CED Cross Border Claims strongly believes in proactive, involving, and thorough handling of personal injury claims. We give these claims a lot of attention as we know how important they are to you. They can be costly and complex, as legislation and handling differ per country. CBC has already organised two webinars around this theme, and – after many requests – a third followed on 1 July 2024.
For many Europeans, summer holidays are ahead. That is why this second webinar focused on personal injury claims in Spain and Greece. More than 120 participants from all European countries attended the webinar. Speakers were Ana Romero Porro from Spain, founding partner of Astrom Legal and personal injury expert lawyer, with extensive experience in International Litigation. And Vasileios Lefkaritis from Greece, lawyer at the Supreme Court and specialist in cross-border claims.
Spain: fixed compensation and penalty interest
In Spain, the Baremo is central to personal injury claims handling. This is a compensation table for fatal and other personal injuries. The Baremo is based on two principles. The first is full compensation to restore the situation of the affected party to how it was before the accident. The second is offering security through pre-determined rules of how damage should be investigated. In case of death and permanent invalidity, the Baremo indicates what the pre-determined compensation fees are. In case of death, both relatives - spouses, siblings, ascendants, and descendants - and loved close relatives ('allegados') can make a claim. Extraordinary is that in case of ‘exceptional prejudice,’ the compensation can be increased by as much as 25%. The Baremo is adjusted on a yearly basis.
Penalty interest
A big challenge for Spanish insurers is the unique penalty interest. This is only applicable in claims against insurers. The insurer is required to pay compensation within 3 months after the accident. If not, a penalty will follow. Following the law provision under Article 20 of the Spanish Insurance Contract Act 20/1980, whether the due compensation is not paid by the insurer within the first three months after the accident took place, interest will continue to accrue at whatever the current legal interest rate is plus 50% for the first two years, and afterwards raise at a yearly rate of 20%. On the other hand, the affected party also has duties. For example, to limit personal injury as much as possible with appropriate medical treatment. This is how the legislation stimulates rapid and out-of-court claims handling.
The Baremo uses pre-determined compensation fees
Compensation is fully determined by the court
Greece: complex legislation and exceptional compensations
In Greece, liability in the case of personal injury is determined by a combination of laws, the main one being more than a century old. These laws form a complicated system of strict and based-on-fault liability, with different limitation periods for each. If there is shared liability, this is apportioned to the parties by percentages. The preferable legal ground for the victim depends on the individual circumstances.
Exceptional compensations
When it comes to compensation, Greece has some exceptionalities, too. No compensation tables exist for the damage to next of kin in case of a (fatal) accident. The compensation is fully determined by the court based on a number of criteria. In case of permanent invalidity, additional compensation is provided, where the main criterium is the impact of invalidity on someone’s future. When personal injury is caused by a car accident, the partner of the affected party also has to be compensated for the part that the affected party can no longer contribute to the household.
