Is injury compensation inequitable ? Evidence from road accidents victims in France
Résumé
This article analyses the heterogeneous character of compensation amounts awarded by insurance companies and the courts. The information source - the Association for Insurance Risk Information (AGIRA) database - covers all surviving victims of injuries resulting from road accidents in France over the period 2002 to 2008. Three results emerge: first, compensation amounts awarded under different headings - Partial Permanent Incapacity (PPI), solatium (emotional harm), disfigurement and loss of amenity - are not determined independently of each other; second, victim characteristics, notably age and sex, play a major part; and third, inequalities of treatment across the country are strikingly low.