Injured in Italy? What new compensation rules means for travellers

If you’re reading this, chances are your trip to Italy hasn’t gone exactly to plan. Whether it was a collision on a winding road in Amalfi or a medical procedure in Milan that took a wrong turn, we know how overwhelming it feels. You’re in a foreign country, dealing with a foreign language, and trying to navigate a healthcare system tha, while excellent, doesn’t work quite like the one back home.

But here is the most important thing you need to know: in March 2025, the rules of the game changed.
Italy finally rolled out a long-awaited reform known as the Tabella Unica Nazionale (TUN). For years, the “value” of a personal injury in Italy was a bit of a lottery depending on which city you were in. Now, we have a standardised national table for serious injuries.

It’s meant to make things fairer, but for international travellers like you, it is a double-edged sword. Let’s walk through what this actually means for you, how it affects your compensation, and why you can’t simply rely on your medical records from home to win your case.

What legal changes were introduced in 2025?

The biggest shift is the move towards a national compensation table for personal injury claims. In simple terms, Italy is trying to make compensation for non-minor, medically assessable injuries much more consistent across the country. The point of the reform is to reduce uneven payouts and give courts and insurers a shared reference point. While it doesn’t completely remove the need for legal judgement, it does make the framework far more rigid.

What this means for you in practice:

• Compensation is now uniform across all Italian regions.
• Similar injuries are valued much more consistently.
• Non-pecuniary damage (pain and suffering) is assessed using a strict national structure.
• The specific, forensic medical evidence behind your injury matters more than ever.

Why this matters if you have suffered and injury

We know from our clients’ experience just how distressing suffering an injury abroad can be. Beyond the immediate physical trauma, international travellers face the added burden of navigating an unfamiliar legal system.

The introduction of the 2025 TUN fundamentally alters how compensation is assessed following an accident in Italy. What may initially feel like a straightforward holiday injury can quickly evolve into a highly regulated legal procedure, particularly once the long-term consequences of the incident become clear.

Understanding this new legal framework is crucial if you find yourself in any of the following situations:

• You were injured in a road traffic accident in Italy, whether as a driver, passenger, or pedestrian.
• You slipped or fell due to unsafe conditions in a hotel, rental apartment, or restaurant.
• You sustained an injury during an organised excursion, boat trip, or guided activity.
• You received emergency treatment in Italy but had to continue your medical care and rehabilitation after returning home.
• You suffered a loss of income or incurred out-of-pocket costs once you returned to your home country.

What can be included in a personal injury claim in Italy?

The answer always depends on the specific facts of your case, but foreign claimants are often surprised by just how many different losses matter. In Italian personal injury law, a claim is rarely limited to the immediate accident itself; it covers the wider medical, financial, and practical consequences of the injury.

Biological damage

If you have suffered temporary or permanent injury to your psychological or physical integrity, this forms the core of your claim. In Italy, this is assessed independently of whether the injury affects your ability to work, and it is strictly evaluated through an Italian medico-legal assessment.

Temporary and permanent disability

Temporary disability reflects the period where the injury restricted your normal life, while permanent disability covers the lasting consequences. Because the 2025 national table applies specifically to permanent injuries above a certain threshold, getting this distinction right is critical for serious cases.

Medical, rehabilitation, and assistance costs

Your claim can include the direct costs of treatment, medication, physiotherapy, and any other assistance required because of the accident. These must be supported by a solid paper trail: invoices, medical reports, and receipts.

Travel and related expenses

Travel costs linked to your treatment are recoverable if they were reasonably incurred because of the injury. This is vital for travellers who were treated in Italy and then continued care at home; your post-return treatment and travel expenses are not automatically excluded just because they were incurred outside of Italy.

Loss of earnings and future income loss

If the injury prevented you from working, your lost earnings can be claimed. In severe cases, this extends to future income loss. However, this must be meticulously proved with employment records, tax documents, and expert evidence.

