IP Law · 06.11.2024

TRUCK ACCIDENT IN VIETNAM – UNILAW

TRUCK ACCIDENT IN VIETNAM – UNILAW Road traffic in Vietnam is a complex environment where motorbikes, passenger cars, and heavy-duty trucks share narrow corridors, leading to a high frequency of collisions. When a truck accident in Vietnam – Unilaw occurs, the legal ramifications…

Lawyer UnilawReading time: 14 min

By Dr. Bui Duc Anh and Lawyer Nguyen Nhu Hai – UniLaw LLC

TRUCK ACCIDENT IN VIETNAM – UNILAW

Road traffic in Vietnam is a complex environment where motorbikes, passenger cars, and heavy-duty trucks share narrow corridors, leading to a high frequency of collisions. When a truck accident in Vietnam – Unilaw occurs, the legal ramifications often span multiple areas of law, including civil liability, commercial transportation contracts, insurance disputes, and even criminal prosecution. Navigating these waters requires the expertise of an international law firm in Vietnam that understands both local practices and global standards. At Unilaw, our lawyer in hanoi and law firm in ho chi minh city teams have handled numerous high-stakes cases involving logistics giants and individual vehicle owners, ensuring that justice is served and compensation is recovered.

A Multi-Billion VND Rear-End Collision: The Lexus LS460 vs. The Heavy Truck

To understand the complexity of these incidents, let us examine a real-world case handled by the Vietnamese courts involving a luxury vehicle and a transport enterprise. On January 19, 2017, a Lexus LS460 owned by Company D was stopped at a red light on National Highway 1A in Binh Thuan Province. Suddenly, a heavy truck with license plate 78C-00347, owned by Private Enterprise V and driven by driver Phan Tien L., slammed directly into the rear of the Lexus. The impact was devastating, causing severe structural damage to the luxury sedan. A repair estimate from an authorized garage placed the costs at over 1.6 billion VND.

The conflict arose when Company D sought compensation from its insurer, Pjico (General Insurance Joint Stock Corporation B). Pjico argued that they should only pay 223 million VND, a figure derived from a valuation conducted during the related criminal proceedings against the truck driver. Pjico further claimed that the owner of the Lexus had failed to notify them immediately in writing. However, Unilaw’s analysis shows that the insured had indeed called the hot-line and worked with Pjico’s staff from the start. The Court of First Instance in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, originally ordered Pjico to pay 1.4 billion VND. After a series of appeals, the High People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City finally ruled that the insurance company must honor the contract value, emphasizing that criminal asset valuations do not necessarily limit the civil liability under a comprehensive insurance policy. This case serves as a warning that without a law firm in vietnam to challenge insurance adjusters, victims often receive only a fraction of their actual losses.

Strict Liability: The Truck as a High-Risk Source of Danger

Under Vietnamese law, a truck is not merely a vehicle; it is legally classified as a “high-risk source of danger” (nguồn nguy hiểm cao độ). This classification imposes a “strict liability” standard on the owner or the lawful possessor of the vehicle. This means that if a truck causes damage, the owner must provide compensation even if they were not personally negligent or at fault for the specific maneuver that led to the crash.

The Civil Code of 2015 provides the foundational framework for this liability:

Article 601. Compensation for damage caused by high-risk sources of danger
1. High-risk sources of danger include motorized means of transport, power transmission systems, operating industrial plants, weapons, explosives, inflammable substances, toxic substances, radioactive substances, wild animals and other high-risk sources of danger as prescribed by law. An owner of a high-risk source of danger must operate, use, store, transport and preserve the high-risk source of danger in accordance with the law.
2. An owner of a high-risk source of danger must compensate for damage caused by the high-risk source of danger; if the owner has delivered the possession or use of the high-risk source of danger to another person, such person shall compensate, unless otherwise agreed.
3. An owner, or a person to whom the owner has delivered the possession or use of a high-risk source of danger must compensate for damage caused by such source of danger, even if such person is not at fault, except in the following cases:
a) The damage was caused entirely by the intentional fault of the aggrieved person;
b) The damage occurred in a case of force majeure or an emergency situation, unless otherwise prescribed by law.
4. In cases where a high-risk source of danger is possessed or used illegally, the person who is possessing or using it illegally must compensate for the damage. If the owner, or the person who is lawfully possessing or using the high-risk source of danger, is at fault for allowing the high-risk source of danger to be possessed or used illegally, they must jointly compensate for the damage.

