The German motorway services charged our client EUR 30,500.00 for cleaning the motorway and repairing the infrastructure. The damage was caused by a tire catching fire in the semi-trailer. The vehicle and the semi-trailer were insured in different insurance companies in Poland. Due to the location of the damage, German regulations apply. Both insurance companies considered the latter to be liable for the damage under third party liability insurance ppm  

Meanwhile, according to current German regulations, the owner of the vehicle towing the trailer is fully liable for damage caused by a semi-trailer. This means that a claim should be directed to the third-party liability insurer of the tractor, not the insurer of the semi-trailer.

According to the amendment to the German Road Traffic Act, which came into force on 17 July 2020, the owner of the vehicle pulling the trailer is fully liable for damage caused by a semi-trailer. In 2010, the Federal Court of Justice ruled in a judgment that in the event of an accident involving a vehicle combination, both the third-party liability insurer of the semi-trailer tractor and the insurer of the semi-trailer must cover half of the costs. This resulted in a significant increase in the prices of third-party liability insurance policies for semi-trailers.

Currently, in accordance with the guidelines of German law, compensation from third party liability insurance for a trailer is only possible if it contributed significantly to the damage, e.g. the brake line was incorrectly attached, which prevented braking.  

Similarly, the liability of the vehicle owner is shaped in the Polish legal system. According to Art. 37 of the Act on Compulsory Insurance, UFG and PBUK. "If damage is caused by the movement of a set of motor vehicles, the third party liability insurance of the owner of the towing motor vehicle covers the damage caused by the trailer."