When an accident occurs abroad, various doubts arise about how to proceed, unlike when it occurs in Spain.
Normally, it is checked whether there are any injured people, the authorities are notified if necessary, the friendly report is filled out, the insurance companies are informed, the damage caused is repaired or compensation is paid.
But who can I claim from if I have an accident abroad?
In this post, we will see how to proceed.
Having an accident in another country does not mean that the rights that support us are minimized or annulled, but there are several issues to take into account.
First of all, we will see if it is a European Union country with a green card.
And what is the green card?
This is the international certificate of civil liability insurance for the automobile, which would demonstrate that the owner of the vehicle has valid civil liability insurance in the European Union.
This ensures compliance with the minimum requirements in terms of coverage in foreign countries.
The first thing to do is to fill out the European accident report, which is the standard document that all EU countries have.
It must reflect the details of how the accident occurred, who caused it, etc., in addition to being signed by both parties, as well as the license plate, model, and other identifying details of the other person and the vehicle, or the green card number and the opposing insurance company.
Once the report has been completed, the insurance company must be informed of the events that occurred so that they can indicate how to proceed if, for example, medical assistance or vehicle repairs are required as a result of the accident.
Once back in Spain, you must start the process to file the appropriate claim. This claim can be made through the courts or through the insurance company.
Therefore, we can say that if the accident has occurred in a country of the European Union and the culprit has been another vehicle, European legislation itself allows a claim for damages and to do so from Spain.
Within three months, the foreign opposing company must provide a response or submit an offer.
If no response or offer of compensation is received within this period, the claimant shall be entitled to interest on the amount of compensation offered by the insurer or awarded by the court.
On the other hand, regarding compensation, the European Union establishes a maximum coverage for personal injury of one million euros per victim, and five million per accident, with the maximum for material damage being one million euros per accident.
In the event of an accident in a foreign country that does not belong to the EU and therefore does not have a green card, the process will be governed by the legislation of the corresponding foreign country.
If this is the case, you will have to go to the Spanish Consulate in the foreign country or contact the insurer directly to obtain information on the specifics of the case or the process to be followed.
What legislation applies in the event of an accident abroad?
In addition to everything mentioned above, there are some nuances to be made regarding the regulations to be applied, since it depends on the specific case.
The general rule that must be clear is that both in international law and in national law, the Courts of the place where the accident occurs are competent.
However, there are exceptions in which the law of the State of registration of the vehicle or where the injured persons have their habitual residence could be applied, such as:
An example would be when there is only one vehicle involved in the accident, the law of the country of the accident will apply only if the injured person also has his or her domicile in that country.
If the people injured in the accident had their habitual residence in the same country as the vehicle’s registration, that law will apply. In other words, if the people are from Spain but have an accident in France, in this case, they will not be interested in applying the law of the country where the accident occurred, they will be interested in managing it under Spanish law.
In the event that none of the victims reside at the location of the accident, nor in the same country of residence, the insurance policy of their country could be applied to each of them separately.
On the other hand, we can find several vehicles involved, which are registered in the same State and all the victims have their habitual residence in that State (and not the place of the accident). Here, too, the Law of the habitual residence and not of the country where the accident occurs would apply.
This entity is the Spanish Automobile Insurers Office, or the national green card office, and it intervenes if the vehicle with which we have an accident has a foreign registration, whether in Spain or abroad.
Its functions include managing accidents abroad when the accident has occurred with a vehicle registered in Spain, due to having taken the vehicle on holiday.
Or for accidents that occur in Spain, caused by foreign vehicles, if they are vehicles from countries with a green card.