In layman’s terms, this law means that if your truck hits someone, you are usually responsible for the bill even if you weren’t “wrong” in the traditional sense, unless the other person tried to get hit on purpose or an unpredictable disaster occurred. It also clarifies that if you let someone steal your truck because you were careless with the keys, you might still have to pay for the accidents they cause.

Identifying the Responsible Party: Owners vs. Possessors

One of the most common questions our lawyers in hanoi receive is: “Who do I sue?” If a truck is owned by a logistics company but driven by a hired employee, the company (the legal person) is the primary target for a lawsuit. The Supreme People’s Court has clarified that we must distinguish between an employee and a renter.

If Company A hires Driver B to drive their truck and pays him a wage, Company A is the “possessor” and controller of the vehicle and is liable for damages. However, if Company A leases the truck to Company C through a formal rental agreement, and Company C decides the routes and schedules, then Company C becomes the “possessor” and bears the liability. This distinction is vital for any law firm in ho chi minh city when drafting a statement of claim, as suing the wrong entity can lead to a dismissal of the case.

The Critical Role of Logistics Liability and Subrogation

In the world of international trade, a truck accident in Vietnam – Unilaw often involves cargo belonging to a third party. When a truck flips over, such as the case in Bac Giang where a trailer carrying Vina Solar panels overturned due to speeding in the rain, the insurance company often pays the cargo owner first and then “steps into their shoes” to sue the carrier. This is known as “subrogation” or “assignment of the right to claim” (thế quyền).

The Law on Insurance Business and the Civil Code are very clear on this right:

Article 49. Transfer of the right to demand compensation (Law on Insurance Business 2000)
1. In cases where a third party is at fault for causing damage to the insured person and the insurance enterprise has paid compensation to the insured person, the insured person must transfer the right to demand the third party to reimburse the amount of money which the insured person has received as compensation to the insurance enterprise.

Essentially, once your insurance company pays for your broken goods, you give them the right to go after the person who caused the accident to get their money back. You cannot collect money from the insurance and then also sue the driver for the same thing; you have to let the insurance company handle the second part.

Article 365. Transfer of the right to demand (Civil Code 2015)
1. A party having the right to demand the fulfillment of a civil obligation may transfer such right to a person of their choice through an agreement, except in the following cases:
a) The right to demand is a right to demand support or a right to demand compensation for damage caused by infringement of life, health, honor, dignity or reputation;
b) The parties have an agreement or the law has a regulation that the right to demand may not be transferred.
2. When a party having the right to demand transfers such right to a person of their choice, that person shall become the party having the right to demand.

This means you can sell or give your right to collect a debt or compensation to someone else, and once you do, that new person has all the legal power you used to have to go to court. However, you can’t transfer very personal rights, like the right to get child support or money for your own physical injuries.

Mandatory Insurance Limits and the Trap of Low Payouts

Every motorized vehicle in Vietnam is required to carry “Compulsory Civil Liability Insurance of Motor Vehicle Owners” (Bảo hiểm bắt buộc trách nhiệm dân sự của chủ xe cơ giới). For many truck owners, this is the only insurance they have. However, the limits provided by Decree 67/2023/NĐ-CP are often insufficient for major accidents.

