French personal-injury claim values are organised under the nomenclature Dintilhac, with Référentiel Mornet and the Barème Dalloz providing the headline indicative bands for each head of loss.
France's system is built on the nomenclature Dintilhac — a 2005 court-developed taxonomy of heads of loss that is now the dominant framework for organising any personal-injury claim. Claims are split into pre-consolidation and post-consolidation, pecuniary and non-pecuniary, with specific component heads (déficit fonctionnel temporaire, souffrances endurées, préjudice esthétique, déficit fonctionnel permanent, and others).
For the indicative bands, practitioners reach for the Référentiel Mornet — a periodically-updated reference compiled by a working group of judges — and the Barème indicatif d'indemnisation published by Dalloz. Neither is statutory; both are persuasive. Courts of appeal apply them with regional variation.
For motor injury, the Loi Badinter (Law 85-677 of 5 July 1985) imposes near-strict liability on motorists toward non-driver victims and substantially streamlines compensation. The general statute of limitations for personal injury is five years under Article 2224 of the Civil Code; ten years for medical-negligence cases.
Indicative settlement values, sourced to the authority documents above. These are starting points for valuation, not quotes for any specific case.
| Injury type | Band | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Whiplash / soft tissue (minor) | €1,000 – €4,000 | Référentiel Mornet · DFT bands |
| Whiplash (severe / persistent) | €8,000 – €15,000 | Référentiel Mornet · DFP up to 5% |
| Back — moderate (DFP 10–20%) | €20,000 – €50,000 | Référentiel + Dintilhac heads |
| Severe brain injury (DFP 60%+) | €300,000 – €1,000,000+ | Référentiel upper bands + pecuniary heads |
| Femur fracture | €10,000 – €25,000 | Référentiel · DFP 5–10% |
| Medical negligence (non-fatal) | €100,000 – €500,000 | CCI / ONIAM bands + court adjudication |
Code Civil art. 2224; Code de la santé publique
Ten years runs from consolidation of the injury for medical-negligence claims.
Code Civil art. 1240 et seq. Loi Badinter eliminates the faute defence against motor-injury claimants except in narrow circumstances.
Caps that bite on damages awards in France, ordered by impact.
Indicative bands plus pecuniary heads; courts retain discretion.
Each sub-jurisdiction has its own variations. State and province pages will follow.
The procedural pathway from injury to settlement under France law.
Formal demand on the responsible party or insurer. For motor cases under Loi Badinter, the insurer must offer within 8 months.
Joint or unilateral medical expert quantifies Dintilhac heads. The CRCI / ONIAM route provides a no-fault pathway for serious medical-negligence cases.
Insurer offers settlement. Claimant negotiates against Référentiel Mornet figures.
If no settlement, claim filed in the Tribunal Judiciaire with appellate review through the Cour d'Appel and Cour de Cassation.
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Vocabulary that comes up in any conversation about claim value in this jurisdiction.
Every claim turns on its own facts: severity, prognosis, recovery time, the medical paper trail, lost income, the applicable cap, and the published band that most closely matches. The figures on this page are illustrative aggregates, not a quote. For representation, consult a solicitor or attorney qualified in France. See our disclaimer for the full scope of what we do and don't do.