, Erdemli, Silifke, Mut and Anamur, the courts of that district may also have jurisdiction.

For clients living outside Mersin, meetings can be held online; documents can be sent electronically and the case can be followed through UYAP, the national judicial network.

Frequently Asked Questions

Get an Assessment of Your Compensation Claim

In compensation cases, making the first application to the right authority, within the right time and with complete documents, directly affects the scope of the compensation that can be obtained. To have your situation assessed, you can contact me through the contact page.