A severe road injury often changes many parts of life: health, work, personal autonomy and family balance. After an accident, however, the question is not only what sum may be due. It is necessary to understand what is compensated, which table applies, why the disability percentage is important but does not exhaust the damage, and which expenses or losses remain outside the tabular calculation.
In this guide I want to help you distinguish these levels. We will see why the Milan Tables are no longer the automatic starting point for serious injuries from traffic circulation, what role the National Single Table plays today, and when financial loss and the personal prejudice suffered by family members come into play. The date of the accident, the medico-legal framework and the documents proving the concrete consequences make a real difference.
When a road injury is considered a severe injury
We speak of a severe injury when permanent aftereffects exceed 9%. The relevant threshold is therefore at least 10% permanent disability: it does not depend solely on the initial severity of the trauma, the duration of hospitalization or the number of surgeries undergone. A major fracture can heal without leaving aftereffects that exceed the threshold; a seemingly circumscribed injury, on the other hand, can stably affect movement, pain, autonomy or essential functions.
The percentage requires a medico-legal assessment. Biological damage concerns the injury to psychophysical integrity that affects the person's daily activities and relationships, even if it does not produce a loss of income. For this reason, health data is not reduced to diagnosis: permanent aftereffects, disability during healing, and the way in which limitations affect concrete life all matter.
The severe injury does not coincide with the entire compensation. The degree of disability identifies a central component of non-pecuniary damage, but alone it establishes neither liability for the accident nor the amount of expenses incurred, future assistance needs or any loss of earning capacity. These are distinct levels that must be kept separate to prevent damage from remaining without an adequate item or being counted twice.
National Single Table and Milan Tables: which criterion applies
For accidents from March 5, 2025, the reference rule is the National Single Table. Presidential Decree no. 12 of January 13, 2025, entered into force on that date and governs the economic value of permanent disabilities from 10% to 100% resulting from the circulation of vehicles and watercraft. The regulation adopts both a table for biological damage and a table that includes biological damage with the moral component in minimum, average and maximum values. You can read the Presidential Decree no. 12 of 2025 published in the Official Gazette.
The date of the accident remains a decisive fact. Article 5 of the regulation establishes the direct application of the new discipline to accidents occurring after its entry into force. Therefore, the date of the compensation claim, the medico-legal visit or the lawsuit does not count: to identify the directly applicable regime, one must first place the harmful event in time.
The Milan Tables have not, however, disappeared from legal reasoning. With ruling no. 8630 of April 7, 2026, the Court of Cassation clarified that the National Single Table operates as a general parameter of equitable assessment even for biological damages deriving from events prior to March 5, 2025, and for cases extraneous to the scope of its direct application. The judge may depart from it, even choosing a praetorian table such as the Milanese one, but must explain what peculiar circumstances make the deviation justified. The principle expressed by the Court of Cassation in ruling no. 8630 of 2026 is important precisely because it avoids automatic responses based solely on the "Milan Tables" label.
It is not correct to freely sum or choose the most favorable tables. The table serves to translate an already ascertained impairment into money; it is not an additional item of damage. It is therefore necessary to distinguish the applicable calculation criterion from the actual content of the prejudice: age, permanent disability, temporary disability, inner pain and documented personal consequences affect the result, but each in its own space.
How non-pecuniary damage is formed in severe injuries
Permanent biological damage is the core of the tabular calculation. The National Single Table uses a point system that considers the age of the injured person and the percentage of disability together. The value grows more than proportionally with the increase in disability and decreases with the increase in age. Therefore, it is not enough to take a fixed amount for each point and multiply it: the system takes into account the concrete combination of these factors.
Temporary disability concerns the healing period. It is the damage referring to the days or periods in which the person could not normally perform their activities, to a total or partial extent. It can also be relevant when the permanent aftereffect is then contained, but in severe injuries it accompanies permanent damage and must be reconstructed on the basis of the clinical course, rehabilitation and actual ascertained limitations.
Moral damage is not a formula to be added automatically. The 2025 regulation provides a table that incorporates, alongside biological damage, the moral component in differentiated values. Pain, fear, upset and inner suffering must be traced back to the facts of the case, without transforming every serious injury into a duplication of items. Article 138 of the Insurance Code, recalled by the regulation, indeed links the assessment to an overall evaluation of non-pecuniary damage.
Customization requires specific and proven consequences. For severe injuries, Article 138 allows the judge to increase compensation by up to 30% when the impairment significantly affects personal dynamic-relational aspects, provided they are documented and objectively ascertained. It is not enough to repeat that life has become more difficult: it is necessary to explain which concrete activity was precluded or profoundly modified and what connection it has with the aftereffects. The text of the article and the criteria applied to the table are reported in the ordinary supplement of the Official Gazette containing Presidential Decree no. 12 of 2025.
Damages that the table does not calculate: expenses, income and assistance
Expenses and economic losses are not included in the tabular value of health damage. Visits, medications, physiotherapy, devices, home or vehicle adaptations, personal assistance and transport can constitute financial loss if they are a consequence of the accident and prove necessary. Expenses already incurred require evidence; future ones require a concrete basis that demonstrates their predictability and connection with the aftereffects.
