recoupment of social security benefits from the tortfeasor

the article examines the relationship between tort damages for personal injury and social security benefits in iranian law with a comparative view on english and french law. amongst four potential policies (cumulation, reduction, election and recoupment), the statutory provisions of iranian law have chosen the latter one. but in practice these texts have paradoxically lead to a fifth excessive and unjust solution: increasement of the tortfeasor’s burdon of liability; and this is mainly because of ambiguity of the nature of diya (blood money) in islamic law, on the one hand, and lack of proper procedural forms, on the other. while examining the object of the recoupment, social security benefits which can be recovered from the tortfeasor and the difficult problem of heads of damages (including dyia) equivalent to recoverable social security benefits, the author tries to show how to take into account social security benefits while making a decision on tort liability for personal injuries.