

Who pays medical expenses after a traffic accident in Turkey? Learn the roles of the Social Security Institution, compulsory motor insurance and liable parties, including uncovered treatment, caregiver costs, rehabilitation and claims by foreign accident victims.
Medical expenses are often one of the first financial concerns after a serious traffic accident in Turkey. Emergency treatment, surgery, hospitalization, medication, medical equipment, rehabilitation and long-term care can create substantial costs, particularly where the victim suffers spinal injuries, traumatic brain injury, multiple fractures or permanent disability. For foreign tourists and international residents, the situation can appear even more complicated because they may not be enrolled in the Turkish social security system and may continue treatment outside Turkey after returning home.
The most important point is that medical expenses arising from traffic accidents are subject to a special legal framework in Turkey. Under Article 98 of the Highway Traffic Law, healthcare service costs provided by university hospitals and other public and private healthcare institutions because of traffic accidents are covered by the Social Security Institution, regardless of whether the accident victim personally has social security coverage. (Aile ve Sosyal Hizmetler Bakanlığı)
This does not mean, however, that every expense connected with an injury is automatically paid by the Social Security Institution or that insurance companies have no further responsibility. A serious accident may generate costs outside the statutory healthcare reimbursement system, including certain caregiver expenses and other losses connected with bodily injury. Turkish Court of Cassation decisions distinguish healthcare service costs falling within Article 98 from other accident-related losses for which the responsible parties and compulsory motor insurer may remain liable. (İctihat Server)
For this reason, a medical-expense claim should begin by separating healthcare costs covered by the Social Security Institution, expenses falling outside that system, bodily injury compensation and other economic losses.
Article 98 of the Highway Traffic Law establishes the basic rule. Healthcare service costs arising from traffic accidents and provided by university hospitals and other public and private healthcare institutions are covered by the Social Security Institution regardless of the victim’s personal social security status. (Aile ve Sosyal Hizmetler Bakanlığı)
The Social Security Institution itself confirms that traffic accident victims receive qualifying healthcare services under this framework regardless of whether they otherwise have social security coverage. (SGK)
This is particularly important for foreign accident victims.
A person should therefore not assume that being a tourist or lacking ordinary Turkish social security registration automatically means that all traffic-accident treatment must be personally financed.
The Article 98 system is based on the traffic accident and healthcare services provided rather than simply on whether the victim is ordinarily registered with the Turkish social security system.
The Social Security Institution expressly states that qualifying healthcare service costs arising from traffic accidents are covered regardless of whether the accident victim has social security coverage. (SGK)
Accordingly, a foreign tourist injured in a car, taxi, bus, motorcycle, bicycle or pedestrian accident in Turkey should ensure that the healthcare provider properly records the treatment as arising from a traffic accident.
This classification can be extremely important.
The Social Security Institution specifically explains that where treatment is causally connected with a traffic accident, the healthcare provider should select the appropriate traffic accident provision category when processing the treatment. (SGK)
The victim should therefore make sure that hospital records accurately identify the accident.
Problems can arise when emergency treatment is recorded without a clear connection to the traffic accident and reimbursement issues appear later.
The accident report, emergency admission documents and medical history should all consistently reflect the cause of injury.
The Social Security Institution explains that traffic accident victims can directly apply to contracted healthcare providers and, in emergency circumstances, to non-contracted healthcare providers.
Where the first intervention occurs at a non-contracted healthcare provider, continuing treatment at that provider that constitutes continuation of the traffic-accident treatment can also be covered under the applicable rules, although the Institution states that this period cannot exceed six months. (SGK)
The exact treatment circumstances should therefore be reviewed before assuming that a private hospital charge must be personally paid.
This question requires an important distinction.
Compulsory motor liability insurance includes a healthcare-expense coverage category. However, Article 98 created a statutory mechanism under which healthcare service costs within the provision are handled through the Social Security Institution.
Insurance companies transfer amounts connected with this healthcare coverage into the statutory system as prescribed by law. (Aile ve Sosyal Hizmetler Bakanlığı)
Accordingly, an accident victim should not simply send every hospital invoice to the responsible driver’s compulsory insurer and assume that the insurer must directly reimburse it.
The nature of each expense must first be identified.
For 2026, the official compulsory motor insurance limits published by the Insurance and Private Pension Regulation and Supervision Authority provide TRY 3.6 million per person for healthcare expenses across the listed motor vehicle categories.
