Sections 2 and 3 make clear that the protection of the human body and mind goes
further than the protection of property rights such as rights in material goods,
copyrights, and patents.
A person who was wounded in a car accident also began to suffer from psychosomatic
defects, such as a change in character, weakness in mental performance, speech
disturbances, paralysis and reduction in libido. The German Bundesgerichtshof (April
9th, 1991) decided that if these defects could be attributed to the accident (which was
probable), they should be taken into account in determining the amount of immaterial
damages which should be compensated.Purely Economic Interest The protection of purely economic interest does not
extend as far. An example of a purely economic interest would be the loss of
earning capacity suffered by a driver (e.g., traveling salesmen) caught in a traffic
jam that was caused by a car accident. The chances are slim that the tortfeasor who
caused the car accident will also have to pay for these purely economic losses.
If a person is injured and as a consequence cannot work for some time, the damage is not a
purely economic interest anymore, since it is connected to a non-economic interest, namely
physical integrity. The compensation of such damages is handled under the category of
bodily integrity and therefore tends to be allowed more easily.Losses of Third Persons In the Draft Frame of Common Reference (DCFR), a
German soft law project led by Von Bar and sponsored by the European Commit-
tee, we find a special provision for “Loss suffered by third persons as a result of
another’s personal injury or death” in Book VI, Article 2:202:
(1) Non-economic loss caused to a natural person as a result of another’s personal
injury or death is legally relevant damage if at the time of injury that person is in
a particularly close personal relationship to the injured person.
(2) Where a person has been fatally injured:
(a) legally relevant damage caused to the deceased on account of the injury to
the time of death becomes legally relevant damage to the deceased’s
successors;
(b) reasonable funeral expenses are legally relevant damage to the person
incurring them; and
(c) loss of maintenance is legally relevant damage to a natural person whom
the deceased maintained or, had death not occurred, would have maintained
under statutory provisions or to whom the deceased provided care and
financial support.
Comparable provisions may be found in many jurisdictions, either in a civil code
or in a case law. It is clear that the descendants of a deceased person have a claim
against a tortfeasor for the wrongful death of their loved one.
6 Tort Law 119