Introduction to Tort Law in Finland

Background and future of tort liability

Tort Liability Act (“Vahingonkorvauslaki” 31.5.1974/412) was enacted in the year 1974. It´s birth process rests in the long court and compensation tradition based on the principles of old criminal ja civil law.

After the WWII the need of tort liability regulation got more wings to grow and the Nordic countries´ legal co-operation was started.

Now the future seems to some extent foggy, but for sure international elements and impacts will be even more relevant than today. The legislation and case law of the European courts (The Human Rights court and EU-courts) has gained more weight value and affected to judgments and juridical thinking. Perhaps more uniform and codified European tort law structure will raise more importance in the future and be true and serious entity affecting court decisions.

General features of the Tort Liability Act

The Act is a general law and applies to liability for damages unless otherwise provided in the legislation. It does not apply to liability for damages under contracts or as provided in another act. Contractual liability has no written law but still certain specific act provisions exist.  

The principles and case law of Tort Law Act are still crucial guidelines when one is seeking solutions in the problems of any forms of liability, either contractual or other fields of compensation of different special acts. It is true legal interaction.

It is typical that also Tort Liability Act has been written with general expressions and important legal definitions have been left to be defined in real life and finally in the Supreme Court case law.

So knowing and understand especially the case law of the Supreme Court is vital for the correct interpretations in individual cases. Note also the relevance of insurance practices, sometimes quite complicate insurance terms and different guidelines, especially concerning personal injuries. Guidelines of the personal injury commission 2020 (“Henkilövahinkoasiain neuvottelukunnan suositukset” 2020) will be evaluated in many dimensions later.

Manifold specific legislation

As the society and legislation are under constant developing process, one needs to know wide range of special legislation affecting to compensation issues in different fields of life. Just some examples are here mentioned as introduction to our theme. Worth to note that almost each law includes many subsequent amendments.

Product Liability Act (“Tuotevastuulaki” 17.8.1990) is a topic for separate analysis. It´s importance is likely to rise because of the ongoing and accelerating innovations of the artificial intelligence (AI), depending indeed also progress that in the European legislation may be developed later.

Act on Compensation for Environmental Damages (“Laki ympäristövahinkojen korvaamisesta” 19.8.1994/737) is a typical example about act or in fact a very wide field of law of its own features which importance has been ascended due to technical innovations and rise of environment and nature values. I`ll return to this law later with example cases.

Environmental damages has also important connections to contractual law, because in the stage of drafting and concluding contracts environmental legal issues are crucial to understand and decide in the contract level, especially when trying to limit possible risks and liabilities of the future in different legal transactions.

Motor Liability Insurance Act (“Liikennevakuutuslaki 17.6.2016/460) concerns almost every person in Finland. It has a compensation systems of its own and is also worth to handle later, particularly in personal injury trials where there may arise very complicate and economically big issues e.g. in whiplash (“retkahdusvamma”) and other serious personal injury cases.

We have a special law covering patient damages, namely Patient Insurance Act (“Potilasvakuutuslaki” 22.8.2019/948.). One prominent legal problem in this act concerns possible malpractice situations. Main problem is how to estimate the intent of the duty of care in certain medical treatment at the level of individual case. Same concerns evaluating caused unreasonably serious results in situations when the treatment itself has been conducted by professionally acceptable way.  

Beside those, note that there exists very prominent amount of acts where damage liability has been stipulated more briefly and concerning certain deeds and omissions covered by that said act. E.g. company legislation, housing acts, associations, real estates, particular forms of tenancy, sale of goods or activities of brokers are just a top of iceberg in this sea of legislation.

Some aspects of Tort Law Act

 The basis of the damages claim must always be legally founded. In the Tort Liability Act this core principle has been expressed by saying that person who deliberately or negligently causes injury or damage to another shall be liable for damages. What is deliberate and what negligent and what kind of variations those legal concepts include, is relevant legal issue and needs to be analyzed later.

The principles of full / estimated compensation, ban to make money at the expense of another person and obligation to limit damage if possible are important starting premises.

The Tort Liability Act does not specify the amounts of damages. As a starting point it is a guestion about full compensation of the damage if possible. ”Full” means that the suffered party is entitled to such position what existed before the damage was done. Stealing money is easy to define from pecuniary point of view but personal injuries and also some other forms of damages require more consideration what would be their reasonable compensation amount in euros.

Everything which would exceed that amount would be getting rich at the expense of another (”rikastumiskielto”) and is not allowed in tort or any other forms of liability. Also in all liability forms the suffered party is obliged to limit damage if possible.

