One of the fundamental rights is the right to respect for private and family life. This right is connected, among other things, with the issue of the bonds of the people who are closest to us. Family ties are therefore a fundamental value. Protecting these ties can take different legal forms and tools. Satisfactory protection of these ties is an important challenge for contemporary legislators. This applies, inter alia, to civil law mechanisms, which should provide, among other things, for compensation for the infringement of family ties. Recently, however, more and more damage of this kind has been caused and more doubts have been raised. They concern, for example, whether, where, as a result of a tort or delict, a victim suffers serious damage to his health and the victim’s vegetative condition results in such damage, provision should be made in the legal system for a mechanism of compensation for such damage to persons closest to the victim. The authors look at these issues from the perspective of two different legal systems, with different experiences in this area, discussing, among others, the latest achievements of national legislators and seeking answers to the question of the common future of law in Europe in this area.