Article 6. Limits of insurance liability (Decree 67/2023/NĐ-CP)
1. The limit of insurance liability for damage to health and life caused by motor vehicles is 150 million VND per person per accident.
2. The limit of insurance liability for property damage:
… b) Caused by automobiles; tractors; trailers or semi-trailers towed by automobiles, tractors … is 100 million VND per accident.

This means that even if a truck destroys a 2 billion VND Ferrari, the mandatory insurance will only pay 100 million VND for the car. If a person is killed, the family only gets 150 million VND from this specific policy. This is why law firms in vietnam always look for “voluntary” insurance policies or sue the company’s assets directly to cover the massive remaining gap.

Reporting Delays: How to Lose Your Insurance Claim in 138 Days

A recurring issue in truck accidents in Vietnam – Unilaw is the failure of the owner to notify the insurer promptly. In a commercial dispute involving a road construction failure (which shares similar insurance principles with truck accidents), a contractor waited 138 days to report a “loss” (cracks in the road). The insurer successfully argued that this delay prevented them from accurately assessing the cause and whether it fell under an exclusion.

Decree 67/2023/NĐ-CP mandates specific responsibilities for the insured:

Article 12. Principles of insurance compensation
… 1. When an accident occurs, the insurance buyer or the insured shall have the responsibility to:
a) Notify the insurance enterprise immediately via the hotline to coordinate the resolution, actively provide first aid, mitigate damage to health, life and property, and protect the accident scene.
b) Not move, dismantle or repair the property without the consent of the insurance enterprise, except where it is necessary to ensure safety, prevent further damage …
c) Actively collect and provide documents in the insurance claim file ….

If you have an accident, you must call your insurance company immediately and leave the cars exactly where they are until they say otherwise, unless someone’s life is in danger. If you fix the truck yourself before they see it, they can legally refuse to pay you anything.

Criminal Consequences for the Driver and the Manager

In Vietnam, a truck accident is not just a “civil matter” if there is a death or high property damage. The Penal Code of 2015 (amended 2017) provides for heavy prison sentences for drivers who violate traffic rules. Most importantly for business owners, it also punishes the managers who allow unqualified drivers to take the wheel.

Article 260. Offence of violating regulations on participation in road traffic
1. Any person who violates regulations on safety of road traffic and causes damage to another person in one of the following cases shall be liable to a fine of from 30,000,000 VND to 100,000,000 VND, face a penalty of up to 03 years’ community sentence or 01 – 05 years’ imprisonment:
a) Death of a person;
b) Causing injury or health damage to 01 person with the whole-body injury rate of 61% or more;
… d) Causing property damage of from 100,000,000 VND to under 500,000,000 VND.

If a driver’s mistake kills someone or causes over 100 million VND in damage, they aren’t just looking at a ticket; they are looking at years in prison. The more people hurt or the more property destroyed, the longer the prison stay.

Article 263. Offence of mobilizing persons who are ineligible to operate vehicles in road traffic
1. Any person who has the authority but knowingly mobilizes a person who does not have a license, does not have enough health, is not of age … or a person who is under the influence of alcohol … to operate a vehicle and causes damage … shall be liable to a fine of from 20,000,000 VND to 100,000,000 VND, face a penalty of up to 03 years’ community sentence or 01 – 03 years’ imprisonment.

This is the “Manager’s Clause.” If a fleet manager knows a driver has been drinking or doesn’t have a valid heavy-truck license but still sends them out on a delivery, that manager can go to jail personally if an accident happens. As a leading law firm in hanoi, we emphasize that corporate compliance in logistics is a matter of personal freedom for executives.

Calculating Fair Compensation: Beyond the Repair Bill

A common mistake victims make is only asking for the cost of fixing the vehicle. Under the Vietnamese Civil Code and guidance from the Supreme Court, “actual damage” includes much more.

Article 589. Damage caused by infringement of property (Civil Code 2015)
Damage caused by infringement of property includes:
1. Lost property, destroyed or damaged property.
2. Interests associated with the use and exploitation of the property which are lost or reduced.
3. Reasonable costs for preventing, mitigating and remedying the damage.
4. Other damage as prescribed by law.

