When suffering an accident abroad, various doubts arise about how to proceed, unlike when it occurs in national territory.
Usually, it is checked if there are injuries, authorities are notified if required, the friendly statement is completed, insurers are informed, damages are repaired, or compensation is paid.
But, who can I claim from if I suffer 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 several issues must be taken into account.
First, we will see if it is a country in the European Union with a Green Card.
And, what is the Green Card?
It is the international motor insurance certificate (of civil liability), which would demonstrate that the vehicle owner has valid civil liability insurance in the European Union
In this way, compliance with the minimum requirements in terms of coverage in foreign countries is guaranteed.
The first thing to do will be to complete the European accident report, which is the standard document used by all EU countries.
It should 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 data of the other person and the vehicle, or the Green Card number and 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 repair is needed as a result of the claim.
Once back in Spain, the process to file the appropriate claim must be initiated. This claim can be made through judicial means or through the insurance company.
Therefore, we can say that if the accident has happened in a European Union country and the culprit was another vehicle, European legislation itself allows for claiming damages and doing so from Spain.
Within a period of three months, the foreign opposing company must provide a response or present an offer.
In the event that no response or compensation offer is received within this period, there will be a right to the payment of interest on the amount of compensation offered by the insurer or assigned by the judge.
Furthermore, regarding compensation, the European Union establishes a maximum coverage for personal damages of one million euros per victim, and five million per claim, with the maximum for material damages being one million euros per accident.
In the case of suffering an accident in a foreign country that does not belong to the EU and consequently does not have a Green Card, the process will be governed by the legislation of the corresponding foreign country.
If so, you will have to go to the Spanish Consulate in the foreign country or contact the insurer directly to inform you about the specifics of the case or the process to follow.
What legislation applies in case of suffering an accident abroad?
In addition to everything mentioned above, some nuances must be made regarding the regulations to be applied, as 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.
But there are exceptions, in which the Law of the State of vehicle registration or where the injured persons have their habitual residence could be applied, such as:
An example would be when only one vehicle is involved in the accident, the law of the country of the accident will apply only if the injured person also has their residence in that country.
If the persons injured in the accident had their habitual residence in the same country where the vehicle is registered, that law will be applied. That is, the people are from Spain but suffer an accident in France, in this case, it will not be in their interest to apply the Law of the country where the accident occurs, it will be in their interest to manage it with Spanish laws.
In the event that none of the victims have their residence in the place of the accident, nor in the same country of residence, the law of their country could be applied to each one 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 it is not the place of the accident). Here the Law of habitual residence would also be applied and not that of the country where the accident occurs.
This entity is the Spanish Motor Insurers' Bureau, or the national Green Card office, and it intervenes if the vehicle with which we have a claim has a foreign license plate, whether in Spain or abroad.
It has functions such as managing accidents abroad when the accident has occurred with a vehicle registered in Spain, due to having taken the vehicle itself on vacation.
Or for accidents that occur in Spain, caused by foreign vehicles, if they are vehicles from countries with a Green Card.
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