In short: if you were hurt in Türkiye because someone else failed to take proper care — in a hotel, on an excursion, at work, on the road or in a clinic — you can claim compensation under Turkish law regardless of your nationality, and you can do it after you have flown home. Turkish law applies because the injury happened here (Law No. 5718, art. 34). What you can recover is set out in the Turkish Code of Obligations (Law No. 6098, art. 54): treatment costs, loss of earnings, losses from reduced or lost working capacity, and losses from a shaken economic future — with non-pecuniary damages for the pain itself under art. 56. The general limitation period is two years from the day you learn of both the loss and the person liable and ten years from the act (art. 72), longer where the act is also a criminal offence.
"Personal injury" is the law's plain name for being hurt because someone else didn't take the care they should have. On holiday or living abroad, it feels anything but plain — you're in pain, far from home, unsure whether the Turkish system is even open to you. It is. Here's how it works.
Situations we handle
Common personal-injury claims we bring for foreigners in Türkiye include:
- Hotels & premises — slips and falls, pool and balcony accidents, unsafe stairs, food poisoning at all-inclusive resorts.
- Excursions & watersports — boat trips, jet-skis, paragliding, diving, quad bikes and organised activities where an operator was careless or equipment failed.
- Medical negligence — harm from surgery, dental work, cosmetic procedures or treatment that fell below the proper standard (see below).
- Accidents at work — foreign employees injured on the job.
- Bereavement — families who lost a relative and can claim for lost support.
Injured on the road instead? See traffic accident compensation, which follows slightly different rules.
Who is liable
Most personal-injury claims rest on the Turkish Code of Obligations (Türk Borçlar Kanunu, Law No. 6098), which makes a person or business liable where, through fault, they unlawfully cause harm. In practice the responsible party is usually the one who failed to keep you safe:
- the hotel or business that let a hazard go unfixed;
- the excursion or activity operator who cut a corner on safety or equipment;
- a tour operator, whose responsibility may also arise under Turkish package-travel and consumer rules;
- an employer, for an unsafe workplace.
Where that party carries liability insurance, the insurer is often the one who ultimately pays.
Medical negligence — a special note
Where you were treated changes the route your claim takes:
- A private hospital, clinic or doctor — the claim is a civil one, under contract and the Code of Obligations.
- A public/state hospital — claims generally go through the administrative courts as a full-remedy action (tam yargı davası), usually after a prior application to the administration, and on a different timetable.
What you can claim
As with any injury claim, the aim is to restore you, as far as money can, to where you would have been:
- Medical & treatment costs, including corrective treatment and future care.
- Lost income and, for lasting injuries, loss of earning capacity.
- Pain and suffering (manevi tazminat).
- Loss of support and funeral costs where a death is involved.
How these are valued — from evidence, with future losses worked out actuarially — is explained on our how compensation is calculated section.
Where the injury was fatal, the claim changes hands. Article 53 of the Code of Obligations lists the losses a death gives rise to — the funeral expenses, the treatment costs and the losses from reduced or lost working capacity where death was not immediate, and the losses of those deprived of the deceased's support — and Article 56/2 allows non-pecuniary compensation to be awarded to the relatives of a person who was killed or seriously injured. The dependants claim in their own names, not only as heirs, and the calculation rests on the deceased's income and on who was in fact being supported. That route, including the July 2026 amendment to Article 55 on interest and advance payments, is set out in our guide to loss of support compensation for the family of a person killed in an accident.
How long you have to claim
Personal-injury claims under the Code of Obligations carry a limitation period — as a general rule, a shorter period running from when you learn of the harm and who caused it, and a longer long-stop from the event. As with road accidents, where the injury also involves a criminal offence, a longer period can apply. Medical claims against public hospitals run on administrative-law timetables instead.
Claiming from abroad
You generally don't need to return to Türkiye. You appoint us with a power of attorney (vekâletname) signed at a notary in your country, apostilled or consular-legalised, with a sworn Turkish translation. We then deal with the business, its insurer, the medical experts and the court for you.
Useful to keep: photos of the hazard and your injuries, the incident report or hotel/operator record, medical records and discharge summaries (epikriz), receipts, witness contacts, and your booking or employment documents.
