What are the compensations for causing permanent disability to others in Vietnam?

Regarding this matter, LawNet would like to answer as follows:

1. What are the cases of giving rise to liability to compensate for damage in Vietnam?

Article 584 of the Civil Code 2015 stipulates the grounds giving rise to liability to compensate for damage as follows:

Grounds giving rise to liability to compensate for damage

1. A person intentionally or unintentionally harming the life, health, honor, dignity, reputation, property, or other legal rights or interests of a person, must compensate for such damage, unless otherwise prescribed in this Code or relevant laws.

2. The person who causes damage shall be discharged from liability for compensation in case where the damage incurs due to force majeure events or at entire fault of the aggrieved person, unless otherwise agreed or otherwise prescribed by law.

3. If a property causes damage, its owner or possessor must compensate for the damage, except for the damage prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article.

Thus, causing permanent disability to another person is a violation of their health, and the person committing the violation must be responsible for compensating the victim for damages.

However, if the injury to that person is due to a force majeure event or is entirely due to the injured person's fault, your brother is not responsible for compensating for damages, unless otherwise agreed upon between the parties. Party or law has other provisions.

2. What is permanent disability?

Permanent disability is damage to the body caused by an accident or disease, leading to the permanent loss of normal function of one or more body parts. This condition cannot be reversed with current medical treatments.

There are two types of permanent disability:

- Partial permanent disability: Is the loss of normal function of one or more body parts. For example: losing fingers, losing legs, hemiplegia,...

- Total permanent disability: A state of complete loss of ability to work and requiring regular care by others. For example: losing both arms, losing both legs, blindness in both eyes,...

3. What are the compensations for causing permanent disability to others in Vietnam?

According to the provisions of Article 590 of the Civil Code 2015, the provisions on damage due to violation of health are as follows:

Damage caused by harm to health

1. Damage caused by harm to health shall comprise:

a) Reasonable costs for treating, nursing and rehabilitating health, and functional losses and impairment of the aggrieved person;

b) Loss of or reduction in the actual income of the aggrieved person. If the actual income of the aggrieved person is irregular and is not able to be determined, the average income level for the type of work performed by the aggrieved person shall be applied;

c) Reasonable costs and actual income losses of the carers of the aggrieved person during the period of treatment. If the aggrieved person loses his or her ability to work and requires a permanent carer, the damage shall also include reasonable costs for taking care of the aggrieved person.

d) Other damage as prescribed by law.

2. A person causing harm to the health of another person must pay the items provided in Clause 1 of this Article together with an amount of money as compensation for mental suffering of the aggrieved person. The amount of compensation for mental suffering shall be as agreed by the parties; if the parties are not able to agree, the maximum sum shall not exceed fifty-month base salary prescribed by the State.

In addition, according to the provisions of Article 7 of Resolution 02/2022/NQ-HDTP, regulations on damages for harm to health are as follows:

1. Reasonable costs for treating, nursing and rehabilitating health, and functional losses and impairment of the aggrieved person. including;

a) Expenses for medical examination and treatment in accordance with the law on medical examination and treatment for the aggrieved person; hiring vehicles to take the aggrieved person to the health facility and back to their place of residence;

b) The cost of improving health of the aggrieved person is determined as 01 day of regional minimum wage at the health facility for 01 day of medical examination and treatment according to the number of days in the medical record;

c) The cost of health recovery and health rehabilitation includes expenses for the recovery, support or replacement of a part of lost or reduced functions of the aggrieved person’s body.

2. The actual lost or reduced income of the aggrieved person is determined as follows:

a) In case the aggrieved person has a stable income from salary or wages, it shall be determined according to the salary or wage amount of the aggrieved person during the period of lost or reduced salary or wage;

b) In case the aggrieved person has an unstable income from salary or wage, the salary or wage is determined based on the average salary or wage amount of the 3 consecutive months preceding the time of loss. In case it is impossible to determine 03 consecutive months' salary before the time of loss, it shall be based on the average income of workers of the same type in the local area during the period when the actual income is lost or reduced. If it is impossible to determine the average income of workers of the same type in the local area, the actual lost or reduced income that is compensated is 01 day of regional minimum wage in the place where the aggrieved person resides for 01 day of loss.

Daily regional minimum wage equals 01 month's regional minimum wage as prescribed by the State divided by 26 days.

3. Reasonable expenses and actual lost income of caregiver(s) of the aggrieved person as prescribed at Point c, Clause 1, Article 590 of the Civil Code are determined as follows:

a) Reasonable expenses for caregiver(s) of the aggrieved person during the treatment period, including: vehicle fares, and rented room rents according to the average prices in the place where the aggrieved person has been treated (if any);

b) The actual lost income of the caregiver(s) of the aggrieved person during the treatment period is determined according to the guidance in Clause 2 of this Article;

c) In case the aggrieved person loses his/her capacity to work and must be taken care of by someone regularly, the reasonable expense for taking care of the aggrieved person is determined to be 01 day of regional minimum wage in the place where the aggrieved person resides for 01 day to take care of the aggrieved person.

Therefore, based on the aforementioned regulations, the compensation for permanent disability will include various monetary amounts such as: expenses for medical treatment, rehabilitation, and restoration of the lost or diminished health and function of the permanently disabled person; actual income that is lost or reduced of the permanently disabled person; reasonable expenses; and the actual income lost by the caregiver of the permanently disabled person.

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