M^e Jean-Philippe Anthonioz

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Under Swiss law, civil liability (often abbreviated « CL » or « RC » in French) is the obligation, for a person, to compensate the damage they have caused to another. This compensation is distinct from any criminal sanction: even when a driver is convicted by a criminal court, it is still up to the civil court — or the insurer — to quantify what you have lost.

Main situations covered:

• Road traffic accident: pedestrian, cyclist, motorist, passenger.
• Personal injury: medical costs, loss of earnings, long-term impact.
• Loss of a loved one: moral damages and loss of economic support.
• Property damage: vehicle, items, building damaged.
• Infringement of personality: harassment, defamation, serious attacks.
• Defence as the liable party: asserting your arguments against a claim.

Liability insurances play a central role: they often cover the wrongdoer and allow the victim to obtain compensation, sometimes directly from the insurer. But they also have their own interests, and their initial offers are frequently significantly lower than what a properly documented file can secure. It is therefore essential to be advised early, before signing any final settlement.

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Last updated: 26.04.2026

Swiss civil liability rests on a simple idea: whoever causes damage to another must repair it. Certain conditions must, however, be met — and these vary depending on whether the wrongdoer breached a contractual obligation, committed an unlawful act, or is liable even without fault (so-called « causal » or « strict » liability).

When the victim and the wrongdoer are bound by a contract (doctor and patient, builder and owner, carrier and passenger), liability is contractual (art. 97 et seq. CO). Major advantage for the victim: the fault of the debtor is presumed. It is for the latter to prove that nothing can be reproached.

In the absence of a contract (a motorist who knocks down an unknown pedestrian, a neighbour who injures someone through negligence), liability is tortious and rests on art. 41 CO. This time, it is up to the victim to prove the fault. When the same facts breach both a contract and the law, both routes can be combined.

For an act to engage the liability of its author, four conditions must be met:

• an unlawful act: an infringement of a protected right (life, bodily integrity, property, honour) or the breach of a rule whose purpose is to protect the victim;
• a fault: intention or mere negligence, assessed against what is expected of a reasonable and diligent person;
• damage: an actual loss in the victim's patrimony (expenses, lost earnings, etc.);
• a causal link: it must be shown that without the act the damage would not have occurred, and that the act was — in the ordinary course of events — apt to bring about that type of damage.

In certain areas, the law provides that the liable party must compensate the victim even without fault, because of the particular risk they create for others. Notably:

• the keeper of a motor vehicle (art. 58 LCR) — see the next chapter;
• the owner of a structure, in case of construction or maintenance defect (art. 58 CO);
• the keeper of an animal (art. 56 CO);
• the employer, for the acts of its employees in the performance of their duties (art. 55 CO);
• the producer of a defective product (Product Liability Act, LRFP);
• operators of hazardous installations (railways, pipelines, aviation, nuclear energy).

These regimes greatly facilitate the position of the victim, who does not have to prove the wrongdoer's fault: it is enough to show the damage and the causal link with the event.

Have you suffered damage and wonder who is liable? You may book an appointment by phone or an   online appointment .

Road traffic accidents are, in practice, the most frequent area of civil liability. The Swiss legislator has put in place a special regime: the keeper of the vehicle is liable without fault, the insurer must pay directly to the victim, and a guarantee fund steps in where the wrongdoer is unknown or uninsured.

If a person is killed or injured, or property damage is caused, by the operation of a motor vehicle, the keeper of that vehicle is civilly liable — whether or not at fault. The keeper is the person who has effective control of the vehicle and uses it at their own expense (typically the holder of the registration certificate, but not always).

This liability extends to the fault of the driver and auxiliaries: if you are knocked over by the keeper's nephew who borrowed the car, it is still the keeper's liability (and therefore the keeper's liability insurer) that is engaged.

The keeper is fully released only by demonstrating cumulatively:

• that the accident was caused by force majeure, or by the gross fault of the victim or a third party (for instance, a pedestrian deliberately throwing themselves under the wheels);
• that no fault can be reproached to the keeper or driver;
• that the vehicle had no defect contributing to the accident.

These conditions are strict: in the vast majority of cases, the keeper (and the insurer) must compensate the victim, at least in part.

If the victim has also contributed to the accident — less seriously — compensation is reduced. The judge takes all the circumstances into account. A few typical examples:

• Seat belt not fastened: reduction where the absence of a belt aggravated the injuries;
• Crossing outside a pedestrian crossing: reduction if the pedestrian failed to observe basic rules of caution;
• Passenger knowing the driver was drunk: reduction for accepting an obvious risk;
• Cyclist without lights at night: reduction if the lack of lighting contributed to the accident.

A minor fault does not extinguish the right to compensation: it merely reduces it, in a proportion that is open to debate.

In road traffic matters, the victim can deal directly with the keeper's liability insurer, without having first to sue the driver or keeper. Better still: defences arising from the insurance contract (e.g. unpaid premiums, contractual exclusion) are not opposable to the victim — they only concern the internal relationship between insurer and insured.

In practice, it is almost always the insurer who negotiates and pays the compensation. This does not mean everything is straightforward: insurance companies often assess the heads of damage restrictively, and their initial offers can be revised significantly upwards when the case is properly documented and defended.

The legislator did not want to leave victims without recourse where the liable party cannot be reached. Several safety nets exist:

• the National Guarantee Fund (art. 76 LCR) compensates victims when the wrongdoer is unknown (hit-and-run), uninsured, or whose insurer is insolvent;
• the National Insurance Bureau (art. 74 LCR) handles claims caused in Switzerland by vehicles registered abroad;
• in case of serious injuries resulting from a criminal offence (reckless driving, hit-and-run), the Federal Act on Aid to Victims of Offences (LAVI) may also cover certain immediate needs — emergency medical costs, psychological support, legal advice.