For motor vehicles used to transport people, the healthcare expense limits are TRY 3.6 million per person and TRY 18 million per accident. For vehicles used to transport goods, trailers and construction machinery, the per-person limit is TRY 3.6 million and the accident-wide limit is TRY 36 million. For motorcycles and cargo motorcycles, the per-person healthcare limit is TRY 3.6 million and the accident-wide limit is TRY 10.8 million.
SEDDK increased the bodily injury coverage amount from TRY 2.7 million to TRY 3.6 million for 2026 and announced that the updated limits also apply to existing compulsory motor insurance policies without an additional premium. (SEDDK)
These limits should not be confused with an automatic cash payment to the accident victim.
No. This distinction is extremely important.
Article 98 concerns healthcare service costs provided by healthcare institutions because of traffic accidents. The Social Security Institution administers qualifying healthcare expenses according to its reimbursement procedures and applicable healthcare rules. (SGK)
However, bodily injury can generate additional expenses that do not fall within the statutory healthcare-service category handled by the Social Security Institution.
Court of Cassation jurisprudence recognizes this distinction and has held that certain losses outside the Social Security Institution’s Article 98 responsibility can remain recoverable from those legally responsible for the accident and their compulsory motor insurer. (İctihat Server)
This means every expense should be classified rather than rejected merely because it has some connection with medical recovery.
Caregiver expenses are a particularly important example.
A seriously injured person may require another person’s assistance with bathing, dressing, eating, mobility and daily activities during recovery.
In catastrophic cases, assistance may be required permanently.
Court of Cassation jurisprudence distinguishes caregiver expenses from healthcare service costs that the Social Security Institution must bear under Article 98. In a decision concerning temporary caregiver expenses, the Court concluded that the Social Security Institution’s responsibility under Article 98 is limited to healthcare services provided by healthcare institutions and that qualifying temporary caregiver losses can remain the responsibility of the persons who caused the damage and the insurer covering their liability. (İctihat Server)
This distinction can significantly increase the value of a serious bodily injury claim.
The absence of a professional caregiver invoice does not necessarily mean that no economic loss exists.
A seriously injured person may require continuous assistance provided by a spouse, parent, child or other relative.
The medical need for assistance should be established carefully.
The duration and intensity of the required care are critical because temporary assistance during recovery is different from lifelong care resulting from catastrophic permanent disability.
Spinal cord injury, severe traumatic brain injury, paralysis and other catastrophic conditions can leave a victim dependent on assistance for life.
Future care can therefore become one of the largest components of the compensation case.
The claimant should obtain medical evidence concerning whether assistance is necessary, how many hours of care are required and whether the need is temporary or permanent.
A serious claim should not be settled before the long-term care requirement is understood.
Some accident-related expenses may fall outside the Social Security Institution’s statutory responsibility.
Court of Cassation jurisprudence has recognized that expenses outside the healthcare services covered under Article 98 can require separate compensation analysis. (İctihat Server)
The claimant should therefore preserve every invoice, receipt, prescription and payment record.
The correct approach is not to assume that an expense is recoverable merely because money was spent. The claimant must establish that it was medically necessary, causally related to the accident and legally chargeable to the responsible party or insurer.
Medication prescribed because of accident-related injuries should be documented carefully.
Prescriptions, pharmacy invoices and medical reports should be preserved.
Where the medication falls within the healthcare reimbursement system, the statutory framework will be relevant.
Where an expense remains outside the reimbursed healthcare services, its recoverability against another responsible party requires separate legal analysis.
Serious injuries can require wheelchairs, orthopedic devices, braces, prosthetic equipment or other medical aids.
The claimant should obtain medical documentation explaining why the equipment is necessary.
Invoices and quotations should also be preserved.
Where replacement or periodic renewal will be necessary in the future, the long-term requirement should be medically established rather than estimated informally.
Loss of a limb can create substantial lifelong costs.
A prosthetic limb may require maintenance and eventual replacement. Different prosthetic systems can also have dramatically different costs depending on the victim’s medical and functional requirements.
A compensation claim should therefore examine not only the first prosthesis but also the long-term consequences of the injury.
Future costs should be supported by medical and technical evidence.
Rehabilitation can continue for months or years after a serious accident.
Physiotherapy, neurological rehabilitation and other treatment may be medically necessary to restore function or prevent deterioration.
The relationship between the treatment and the traffic accident should be clearly documented.
Where rehabilitation occurs within Turkey, the Social Security Institution’s applicable traffic-accident healthcare rules should be examined.
Where treatment occurs abroad, a different issue arises.
This is particularly important for foreign tourists.
