Claiming Back Travel Costs to Medical Appointments from the At-Fault Driver's OC Insurer in Poland

After a road accident in Poland, most attention goes to medical bills, prescriptions and rehabilitation invoices. But travel costs to and from medical appointments are a separate, real head of compensation that claimants very often overlook — and the OC insurer (Poland's compulsory third-party motor liability cover, roughly equivalent to UK third-party car insurance) rarely brings it up themselves. If you spend months travelling to check-ups, tests and rehabilitation sessions after an accident, every one of those journeys is a cost that can be recovered as part of your claim. Below we explain what counts, how to document it, and how to present it to the insurer — including where the claimant is normally based in the UK but receives treatment in Poland.

Disclaimer: This guide is general legal information, not legal advice. How the rules apply depends on your individual circumstances and the evidence available. The matter should be assessed by a qualified Polish lawyer. Twoja Sprawa helps you organise the documents for that assessment.

Why travel costs matter, even though they're easy to miss

Recovery from a serious road accident rarely ends after a single hospital visit. A typical pattern looks like this: ambulance and A&E straight after the crash, then a series of follow-up appointments with an orthopaedic surgeon or neurologist, a referral for rehabilitation covering anywhere from a handful to several dozen sessions, and imaging (X-ray, CT, ultrasound) sometimes carried out in a different town from where the claimant lives. Every one of those trips — by car, bus, train or taxi — costs money.

Claimants often don't think about this because they're focused on treatment invoices and compensation for pain and suffering. Insurers, for their part, have no obligation to go looking for this head of claim on your behalf — if you don't raise it and document it, they simply won't pay it. Yet the legal basis for recovering these costs is exactly the same as for any other cost arising from post-accident treatment.

Article 444 § 1 of the Polish Civil Code (Kodeks cywilny) provides that where a person suffers bodily injury or a health disorder, compensation for the damage covers all costs arising as a result. Travel to appointments and treatment that are a direct consequence of the need for medical care after the accident falls within that category — provided the journeys were necessary and can be evidenced. This is reinforced by the general rule in Article 361 of the Civil Code, under which compensation for damage covers losses actually incurred by the claimant as a normal consequence of the event that caused the harm.

What counts as a travel cost

In practice, several forms of transport can qualify, depending on the claimant's state of health and what was available locally:

• Travel by own car — to follow-up appointments, tests, or the rehabilitation clinic. Usually calculated as a cost per kilometre driven.
• Public transport tickets — bus, train, tram, where that was genuinely how the claimant got to the appointment.
• Taxi or private transport — where the claimant's condition made it impossible to travel independently by public transport (e.g. an immobilised limb, significant pain, or a doctor's instruction to avoid exertion).
• Medical transport (ambulance, patient transport service) — where it was ordered by a doctor and not covered by the Polish National Health Fund (NFZ).
• Parking at the medical facility — as a cost incidental to travelling by own car.

The constant requirement is a causal link with treatment for the accident — the journey must relate to an appointment, test or procedure arising from the injuries sustained in the accident, rather than an unrelated health matter. The further the facility is from the claimant's home, the more important it becomes to show that choosing that particular facility was justified (e.g. it was the only available specialist, an NHS/NFZ referral directed the claimant there, or there was no capacity closer to home).

How to document travel costs, step by step

Without documentation, this head of claim effectively doesn't exist as far as the insurer is concerned. It's worth setting up a simple record from day one of treatment, rather than trying to reconstruct it from memory months later.

1. A running log of journeys — kept as you go, noting the date of each appointment, the route (from–to), the distance in kilometres (for journeys by own car), and the purpose of the visit.
2. Referrals and medical certificates — every referral for a specialist appointment, test or course of rehabilitation is evidence that a given journey was medically justified.
3. Appointment confirmations — appointment cards, registration printouts, or entries in medical records showing the date and time, confirming the journey actually took place.
4. Tickets and receipts — originals or scans of public transport tickets, taxi receipts, and parking payment confirmations.
5. A photo of the odometer or navigation app — supporting evidence of distance travelled for journeys by own car, particularly for longer routes.
6. A summary schedule — at the end of the treatment period, it's worth preparing a single schedule listing all journeys with total kilometres and total cost, to attach to the claim.

The more systematic the documentation, the less room the insurer has to dispute this head of claim. Inconsistencies and gaps in the paperwork are the most common reason insurers reduce or reject this part of a claim.

The rate per kilometre for travel by own car

When it comes to journeys made in the claimant's own car, the question arises of how to convert kilometres driven into a claimable amount. There is no single, official rate specifically set for this situation under Polish law, and the correct methodology (for example, whether to draw on rates used elsewhere for calculating the cost of using a private vehicle for other purposes, or another way of estimating the real running cost) is a point that should be confirmed by a lawyer before any specific figures are relied on.

In practice, it's best to base the claim to the insurer on the real, evidenceable cost of the journey — the number of kilometres multiplied by a reasonable running-cost rate — rather than an arbitrary figure. If the insurer proposes its own, lower rate, it's worth asking for a written explanation of its methodology and comparing it against the actual fuel and running costs for that route.

