Despite the 18 years that had passed since the tragedy, the efforts of the employees of Biuro RONIN – Zbigniew Zawada, followed by his lawyers, resulted in obtaining a total of PLN 910,000 in compensation for the harm suffered for all four people.
Editorial team: How did the family of the accident victims come to your office?
Zbigniew Zawada: The clients came to me on the recommendation of other people who had used our services many times.
Was the case the clients brought to you a routine one, another case of the kind you deal with every day?
No case is typical. And routine can only do harm. Each case is different and each must be considered individually. I do not hide the fact that cases of this kind are never simple and that the outcome cannot be predicted to the end. This is primarily because the claims concerned an act committed more than a dozen years earlier. After such a long time, reconstructing documentation confirming the validity of the claims is a very important, yet laborious and time-consuming task. Because we managed to reconstruct the documentation, our lawyers were able to specify the claims against the insurer. It should be added that every injured person may seek compensation if the event, accident or other tort occurred after 10 August 1997.
Were the injured parties’ claims obvious?
Unfortunately not. Due to inconsistent regulations and non-uniform court rulings, the family’s claims were not entirely obvious. I would like to add that in an analogous, unrelated case, one of the Lower Silesian courts showed no empathy and awarded the brother of a sister who had also died in an accident the paltry sum of PLN 2,000, in my opinion—two thousand zlotys in words. Because of such judgments, which also occur, the insurer in the case described sought ways to avoid its obligation to pay. Please believe me, it sought them at any cost.
Does that mean there was a risk of losing, with all the consequences that would entail?
Of course. However, we decided to take the risk. Why? The reason is always the same. We were convinced that the claims were justified, because in this case we are not talking about the extent of the harm, but its immeasurability.
Did the insurer not try to reach a settlement?
It did. At most, the insurer offered PLN 5,000 to each person. For obvious reasons, the offer was rejected. We do not settle at any price. Court proceedings were necessary and lasted two years.
Have the interested parties already received the amounts awarded by the court?
Not yet. We are waiting for the judgment to be implemented.
Where can people seek advice and obtain specific assistance in pursuing compensation?
Biuro Ronin, 12 Mickiewicza Street, 59-700 Bolesławiec,
tel. +48 75 732 19 05
tel. +48 502 378 958
tel. +48 505 111 231
www.biuroronin.pl
www.facebook.com/biuroronin.odszkodowania
email: biuro.ronin@vp.pl
email: boleslawiec.odszkodowania@gmail.com