Division of damage types

The Act notes three main type of damages: personal, property and economic damages. Medical and other necessary expenses and loss of incomes, maintenance and certain indirect medical damages will also be reimbursed. Tempory harms, suffering and permanent functional and cosmetic harm need to be analyzed carefully later, especially regarding damages touching seriously individuals.

Adjustments   

The questions of adjustment (or settlement) of damages in different situations is a complicate and scattered ensemble, which needs later more observation with case examples. Often in the trials it is important to note and handle large scale of different details affecting to adjustment consideration and thus those details must be presented for the court by the means of precise advocacy.

This is clearly visible e.g. in the main rule ordering that “damages may be adjusted if the liability is deemed unreasonably onerous in view of the financial status of the person causing the injury or damage and the person suffering the same, and the other circumstances. However, if the injury or damage has been caused deliberately, full damages shall be awarded unless it is deemed that there are special reasons for a reduction in the damages.”

Minors and other persons with no full capacity

Liability of the minors is also very openly stipulated. Persons under 18 years age are considered to be minors. The youngest age limit has not been defined like on Germany, where children under 7 years can never be liable to pay damages. Different issue is the supervision obligations of the parents.

Same type of regulation concerns also insane, retarded or mentally disturbed persons. The amount they may be liable to pay depends on what is is deemed reasonable in view of liable person´s condition, the nature of the act, the financial status of the person causing the injury or damage and the person suffering the same and the other circumstances.

Employers and employees

Tort Law Act includes provisions concerning liabilities of the employers and employees. Those situations may be so diverse that they need to assessed later. At the level of one case the applicability of contractual liability (and possibly labour legislation) must often be taken into careful consideration and quite multifaceted case law of Supreme Court needs to be studied. One relevant standpoint to look at those interpretation problems is to ask whether the employee is really also responsible for the damage caused, taking into consideration the principle of employee protection and its impact in the liability estimation.

Public authorities

The damages caused by wrongfull use or omission of public authority (e.g. state, municipalities) is very important and also groving legal phenomenon where the provisions and case law of European Union law and European human rights law have more impact nowadays. The public authority liability requires among other things that reasonable preconditions in the use of authority has not been complied with. One needs to look at true precedents to understand this liability properly. Case law in this topic is not simple one.  

When the legal proceedings have been unreasonably delayed, one may be entitled to get compensation from the state funds according to special act.

There are many issues you cannot find from the Tort Liability Act

As mentioned, the case law knowledge and understanding it analytically is crucial due to fact that the act includes only general expressions, definitions are not clear and there are very much legal border areas. Some examples:

Strict liability is relevantly based on the case law and only some forms are in the written statutes (e.g. nuclear damages.).

Obligation of raised care (“korostuneen huolellisuusvelvollisuuden alue”) concerns certain human activities of safety interests such as road maintenance, providing services for the public, events and damages caused by animals and has been created by the case law of the Supreme court.

Duty of care in one relevant tort law concept often arising in contractual relations. E.g. doctor-patient, lawyer client or teacher-student. This is one legal detail where different European compensation systems resemble each other quite much, because requirements to confirm the elements of duty of care responsibility (foreseeability, proximity, fairness, justice and reasonableness) are same.

Although there is a short phase in the Act mentioning that victim´s contribution (“uhrin myötävaikutus”) can be taken for the favour of the quilty party, the real elements of contribution assessments may be quite complicate and need to be studied later.

In the Tort Liability Act there are no provisions how to prove certain crucial elements of the damage claim. In the trial the injured party or complainant has a burden of proof. It´s is question about the evidence.

First one needs to ask how to prove tort or other form of liability. You cannot trust to any other party of the trial and because of the court neutrality you cannot expect help from the court bench.

Secondly you must prove there is a causal link between the deed or failure and the consequence the defendant is responsible for.

Third issue is the problem pertaining amount of the damage. It´s too valuable issue to be left solely to the consideration of the judge. We need to enlighten also that later. The aim is thus to administrate your damage claim or defend against unfair one with best way possible.

Author: Pirkka Lappalainen, Master of Laws, licensed court counsel

All rights reserved. Published in Tampere 28.8.2024.

Key words

Tort law, Tort Liability Act, Damages, Personal injury, Victim, Contractual Liability, Adjustment, Public authority liability, Trial

Hakusanat

Vahingonkorvaus, Vahingonkorvauslaki, Henkilövahinko, Uhri, Sopimukseen perustuva vahingonkorvaus, Sovittelu, Julkisen vallan vahingonkorvausvastuu, Oikeudenkäynti

Disclaimer

This article includes only general information and is not intented for the estimation of individual cases. Thus no liability assumed. With your true legal problem you can contact me or other legal counsel.

Vastuunrajoitus

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