The Social Security Institution states that where a traffic accident occurs in Turkey and the victim subsequently continues related treatment abroad because of residence or similar reasons, those foreign treatment costs are not covered by the Institution, except for treatment falling within the specific statutory provisions concerning treatment abroad. (SGK)
Therefore, a foreign tourist who returns home after surgery in Turkey should not assume that the Social Security Institution will reimburse continuing treatment received abroad.
This does not necessarily resolve whether another legally responsible party may be liable for medically necessary foreign treatment expenses. That question requires a separate compensation analysis based on causation, necessity, liability and evidence.
Foreign accident victims should preserve complete documentation for treatment received after returning home.
Hospital invoices, specialist reports, prescriptions, rehabilitation records and proof of payment should be retained.
The records should demonstrate that the treatment relates to injuries caused by the Turkish traffic accident.
Where costs are unusually high, the opposing insurer or defendant may dispute whether they were medically necessary or reasonable.
Detailed medical evidence can therefore become essential.
Emergency surgery is often necessary after severe traffic trauma.
The victim should preserve operative reports, imaging records, discharge documents and subsequent specialist reports.
These documents are important not only for healthcare expense issues but also for permanent disability and loss-of-earning-capacity claims.
A medical expense file should therefore never be separated completely from the broader bodily injury case.
Some victims require additional operations after the initial recovery period.
Orthopedic implants may need removal or replacement. Complications can require further procedures. Severe injuries may necessitate reconstructive surgery.
Future medical expenses should not be based on speculation.
A specialist should identify whether future treatment is reasonably expected and explain its medical basis.
Traffic accidents can cause facial injuries, burns and permanent scarring.
Reconstructive surgery may be medically necessary rather than merely cosmetic.
The claimant should obtain specialist evidence explaining the purpose of proposed treatment and its connection to the accident.
The label placed on a procedure should not substitute for examining its actual medical necessity.
Traffic collisions can cause fractured or lost teeth, jaw injuries and other dental trauma.
Emergency and restorative dental treatment should be documented through imaging, treatment plans and invoices.
Where implants or future replacement procedures may be necessary, the long-term treatment plan should be preserved.
A serious traffic accident can also produce significant psychological consequences.
Where psychiatric or psychological treatment is medically necessary because of accident-related injury, the treatment should be documented appropriately.
The claimant should preserve medical reports and treatment records establishing the causal relationship with the accident.
The existence and scope of any recoverable loss will depend on the applicable legal and healthcare framework.
Emergency transportation can form part of the medical response to a serious accident.
Where additional transportation expenses arise during treatment, documentation should establish why the transportation was medically necessary and directly connected with the accident.
Receipts and medical recommendations should be preserved.
This is particularly important where specialized transportation is required because the victim cannot travel normally.
A major mistake is treating all bodily injury losses as “medical expenses.”
Suppose a victim spends three months recovering after surgery and cannot work.
The hospital treatment and the income lost during those three months are legally distinct types of loss.
The Social Security Institution’s responsibility for healthcare service costs does not automatically eliminate a separate temporary loss-of-earnings claim.
Court of Cassation decisions continue to recognize temporary disability and caregiver losses as distinct issues in compulsory motor insurance disputes. (Hukuk Asistan)
Permanent disability compensation should not be confused with reimbursement of medical expenses.
A person may receive hospital treatment without personally paying the hospital bill and nevertheless suffer catastrophic permanent economic loss because the injuries prevent a return to the previous occupation.
The 2026 compulsory motor insurance schedule therefore separately identifies healthcare expenses and disability and death as different coverage categories. For motor vehicles used to transport people, both categories have a TRY 3.6 million per-person limit in 2026, with separate accident-wide limits.
A victim should therefore not assume that healthcare reimbursement represents the entire bodily injury claim.
A victim may be unable to work while hospitalized or undergoing rehabilitation.
Employees should preserve employment contracts, salary records, payroll documentation and bank statements.
Self-employed victims should preserve invoices, tax documentation and historical income records.
The calculation should reflect actual economic loss and the period medically attributable to the accident.
Any social security payment received for the same period may also need to be considered when calculating the final loss, depending on the applicable rules. Recent Court of Cassation litigation confirms that such payments can be relevant to the calculation of temporary disability compensation. (Hukuk Asistan)
Foreign tourists and international employees may lose income earned outside Turkey.
Where this loss is legally compensable, the claimant should establish it through employment contracts, salary statements, tax documents and bank records.
The fact that the salary was earned in another country does not mean it should simply be ignored.
However, high foreign earnings should be documented particularly carefully because the insurer may challenge unsupported claims.
A passenger injured in a traffic accident may have compensation rights regardless of whether the responsible vehicle is the vehicle in which the passenger was travelling or another vehicle.
