The Dintilhac classification (nomenclature Dintilhac, the court-endorsed classification of heads of personal-injury loss) is France's reference framework for compensable personal injury, established in 2005. It lists around twenty heads, organised along two axes: pecuniary (economic) or non-pecuniary (personal), and temporary (before consolidation) or permanent (after). Non-binding, it serves as a common frame for lawyers, judges and insurers.
It comes from a report submitted in July 2005 to the Ministry of Justice by a working group chaired by the judge Jean-Pierre Dintilhac. Its aim: to give a common frame for assessing each head of loss consistently. It has no statutory force, but it has established itself as the standard for the courts, insurers and compensation funds.
Before it, each court used its own categories, which made decisions hard to compare. By setting an ordered list of heads, the nomenclature enabled a shared language and, with it, the emergence of indicative head-by-head reference guides.
A pecuniary loss has a quantifiable economic impact: costs incurred, lost earnings, future outlays. It is proven with supporting documents (invoices, payslips, quotes) and aims to put the victim back in the economic position that would have been theirs without the injury.
A non-pecuniary loss compensates the harm to the person themselves: pain, sequelae, loss of quality of life, cosmetic or sexual impact. It has no direct monetary equivalent and is assessed by reference to scales and case law. This is where the gap between two assessments can be widest, for want of an accounting document.
The second dividing line is the date of stabilisation (consolidation), the date on which the victim's condition has stabilised. What comes before falls under the temporary heads, what comes after under the permanent heads. The same injury is therefore often found on both sides: temporary then permanent functional deficit, temporary then permanent cosmetic damage. Situating consolidation correctly conditions the whole valuation.
The nomenclature crosses these two distinctions. The table below sums up the families and their main heads, for the direct victim.
| Family | Timing | Examples of heads |
|---|---|---|
| Pecuniary, temporary | before consolidation | current health-care expenses (DSA), miscellaneous costs (frais divers, FD), current loss of professional earnings (PGPA) |
| Pecuniary, permanent | after consolidation | future health-care expenses (DSF), adapted-housing (FLA) and adapted-vehicle (FVA) costs, future loss of professional earnings (PGPF), impact on future employability (incidence professionnelle, IP), third-party assistance (assistance par tierce personne, ATP) |
| Non-pecuniary, temporary | before consolidation | temporary functional deficit (DFT), souffrances endurées (SE), temporary cosmetic damage (préjudice esthétique temporaire, PET) |
| Non-pecuniary, permanent | after consolidation | permanent functional deficit (déficit fonctionnel permanent, "DFP"), loss of amenity (préjudice d'agrément, PA), permanent cosmetic damage (préjudice esthétique permanent, "PEP"), sexual damage (préjudice sexuel, PS), loss of ability to establish a family life (préjudice d'établissement, PE) |
The nomenclature also provides for the losses of indirect (secondary) victims and for exceptional heads of loss. The exact count varies from one source to another (around twenty heads for the direct victim, close to thirty in total), because the list is neither statutory nor fixed.
The close relatives of a victim (spouse, children, parents) can be compensated for their own losses, known as secondary victims' loss (préjudice par ricochet). The nomenclature classifies them according to whether the direct victim has died or survived.
| Situation | Examples of heads |
|---|---|
| Direct victim deceased | funeral costs, loss of income for close relatives, bereavement/affection loss (préjudice d'affection), companionship loss (préjudice d'accompagnement) |
| Direct victim surviving | affection loss (préjudice d'affection), exceptional non-pecuniary losses, loss of income tied to the assistance provided |
It is there to make sure nothing is left out and to speak the same language as the insurer and the judge. Each head is valued separately, then carried over to the summary bordereau (the schedule of heads of loss) that accompanies the claim. A head that is left out is a head that goes uncompensated, hence the value of an exhaustive checklist. The judge rules only on what is claimed: the nomenclature is as much a valuation tool as a safeguard against omission.
See our dedicated articles on the DFP valuation, the DFT valuation, assessing souffrances endurées, assessing permanent cosmetic damage, assessing loss of amenity (préjudice d'agrément) and assessing sexual damage (préjudice sexuel).
Plato ties each amount to its base of more than 84,000 quantified decisions and makes it traceable back to the decision it comes from.
To support each head with real decisions, see also how to find quantified case law and which software to use to value the heads.
This is one of the heaviest and most-debated heads. It compensates the need for human help with the acts of daily life, when the sequelae leave the victim dependent. Its assessment combines several parameters: the number of hours of help per day retained by the expert, an hourly rate, and an annualisation that accounts for public holidays and leave. For the period after consolidation, the head is capitalised over the victim's life expectancy, which explains the often very high amounts.
Two pitfalls recur. First, help provided by a close relative is not free in legal terms: the Cour de cassation (France's supreme civil court) holds that the award cannot be reduced on the ground that the assistance is provided by the family. Second, human help before consolidation, which falls under miscellaneous costs (frais divers), must be distinguished from third-party assistance (assistance par tierce personne) after consolidation, which is the permanent head.
Souffrances endurées compensate the physical and mental suffering borne up to consolidation. The expert rates them on a scale of 1 to 7, from the very slight to the very substantial. Each degree corresponds to an indicative range of amounts, drawn from the reference guides and case law, which the judge assesses at their sole discretion. This head is not to be confused with the permanent functional deficit (DFP), which compensates the permanent pain after consolidation. Situating a file means, here again, comparing the degree retained with recent decisions on close facts, rather than applying a flat amount. See our dedicated article on assessing souffrances endurées.
How many heads does the nomenclature Dintilhac contain?
Around twenty heads for the direct victim, supplemented by 7 to 9 heads for indirect victims depending on the count, split between pecuniary and non-pecuniary losses, temporary and permanent. The list is neither statutory nor strictly fixed.
Is the nomenclature Dintilhac mandatory?
No, it has no statutory force. But it is used by almost all courts, insurers and lawyers, which makes it a de facto standard.
What is the difference between pecuniary and non-pecuniary loss?
A pecuniary loss has a quantifiable financial impact (costs, lost earnings). A non-pecuniary loss compensates the harm to the person (pain, sequelae, quality of life).
What is consolidation?
It is the date on which the victim's condition has stabilised. It separates temporary losses (before) from permanent losses (after).
How do you value all these heads quickly?
A vertical tool like Plato automatically breaks the heads down from the expert report and produces the bordereau, drawing on quantified case law.