Right to Compensation for an Accident Victim Unable to Practice Sport Under the Same Conditions as Before

The head of damages for loss of enjoyment of life allows for compensation where the victim is unable to continue regularly engaging in a sporting or leisure activity that they practiced before the accident.

In a judgment of 26 June 2024, the First Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation held that an insurer could not refuse to compensate a victim for loss of enjoyment on the grounds that the victim was still able to practice a sport (golf), albeit less regularly and with reduced success compared to before the accident.

Accordingly, a mere limitation (rather than a complete inability) to engage in a sporting activity is sufficient to justify compensation.