How we handle your claim
- Initial review. You tell us what happened; we review it and give an honest view.
- You appoint us. One power of attorney, signed remotely.
- We pursue it. We gather and translate the evidence, value the loss, and press the responsible party and its insurer — by negotiation or through the courts.
- Outcome. Any sums recovered are accounted to you, explained in English throughout.
Use our interactive tool to check the strict 2-year and 10-year statutes of limitations (TBK art. 72) and assess your route for medical negligence, hotel, or bodily injury claims.
Open Injury Time-Limit & Claim Checker →Scope. This page is general information about Turkish law and procedure. It is not legal advice, it is not an assessment of your situation, and reading it does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Statutory figures, thresholds and rates are revised periodically — check the current position before relying on any of them. Any particular case turns on its own documents and facts.
Frequently asked questions
I was hurt at an all-inclusive hotel — who do I claim against?
Usually the hotel or the business responsible for the hazard, and sometimes the tour operator as well. Where they carry liability insurance, the insurer often pays. We work out the right defendant for your facts.
My excursion was booked through a foreign travel company — does Turkish law still apply?
An accident that happens in Türkiye is generally governed by Turkish law, and the local operator can be pursued here. Your contract with a tour company abroad may give additional rights — we look at both.
I had surgery or dental work in Türkiye that went wrong — is that a claim?
It can be, if the care fell below the proper standard or you weren't properly informed of the risks. Whether it's a civil or administrative claim depends on whether the provider was private or public. We assess it candidly first.
Can this really be done after I've gone home?
Yes. The whole matter is run remotely under a power of attorney, with everything reported to you in English.
What compensation can a foreigner claim for an injury in Türkiye?
The Turkish Code of Obligations (Law No. 6098, art. 54) lists bodily-harm losses as treatment costs, loss of earnings, losses arising from the reduction or loss of working capacity, and losses from a shaken economic future. On top of those, art. 56 allows the court to award an appropriate sum as non-pecuniary damages (manevi tazminat) where bodily integrity has been harmed. Art. 55 requires these losses to be calculated according to the Code and the principles of liability law, not adjusted up or down on a rough sense of fairness once the figure is worked out.
How long do I have to bring a personal injury claim in Türkiye?
Under Law No. 6098 art. 72, a compensation claim becomes time-barred two years after the injured party learns of both the loss and the party liable for it, and in any event ten years after the date of the act. Where the compensation arises from conduct that is a criminal offence and the criminal law lays down a longer prescription period, that longer period applies instead. Road accidents follow a parallel rule in the Highway Traffic Act — see traffic accident compensation.
A relative was killed in an accident in Türkiye — what can the family claim?
Law No. 6098 art. 53 lists the losses in a fatal case: funeral expenses; where death was not immediate, treatment costs and losses from reduced or lost working capacity; and the losses of those who were dependent on the deceased for support (destekten yoksun kalma). Art. 56/2 also allows non-pecuniary damages to be awarded to the relatives of the deceased, and to the relatives of a severely injured person. See loss of support claims.
Will I have to put up security as a foreign claimant?
Possibly. Law No. 5718 art. 48 requires foreign natural and legal persons who bring a case, join a case, or start enforcement proceedings in Türkiye to provide security in an amount set by the court, covering litigation and enforcement costs and the other side’s potential loss. The second paragraph of the same article requires the court to exempt the claimant from security on the basis of reciprocity, which frequently applies to claimants from states party to the relevant conventions or with a bilateral arrangement. It is checked case by case — our cost and security deposit tool explains what to expect.
Which country’s law applies, and can I claim straight against the insurer?
Law No. 5718 art. 34 subjects obligations arising from a tort to the law of the country where the tort was committed; where the act and the damage occur in different countries, the law of the country where the damage arose applies, and a substantially closer connection with another country can displace both. So an injury suffered in Türkiye is normally a Turkish-law claim even if you booked through a company at home. Art. 34/4 adds that where the law applicable to the tort or to the insurance contract permits it, the injured party may assert the claim directly against the insurer of the person responsible.
Related: traffic accident compensation · insurance claim disputes · all questions.