Wider non-pecuniary impact

Italian law also reflects the emotional and practical consequences of the accident, including distress and a reduced quality of life. But be careful here: while claimants naturally talk about “suffering” in general terms, the legal assessment in Italy is highly structured and must be tied to recognised damage categories.

Long-term care and future treatment

If your injury creates ongoing needs, your claim can cover future treatment or long-term assistance. This is particularly relevant in complex claims where the full impact only becomes clear over time.

A strong claim is rarely built on one headline figure. It is built on a properly evidenced picture of what the injury changed, how long those effects lasted, and the financial losses that followed.

What to do during and after the accident for a successful claim

Under the strict parameters of the 2025 TUN framework, the success of your claim hinges entirely on the quality of your documentation. The Italian legal system leaves very little room for assumptions—if a specific damage or expense is not documented, it simply cannot be compensated.

The stronger your evidence, the easier it becomes for your legal team to properly assess your claim and negotiate with Italian insurance companies. Whether you are still in Italy or have recently returned home, you should systematically preserve the following:

• Photographic evidence: Take clear photos of the scene where the accident occurred (e.g., the hazard on the floor, the vehicle damage, road conditions) as well as photos of your visible injuries.
• Official reports: Obtain copies of any formal incident reports. This could be a police report (Verbale) from a road accident, or a written acknowledgement of a fall from a hotel manager.
• Comprehensive medical records: This includes your initial discharge papers from the Italian accident and emergency department (Pronto Soccorso), as well as all subsequent clinical notes, surgical reports, and physiotherapy records generated after you returned home.
• Financial receipts: Keep meticulous records of all out-of-pocket expenses. This includes private medical treatments, mobility aids, prescriptions, and extra costs like rebooked flights or extended hotel stays.
• Witness information: Secure the names, phone numbers, and email addresses of anyone who saw the incident. Locating international witnesses after the fact is exceedingly difficult.
• Travel and booking documents: Retain all booking confirmations and tickets that verify your status as a registered guest or passenger at the time of the incident.
• Written communications: Save all emails or messages exchanged with the hotel, tour operator, or involved insurers. Never admit fault or minimise your injuries in these communications.
• The “impact diary”. A highly effective but frequently overlooked piece of evidence is a personal impact diary. The 2025 reform includes specific calculations for the loss of your normal quality of life. Keep a short, ongoing note of how the injury has affected your routine—document pain levels, sleep disruption, mobility problems, and cancelled activities. Providing your lawyer with this day-to-day context allows them to push for the highest applicable compensation bracket.

FAQs: personal accidents resulting in injury in Italy

1. How long do I have to start a personal injury claim in Italy?

The time limit depends on the type of accident, the legal basis of the claim, and who is responsible. In cross-border cases, it is always safer to get legal advice early, because delays can make it harder to preserve documents, locate witnesses, and connect your treatment at home with the original accident in Italy.

2. How long does a personal injury case in Italy usually take?

There is no single timeline. A straightforward insurer negotiation may resolve much faster than a disputed court case, while serious injuries often take longer because the full medical picture must be understood before the claim can be properly valued. Cross-border cases can also take extra time when medical records need translation and legal interpretation.

3. How is pain and suffering assessed in Italy after the 2025 reform?

Italy does not treat “pain and suffering” as a vague, open-ended concept. Under the newer framework, non-pecuniary damage is assessed in a more structured way, with much more weight placed on formal medical evaluation and recognised categories of injury impact. That is why strong medico-legal evidence matters more than a general description of discomfort.

4. How are personal injury settlements calculated in Italy?

A settlement is not based on one number or one medical note. It is built from the overall legal and medical evidence, including the seriousness of the injury, how long the effects lasted, whether there are permanent consequences, what treatment was required, and what financial losses followed. For foreign claimants, the challenge is making sure home-country records are framed in a way that fits Italian legal standards.