Loss of income is different from biological damage. A person can have a severe impairment without losing earning capacity, or see their income reduced even beyond what the medico-legal percentage expresses. The difference depends on the work performed, the tasks that are no longer possible, the realistically practicable retraining paths and the demonstrable income before and after the accident.
A work reduction is not to be presumed solely from the severity of the disability. If the aftereffect compromises an essential function for a profession, the economic consequence can be significant; if instead the activity can continue with effective adjustments, income damage must be measured differently. Tax, social security, health and contractual documentation serves to link the physical limitation to an economically verifiable loss.
Keeping consistent documents avoids confusing the items. Medical records, specialist reports, rehabilitation certificates, prescriptions, expense receipts and income documents do not all have the same purpose. The former help define the injury and course; the others demonstrate an outlay or an economic loss. Presenting them in an orderly manner makes it possible to understand what pertains to the person, what to health and what to assets.
Family members' damage and liability for the accident
Family members do not automatically receive a share of the injured person's compensation. The primary victim's biological and moral damage belongs to the person who suffered the injury. However, a spouse, child, parent or other relative can allege their own reflected non-pecuniary damage when the severe injury has seriously and concretely affected the family relationship and their personal life.
The affectionate relationship alone does not replace the proof of prejudice. It counts, for example, if the injury entails continuous assistance, a change in cohabitation, the loss of a previously practicable relationship or a serious disruption of family habits. The severity of the injury is an important element, but it does not eliminate the need to distinguish the primary victim's damage from the independent damage of the relative.
For relatives of the severely injured person, a liquidation criterion suited to that specific damage is needed. The Court of Cassation has emphasized that the judge must refer to tables with quantification methods suitable for the reflected damages of family members of the gravely injured victim. The ruling highlighted precisely the difference between damage from injury to the parental relationship and the tables built for the health damage of the primary victim: you can find the related principle in order no. 13540 of 2023 of the Court of Cassation.
Before calculation, liability must be ascertained. No table alone solves the question of who caused the accident and to what extent. Reconstruction of the impact, conduct of the vehicles, possible behavior of the pedestrian or cyclist, police reports and testimonies affect the grounds and quantum of compensation. If contributory negligence on the part of the injured person emerges, compensation may be reduced to the extent corresponding to its causal incidence.
The claim to the insurance company and choices not to rush
The compensation claim must allow the insurance company to evaluate the damage. For personal injuries, Article 148 of the Insurance Code requires the indication of those entitled and the circumstances of the accident, together with data useful for assessing age, activity, income, injuries and healing with or without permanent aftereffects. The company must formulate a reasoned offer or explain why it does not consider it due within ninety days of receiving the requested documentation. The content of the procedure is indicated in Article 148 of the Private Insurance Code.
Incomplete documentation can make an adequate proposal more difficult. In the presence of serious injuries, clinical healing and the stabilization of aftereffects deserve particular attention: a permanent assessment formulated too soon may not represent the definitive picture. This does not mean suspending every initiative, but distinguishing the initial request, urgent expenses already demonstrable and the final quantification of aftereffects.
An offer must be read for what it includes and what it excludes. It is necessary to check whether it concerns only biological damage, whether it considers temporary disability and moral damage, whether it leaves out future expenses or loss of income and whether it proposes a comprehensive settlement. Accepting a sum is not a purely accounting gesture when the document contains clauses of balance, waiver or transaction.
The choice is not only between accepting or filing a lawsuit. Medico-legal points can be clarified beforehand, economic consequences documented, and specific observations formulated on the proposal. If a distance remains on liability, aftereffects or individual items of damage, the subsequent decision depends on what is actually contested and the available evidence. If you wish to discuss your case, you can contact me.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a severe injury always start from 10% permanent disability?
Yes, in traffic compensation the threshold for non-minor injuries starts at 10%. The data concerns permanent aftereffects ascertained in a medico-legal setting, not the duration of hospitalization or the severity perceived immediately after the accident. Days of temporary disability nevertheless remain a distinct component of damage.
Do the Milan Tables still apply to road accidents?
They do not constitute the direct criterion for accidents occurring after March 5, 2025, the date of entry into force of the National Single Table. For prior events, the Court of Cassation has recognized the TUN a general role as an equitable parameter; a deviation towards a praetorian table requires motivation based on actual peculiarities of the case.
Is moral damage always added to biological damage?
No, it must not be duplicated automatically. The National Single Table provides a table that includes biological damage and the moral component. Personal suffering must be considered in the overall settlement, but it is necessary to verify that the same consequence is not already included in the recognized value.
Can I claim future care or assistance expenses?
Yes, if they are a consequence of the injury and have a concrete basis. Future expenses are not included in the tabular value of biological damage, but must prove necessary or predictable in light of aftereffects, health prescriptions and actual assistance needs. A generic forecast is not sufficient.
Can my family members claim personal compensation?
They can do so when they demonstrate their own non-pecuniary prejudice, distinct from that of the injured person. The severe injury must have seriously and concretely affected the family relationship and their life. There is no automatic share connected to the primary victim's disability percentage.