In order for a compensation to be awarded due to a work accident, a loss must occur as a result of an existing and unlawful act. At the same time, there must be a causal link between the harm and the act. The nature of the employer’s legal responsibility due to occupational accidents occurring in the workplace is based on fault, according to the view adopted by the previous decisions of the Court of Cassation. In this case, if there is no appropriate causal link between the faulty action of the employer and the damage, the liability of the employer cannot be mentioned. If there is a suitable causal link, the right to file a lawsuit for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages will arise due to the work accident. Because, in accordance with Article 4 of the Occupational Health and Safety Law, the employer is obliged to ensure the occupational health and safety of the employees.
The relevant article of law regulating non-pecuniary damage: Turkish Code of Obligations Art.56 “In the event that a person’s bodily integrity is damaged, a judge may decide to pay an appropriate amount of money as non-pecuniary compensation, taking into account the characteristics of the event. In case of serious bodily harm or death, it may decide to pay an appropriate amount of money as moral compensation to the relatives of the injured or deceased person.
Here, what should be understood from the relatives of the deceased is a matter of debate. Non-pecuniary damage due to death is independent of inheritance, that is, it is not necessary to be the heir of the deceased in order to be a creditor of non-pecuniary damage due to death. However, even if the deceased is inherited, no non-pecuniary damage will be awarded if there is no moral pain or emotional shock due to death. In short, the term ‘close’ should be understood as a person who is truly saddened by someone’s death, that is, who is in a cordial relationship with him.
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