Personal Injury and Damage Ascertainment under Civil Law

This volume serves to provide an international overview of personal injury compensation in different geographical areas (15 countries already included), with a special focus on the methods used to ascertain the injury and the related damages. It also goes on to clarify the logical and methodological steps required for a sequential, in-depth ascertainment of any traumatic event and the related personal damage, both pecuniary and non-pecuniary. Personal injury is a legal term for an injury to the body, mind or emotions suffered by the plaintiff under tort and/or civil law regulations. Damages related to the injury can be pecuniary or non-pecuniary in nature. Although several comparative studies and research projects on tort and civil law and personal injury claims aimed at developing new tools for promoting harmonization of private law have been performed at an international level, heterogeneity and divergences still exist in the definition and compensation of personal injury and damage across different national legislative systems. The starting point for any awarding procedure should be a medical, or rather a medico-legal, assessment to gain evidence on the trauma or event causing the injury, the mechanism of injury, the pre-existing health status of the injured party, and the health consequences of the injury (temporary and permanent impairment, work incapacity, etc.). In order to pursue the ultimate goal of an international harmonization of personal injury compensation, it is of upmost importance to define the quality requirements for the medico-legal ascertainment methodology, which are essential for guaranteeing the objectivity, rigor, and reproducibility of the data and the evidence collection procedure. Currently, there are no supra-national medico-legal guidelines dealing with the ascertainment methodology of personal injury and damage under tort and civil law. 

Part 1.- The Holistic and Systematic Approach in Legal Medicine.- Causal Value and Causal Link.- International Juridical Overview on Personal Damage Compensation.- Part 2.- Methods of Ascertainment of Personal Damage in Portugal.- Methods of Ascertainment of Personal Damage in Spain.- Methods of Ascertainment of Personal Damage in France.- Methods of Ascertainment of Personal Damage in Italy.- Methods of Ascertainment of Personal Damage in Belgium.- Methods of Ascertainment of Personal Damage in The Netherlands.- Methods of Ascertainment of Personal Damage in United Kingdom.- Methods of Ascertainment of Personal Damage in Germany.- Methods of Ascertainment of Personal Damage in Hungary.- Methods of Ascertainment of Personal Damage in Lithuania.- Methods of Ascertainment of Personal Damage in Estonia.- Part 3.- Methods of Ascertainment of Personal Damage in United States of America.- Methods of Ascertainment of Dental Damage in Argentina.- Part 4.- Methods of Ascertainment of Personal Damage in Egypt.- Methods of Ascertainment of Personal Damage in Nigeria.- Part 5.- Methods of Ascertainment of Personal Damage in Turkey.- Methods of Ascertainment of Personal Damage in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.- Methods of Ascertainment of Personal Damage in India.- Methods of Ascertainment of Personal Damage in China.- Methods of Ascertainment of Personal Damage in Japan.- Methods of Ascertainment of Personal Damage in Australia.- Part 6.- International Overview on Dental Damage Compensation.- International Comparative Epicrisis on the Ascertainment and Evaluation of Personal Injury and Damage.- Part 7.- Physical and Biomechanical Methods of Ascertainment.- Detection of Malingering in Personal Injury and Damage Ascertainment.- A novel methodology for the objective ascertainment of Psychological–Existential Damage.- International Guidelines on the Methods of Ascertainment of Personal Injury and Damage Under Civil-Tort Law.- International Guidelines on the Methods of Ascertainment of Whiplash Associated Disorders.- Part 8.- Requirements and Final Recommendations.- Part 9.- Historical Iconography on Personal Injury and Damage from the "Vincenzo Pinali" Antique Medical Library.