Travel costs incurred by family members visiting the claimant

A separate question concerns costs incurred by family members who visit the claimant in hospital or drive them to appointments when the claimant cannot drive or get around independently. These costs can matter particularly where the claimant's condition required constant presence or third-party assistance — for example, being driven to rehabilitation, being collected from hospital, or being accompanied to follow-up appointments.

Whether costs of family members' journeys (for example, hospital visits unconnected to transporting the claimant themselves) qualify as compensation under Article 444 § 1 of the Civil Code tends to be assessed on a case-by-case basis, and this element should not be assumed to be automatically accepted without evidence that it was necessary. The strongest claims are for costs directly linked to transporting the claimant themselves by a family member (for example, driving them to rehabilitation when they cannot drive), because the link to treatment is obvious there. These should be documented in the same way as the claimant's own journeys — date, route, purpose, and confirmation of the appointment.

How to present travel costs to the insurer or in court proceedings

Travel costs are claimed as part of the general claim for treatment costs, alongside invoices for appointments, medication and rehabilitation — not as a separate, standalone claim. In the letter to the insurer, it's worth:

• citing the legal basis (Article 444 § 1 of the Civil Code),
• attaching a summary schedule of journeys with dates and routes,
• enclosing referrals and appointment confirmations showing the purpose of each journey,
• setting out how the cost was calculated (number of km × the rate applied, or the amount shown on tickets/receipts),
• asking for a written explanation if the insurer refuses to accept this item or reduces the amount claimed.

If the matter goes to court (a claim against the insurer), travel costs form part of the same claim as the other treatment costs — the court assesses them on the basis of the evidence submitted, not on the claimant's word alone. That's why complete documentation matters from the earliest stage, regardless of whether the case ends in a settlement with the insurer or in court proceedings.

Managing this remotely from the UK

For a claimant who is normally based in the UK but receives treatment in Poland (for example, following an accident during a visit to Poland), documenting travel costs works the same way but needs a bit more organisation:

• Collect documents as you go, while still in Poland — if treatment happens in stages (for example, an initial stay in Poland followed by remote follow-up), it's worth asking for a printed confirmation at every appointment and keeping tickets or receipts at the time, rather than trying to reconstruct them later.
• Scan or photograph documents — if the originals stay in Poland (for example, with family), a scan or a clear photo of each document, emailed to yourself, creates a backup copy accessible from the UK.
• Claims can be submitted to the insurer remotely — correspondence with the at-fault driver's insurer (notifying the claim, sending documents, answering queries) can be handled by email or post from the UK, without needing to attend in person in Poland.
• A representative in Poland — if the case drags on or ends up in court, it's often more convenient to instruct a Polish lawyer (adwokat or radca prawny) based locally, who can receive correspondence and represent the claimant before the court or the insurer.

FAQ

Does the claim for travel costs cover follow-up check-ups after treatment has finished? It can, if the follow-up check-up is a direct consequence of treatment for the accident and was ordered by a doctor (for example, a check-up after a cast is removed, or imaging to track the progress of rehabilitation). What matters is the causal link with the accident, not simply how much time has passed since it happened.

Do I need a receipt for every single journey to get it refunded? A receipt or ticket is the strongest evidence, but for journeys by own car it isn't always possible to obtain one (for example, fuel bought earlier, not tied to a specific trip). In that situation, the basis becomes a travel log combined with referrals and appointment confirmations showing that the journey actually took place and was necessary.

Does the claim cover a longer journey if the nearer clinic had a waiting list? It depends on the circumstances — if choosing the more distant facility was justified (for example, no appointments available closer to home, a referral to a specific specialist, or better availability of the required procedure), the cost of the longer journey is generally easier to justify. It's worth documenting this, for example with confirmation that an appointment closer to home was refused.

What if the insurer refuses to refund travel costs? You can submit a written appeal with full supporting documentation and a request for reasons for the refusal, refer the matter to the Polish Financial Ombudsman (Rzecznik Finansowy), or, as a last resort, consider a civil claim against the insurer. Each of these routes requires the same body of evidence, which is why documentation gathered early significantly eases every later step.

How long do I have to claim travel costs after an accident? A claim for compensation for personal injury, including travel costs as part of treatment costs, generally becomes time-barred (statute-barred) three years from the date the claimant learned of the harm and of the person liable for it (Article 442[1] § 1 of the Civil Code), or, where the harm resulted from a crime, twenty years from the date the offence was committed (Article 442[1] § 2 of the Civil Code). Whether a particular road accident is classified as a crime, and how that affects the limitation period, depends on the outcome of any criminal proceedings — a longer limitation period should not be assumed without confirmation of that classification.

Legal basis and sources

• Polish Civil Code, Article 444 § 1 — obligation to compensate personal injury, covering all costs arising as a result: https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU19640160093
• Polish Civil Code, Article 361 — the principle of full compensation (compensation covers losses actually incurred as a normal consequence of the event causing the damage): https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU19640160093
• Polish Civil Code, Article 442[1] — limitation periods for claims for personal injury compensation (3 years / 20 years where a crime is involved): https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU19640160093

See also (in Polish): - Koszty leczenia i rehabilitacji z OC sprawcy — co możesz odzyskać? (in Polish) - Odszkodowanie dla pasażera po wypadku samochodowym (in Polish) - Trwały uszczerbek na zdrowiu po wypadku — jak ocenić i co przysługuje? (in Polish)