Healthcare services falling under Article 98 are handled through the statutory Social Security Institution system.
Other bodily injury losses should be evaluated against the legally responsible parties and applicable insurance.
The passenger’s lack of control over the driving can be particularly relevant to fault analysis.
The same basic distinction applies to pedestrians.
A pedestrian struck by a motor vehicle may receive qualifying accident-related healthcare services through the Article 98 framework regardless of ordinary social security status. (SGK)
Separate claims may arise for permanent disability, temporary economic loss, caregiver expenses and other legally compensable damages.
The victim should therefore avoid treating the hospital reimbursement issue as the conclusion of the entire case.
Motorcyclists and cyclists frequently suffer severe orthopedic and neurological injuries requiring prolonged rehabilitation.
Where another insured motor vehicle caused the collision, compulsory motor liability insurance may become important for bodily injury compensation.
Healthcare service expenses within Article 98 remain subject to the statutory system.
The victim should separately identify permanent disability, income loss, caregiver needs and any expenses outside the Social Security Institution’s responsibility.
Partial fault can affect claims against legally responsible third parties.
For example, a motorcyclist may have contributed to the collision while another driver also bears substantial responsibility.
Healthcare treatment under the Article 98 system should not simply be confused with the eventual fault allocation in the civil compensation claim.
The broader damages case, however, requires careful analysis of each party’s responsibility.
An uninsured vehicle does not mean that emergency healthcare rights disappear.
The Article 98 healthcare framework operates separately from whether the accident victim personally has social security coverage. (SGK)
For other bodily injury compensation, the possibility of a claim involving the Guarantee Fund should be investigated where the statutory conditions are satisfied.
The precise category of loss remains important because not every expense is treated identically.
The inability to identify the responsible vehicle does not change the need for immediate medical treatment.
The accident should nevertheless be documented carefully.
Police records, CCTV footage, witness statements and medical documentation should be preserved.
For compensation beyond Article 98 healthcare services, alternative statutory mechanisms may need investigation depending on the injuries and circumstances.
Potentially, depending on the policy and circumstances.
Private health insurance and travel insurance are contractual products whose coverage depends on their wording.
A foreign tourist may therefore have several overlapping mechanisms: the statutory traffic-accident healthcare framework, travel insurance, private health insurance and liability claims against responsible parties.
These should not be confused with each other.
A payment from one source may also need to be considered when pursuing another claim, depending on the nature of the payment and applicable legal rules.
Foreign tourists should notify their travel insurer promptly where the policy may cover accident-related treatment.
The policy may cover matters that the Turkish statutory system does not, particularly costs arising after the victim returns home.
However, exclusions, notification deadlines, deductibles and treatment-authorization requirements should be reviewed.
The travel insurance claim should therefore be coordinated with the Turkish traffic compensation case.
The reason for the demand should be identified before assuming it is legally correct.
The claimant should determine whether the treatment was properly recorded as traffic-accident treatment, whether the healthcare provider is contracted with the Social Security Institution, whether the service falls within the statutory reimbursement system and whether the requested payment concerns something outside covered healthcare services.
The Social Security Institution expressly recognizes direct access to contracted healthcare providers and emergency access to non-contracted providers under its traffic-accident framework. (SGK)
Receipts should always be obtained for any amount personally paid.
Potentially, but payment alone does not automatically establish recoverability.
The claimant should establish why the expense was personally incurred, whether it was medically necessary, whether it was related to the traffic accident and whether it should have been covered through another statutory mechanism.
Where the expense falls outside the Social Security Institution’s responsibility, liability against the responsible parties and insurer should be examined.
Court of Cassation jurisprudence confirms that accident-related losses outside the healthcare service costs allocated to the Social Security Institution can remain compensable under the general bodily injury framework. (İctihat Server)
Invoices and receipts are extremely valuable and should always be preserved.
However, Turkish case law has recognized that certain accident-related treatment losses outside the Social Security Institution’s responsibility may require assessment even where conventional documentary proof is incomplete. (İctihat Server)
This should not be treated as permission to discard evidence.
A claimant with complete invoices, prescriptions, medical reports and proof of payment will generally be in a much stronger evidentiary position.
This has been a recurring dispute.
Court of Cassation jurisprudence has rejected the proposition that all temporary caregiver expenses are automatically transferred to the Social Security Institution merely because they relate to the victim’s recovery. The Court has explained that Article 98 concerns healthcare services provided by healthcare institutions, while qualifying caregiver losses can remain the responsibility of the tortfeasor and the compulsory insurer. (İctihat Server)
Accordingly, the insurer’s characterization of a loss is not necessarily decisive.
