Independent English-Speaking Civil Liability & Damage Claims Lawyer in Spain
Suffering physical injury, property damage or financial loss in a foreign country because of someone else’s negligence can be devastating. Dealing with insurance companies and Spanish civil liability law without local legal representation can make it difficult to assess the value of your claim or pursue the full compensation available under Spanish law. As independent Spanish litigation lawyer with over 20 years of professional experience, we represent foreign victims and international clients throughout Spain in civil liability and damage claims, with all legal advice and communication provided in fluent English.
Insurance companies have their own interests to protect, and an initial settlement offer may not always reflect the full extent of your losses. Having an independent lawyer assess and pursue your claim can be crucial to protecting your rights and seeking the maximum compensation available under Spanish law. We handle non-contractual civil liability (responsabilidad civil extracontractual) claims from start to finish, including gathering medical and expert evidence, assessing damages, negotiating with insurers and the party responsible, and pursuing court proceedings where necessary, seeking full compensation for your personal injury, property damage and economic losses.
The first step in damage cases is to get as much information as possible about the facts and the victim’s circumstances. It is essential to have a speech and hear the client in order to have a clear picture about what happened, in order to individualize the damage nature. At this point the victim has to be informed to get a process general overview in order to have a rough idea about deadlines, costs and risks.
Even before the attorney decides to go ahead with the case, and if it is required according to the circumstances surrounding the damage, an expert must check the victim or the evidences and make a report. For instance, if the damage is about a car crash, then you will need a doctor’s report about the sustained injuries and what caused them, victim’s malady and recovery, but above all about the link between the action of the author who caused the damage and the victim’s injuries. Another example should the case be about flaws in construction, an architect should check the property and make a report explaining the link between the damage, the house current situation and the construction flaws.
Once the report is finished and delivered, the solicitor reviews it after a meeting with the expert, and decides about the case viability, which will depend first of all, on the ability of proving the link between the person or company responsible for the damage, and the consequences of the damage.
After we have a clear picture about the damage and the compensation is quantified, then we send a requirement to the responsible, insurance company or both of them in order to find out their willingness to negotiate, and if it’s possible to get an offer.
The new regulation for road accidents, actually obligates the victims to start an amicable pre court approach with the insurance companies before suing them, which is very useful in cases when both parties have a similar damage quantification or the client simply needs the money and do not wish to wait for a judgment. If it is possible to reach an agreement and stop the proceedings, an attorney has to check the terms and clauses before the signature to make sure everything is in place. And If it is not possible to reach an agreement, the next stage is about considering suing the author of the damage and the insurance company depending mainly on the compensation set by the expert and the link between the author and the damage. Based on this, it is all about deciding if a court case against them is worth it or not.
If the victim decides to sue for damages against the one responsible, then the whole story, including the expert report must be explained in a filed suit, which must have attached every single document, report, certificate or proof to it. No further attachments or proofs would be admitted for inclusion later so it must be reviewed carefully and all must be done at once.
After filing the suit, a notification will be sent to the one responsible, and he will have a twenty day deadline to respond to the suit, attaching all documentary evidences. After this, if the compensation amount does not exceed 6.000 Euros, the next stage will be the trial appearance, and if necessary, a pre-trial appearance will take place to discuss about possible process flaws, to appoint witnesses or to try to reach an amicable agreement. After this, the trial date will be appointed.
The civil process allows reaching an amicable solution at any stage of the process as long as both parties accept and are in support of this. If it happens after the submission of the suit, it must be written in a private document and signed by both lawyers and procuradores. After this, it has to be submitted in the same court when the suit is being processed, in order to apply for an agreement validation which is essential, in order to be able to enforce it, in case one or both parties do not fulfill their obligations according to the agreement. After its validation, there will no longer be need for any trial before enforcing it. In the same manner, it will not be possible to sue again the one responsible for the same issue, because the agreement would be like a final judgment.