Have you been the victim of a road traffic accident? Before signing a settlement with the insurer, have your case reviewed. You may book an appointment by phone or an   online appointment .

Damage is everything you have lost because of the accident. Concretely: the difference between your actual situation and the one you would have been in had nothing happened. This includes not only your damaged goods and your additional expenses, but also your loss of income, both present and future. Each head of damage must be quantified, documented and negotiated.

Anything damaged or lost falls under this category:

• Repair costs for the vehicle, bicycle or damaged item;
• Replacement value in case of total loss (value of the vehicle on the day of the accident, not the as-new value, save in particular situations);
• Ancillary costs: towing, expert reports, hiring a replacement vehicle, loss of use during the period of immobilisation, administrative fees;
• Personal effects destroyed or damaged (clothing, glasses, helmet, laptop, etc.).

When you are injured, the damage extends well beyond mere medical expenses. The law provides that you can claim:

• Medical and care costs not covered by insurances: deductible, co-payment, non-reimbursed treatments, complementary therapies useful to recovery;
• Current loss of earnings: salaries not received during the period of incapacity, less amounts paid by the employer and social insurances;
• Future loss of earnings, or « loss of future income »: if you can no longer practise your profession, or only on a part-time basis, or if your career prospects are jeopardised;
• Household damage (in German Haushaltsschaden): if you can no longer perform your domestic tasks (cooking, cleaning, shopping, gardening, childcare), compensation is due, even if these tasks are taken over free of charge by a relative;
• Pre-litigation lawyer's fees: when the use of a lawyer is necessary to assert your rights against a recalcitrant insurer, these fees may be compensated as damage, insofar as they are not covered by procedural costs.

Future losses (forthcoming loss of earnings, ongoing care costs, household damage continuing into the future) are in principle paid as a single capital amount, calculated by means of specialised actuarial tables that take into account life expectancy, interest rates and the likely evolution of income. In some cases, the judge may prefer to award an annuity, particularly where the future evolution is uncertain.

In Switzerland, social insurances (AVS/AI, LAA, LAMal, LPP) cover a large part of personal injury damage. When they pay their benefits, they are subrogated in your rights: this means they can then recover from the liable third party and its insurer. In practice you therefore claim only the part not covered by these insurances — often called the « direct damage of the injured party ».

This makes the file complex: you have to articulate the LAA, AI and loss-of-earnings benefits, and supplement them with the part remaining at your charge. This is precisely where a lawyer's support often makes the difference: the liability insurer will not spontaneously point out what has not been covered elsewhere.

Want to make sure all heads of damage have been taken into account? You may book an appointment by phone or an   online appointment .

Damage is not only money lost. It is also the pain, the anguish, the loss of a loved one, the sense of injustice. Swiss law provides for moral damages (in German Genugtuung) — a sum of money which, without restoring what has been lost, aims to acknowledge the suffering endured and to provide some form of compensation.

The Code of Obligations distinguishes:

• art. 47 CO: equitable compensation in case of personal injury or, in case of death, for the family of the victim;
• art. 49 CO: compensation in case of unlawful infringement of personality (honour, private sphere, psychological integrity), provided the severity of the infringement justifies it.

There is no official scale. The judge relies on all the circumstances:

• the objective severity of the infringement (intensity of the pain, lasting physical and psychological after-effects);
• the duration of the suffering and the prospect of recovery;
• the age of the victim and their prior state of health;
• the impact on family, professional and social life (inability to practise sport, isolation, impact on sexuality);
• the fault of the wrongdoer (intent, gross negligence, particularly shocking conduct);
• the concurrent fault of the victim, which may reduce the compensation.

The amounts awarded vary considerably depending on severity: from a few thousand francs for moderate infringements to several hundred thousand francs in the most serious cases (tetraplegia, severe cerebral injuries, death). Giving a precise figure without knowing the file would be illusory: each situation is compared to the most recent case law, which evolves.

In case of death, the relatives of the victim — spouse or registered partner, children, parents, brothers and sisters — may obtain moral damages, the amount of which depends on the intensity of the emotional bond with the deceased.

Relatives may also obtain compensation in case of very serious injuries to the surviving victim — vegetative state, tetraplegia, severe brain injuries — when the infringement of the relative's personality reaches an exceptional threshold of severity. This is a situation recognised by case law, but subject to strict conditions.

Have you, or a loved one, suffered a serious infringement? You may book an appointment by phone or an   online appointment .

The right to compensation is not eternal. If you let the time limit expire, your action is time-barred: the wrongdoer can refuse to pay, even if everything else is established. It is therefore essential to act early or, at the very least, to interrupt the prescription before it occurs.

The time limit can be interrupted, which makes it run anew from zero. The most common means are:

• a written acknowledgment of debt by the wrongdoer or its insurer (a letter accepting the principle of compensation often suffices);
• a debt enforcement for the compensation claim (payment summons);
• the commencement of legal action or of conciliation proceedings.

In practice, the liability insurer regularly accepts to sign a declaration waiving the right to invoke prescription until a certain date, in order to continue negotiations calmly. This is a routine but essential step: without it, prolonged silence can ruin your file.

Time limit about to expire? Don't wait: each file has its own deadlines. You may book an appointment by phone or an   online appointment .

If you would like further advice, please do not hesitate to contact the firm's secretariat by telephone to arrange a meeting at a flat-fee rate. You can also reach the firm using the contact details and means below. You can also book an   online appointment

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• J.-P. Anthonioz
• Photography : V. Palstsiuk ( BY 2.0)
• avocat.anthonioz.ch
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