The actual legal nature of the expense must be examined.
Where a compulsory motor insurer rejects or underpays a qualifying bodily injury claim, Insurance Arbitration may provide a dispute-resolution route after the required application procedures have been completed.
The dispute may concern caregiver expenses, temporary disability, permanent disability, causation, fault or whether a particular expense falls outside the Social Security Institution’s statutory responsibility.
Medical and financial evidence should therefore be organized before proceedings begin.
The claimant should specify exactly which losses are being demanded rather than submitting a general request for “all medical expenses.”
The victim should preserve the official accident report, emergency records, hospital admission documents, discharge reports, operative reports, imaging results, prescriptions, invoices, pharmacy receipts, rehabilitation records, medical equipment invoices and specialist reports. Evidence concerning caregiver needs should also be preserved where relevant.
Foreign victims should additionally retain travel insurance policies, foreign hospital records, foreign invoices, proof of payment and documents connecting continuing treatment with the Turkish accident.
Employment and income documentation should be preserved separately because loss of earnings is not simply another hospital expense.
The most important principle is that “medical expenses” after a Turkish traffic accident are not one single legal category. Hospital healthcare services falling within Article 98 are handled through the Social Security Institution, while caregiver expenses, certain uncovered treatment-related losses, temporary disability, permanent disability and other economic consequences may require claims against different responsible parties or insurers. (SGK)
Under Article 98 of the Highway Traffic Law, qualifying healthcare service costs provided because of traffic accidents are covered by the Social Security Institution regardless of whether the accident victim has ordinary social security coverage. (Aile ve Sosyal Hizmetler Bakanlığı)
The Social Security Institution states that qualifying traffic-accident healthcare services are covered regardless of whether the accident victim has social security coverage. Foreign victims should ensure that the healthcare provider properly records the treatment as traffic-accident related. (SGK)
SEDDK’s official 2026 compulsory motor insurance schedule provides a TRY 3.6 million per-person healthcare expense limit for the listed motor vehicle categories, with different accident-wide limits according to vehicle category.
Not necessarily. Healthcare services falling within Article 98 are handled through the Social Security Institution framework. Other accident-related losses require separate analysis.
Potentially, yes. Court of Cassation jurisprudence recognizes that qualifying caregiver expenses outside the Social Security Institution’s Article 98 healthcare responsibility can remain recoverable from the responsible parties and their compulsory motor insurer. (İctihat Server)
Potentially, yes. Temporary disability and lost earnings are legally distinct from hospital healthcare costs and require separate calculation and evidence.
The Social Security Institution states that treatment continuing abroad after an accident occurring in Turkey is generally not covered by the Institution merely because the victim returned to their country of residence, subject to the specific statutory exception it identifies for treatment abroad. (SGK)
Potentially, depending on causation, medical necessity, liability and the applicable compensation rules. Complete foreign medical records, invoices and proof of payment should be preserved.
No. The 2026 compulsory motor insurance schedule separately identifies healthcare expenses and disability/death coverage.
The exact nature of each loss should be examined. Court of Cassation jurisprudence distinguishes Article 98 healthcare service costs from other losses such as qualifying caregiver expenses that may remain recoverable from responsible parties and insurers. (İctihat Server)
Medical expense claims after serious traffic accidents require careful separation of different categories of loss. The Social Security Institution’s responsibility under Article 98 should not be confused with the compulsory motor insurer’s responsibility for other bodily injury damages. A victim may have hospital treatment handled through the statutory system while simultaneously holding substantial claims for caregiver costs, temporary inability to work, permanent disability and loss of future earning capacity.
The distinction is particularly important for foreign victims. A foreign tourist may receive initial treatment in Turkey and then continue rehabilitation or surgery after returning home. The Social Security Institution expressly states that such continuing foreign treatment is generally outside its traffic-accident reimbursement framework, subject to its stated statutory exception. (SGK) The resulting foreign expenses and broader bodily injury losses should therefore be analyzed separately rather than simply assumed to be unrecoverable.
Fırat Fesih Kaya Law Office assists foreign individuals and international clients with traffic accident medical expense claims, serious injury compensation, caregiver expenses, foreign medical expenses, rehabilitation costs, temporary disability, permanent disability, loss of earnings, compulsory motor insurance disputes, Insurance Arbitration and traffic accident compensation proceedings in Turkey.
Phone: +90 312 434 22 22
Mobile: +90 532 769 22 22
Email: info@firatfesihkaya.av.tr
Address: Mevlana Boulevard No: 221, Yıldırım Tower, Balgat, Çankaya, Ankara, Turkey