When your truck is wrecked, the “damage” isn’t just the repair bill. It’s also the money you lost because that truck wasn’t out making deliveries for three weeks, and the money you spent on a crane to pull it out of a ditch. A good lawyer will add all these up.

In the case of “infringement of health,” the compensation becomes even more detailed:

Article 590. Damage caused by infringement of health
1. Damage caused by infringement of health includes:
a) Reasonable costs for treatment, nursing and rehabilitation of health and functions which are lost or reduced for the aggrieved person;
b) Loss of or reduction in the actual income of the aggrieved person …
c) Reasonable costs and actual income loss of the person who takes care of the aggrieved person during the period of treatment ….

If you are hurt, the person who hit you pays for the hospital, but also for the salary you didn’t get while you were in bed. They even have to pay for the lost wages of your wife or husband if they had to quit work to stay in the hospital and look after you.

The Exclusion Clauses: When Insurers Walk Away

As an international law firm in Vietnam, Unilaw often reviews insurance policies for foreign investors. Insurers use “Exclusion Clauses” (loại trừ trách nhiệm) to avoid paying in high-risk scenarios. Common exclusions in truck accidents include:

The driver fled the scene to avoid responsibility (unless they eventually fulfilled their civil duties).
The driver was under the influence of alcohol beyond the permitted limit or used prohibited drugs.
The truck was overloaded beyond its technical capacity (a very common issue for transport companies).
The driver did not have a valid, appropriate license for that class of truck.

If any of these conditions are met, the insurer is legally permitted to deny the claim. Our lawyer in hanoi teams often encounter cases where an insurer tries to apply these exclusions unfairly, such as claiming a vehicle was “unsafe” simply because a tire blew out, which requires technical proof that the blowout was due to poor maintenance rather than an external object.

The Strategy for Resolution: Negotiation vs. Litigation

When a client approaches Unilaw after a truck accident in Vietnam – Unilaw, we often suggest a tiered approach. Many law firms in vietnam rush to court, but litigation in Vietnam can be lengthy and unpredictable. For example, the Lexus LS460 case mentioned earlier took over five years to reach a final resolution.

1. Preservation of Evidence: We work with independent surveyors (such as Spicontrol or Nori) to create a “Certificate of Inspection” that carries more weight than an insurer’s in-house report.
2. Administrative Leverage: We coordinate with the Traffic Police (Cảnh sát giao thông) to ensure the official accident report accurately reflects the facts.
3. Arbitration Clauses: Many high-value transport contracts between foreign entities and Vietnamese carriers now include clauses for the Vietnam International Arbitration Centre (VIAC). Arbitration is often faster and more confidential than a public court trial.
4. Criminal-Civil Coordination: If the driver is prosecuted, the civil compensation can be settled within the same criminal trial to save time, or “split off” into a separate civil case if the evidence of damage is not yet complete.

Why Unilaw is the Right Choice for Your Case

As a premier international law firm in Vietnam, Unilaw offers a unique blend of local investigative power and international legal rigor. Whether you are a multi-national logistics company like Honda Logistics or Expeditors, or a manufacturer like Vina Solar dealing with damaged equipment, we provide the following:

Hanoi Presence: Our law firm in hanoi is strategically located to work with central government ministries and national-level insurance headquarters.
HCMC Expertise: Our law firm in ho chi minh city serves the busiest ports and industrial hubs in Asia.
Language and Culture: We bridge the gap for foreign investors, explaining the “why” behind Vietnamese court decisions in clear English.
Comprehensive Support: We don’t just write letters; we represent you in front of the police, at the negotiation table, and in the courtroom.

A truck accident can paralyze a business. By engaging a skilled lawyer in hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City, you ensure that your rights are not trampled by aggressive insurance companies or negligent carriers. Protect your assets and your people with the experts at Unilaw.