How do I file a claim for compensation with the town council?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

With a written claim based on the “responsabilidad patrimonial” of the public authorities, which is how you ask a public authority to pay compensation for damage caused by its services. You can file it yourself, without a lawyer and without paying any fee, on the town council's online portal (its “sede electrónica”) or at any public registry office, including post offices. In it you must explain what damage you suffered, how, where and when it happened, why it is due to the service and how much you are claiming, if you already know. You must enclose whatever evidence you have. Unlike when you sue a private individual, there is no need to try to reach an agreement first, because this claim is itself the compulsory preliminary step. What the claim must say Your details, an address for receiving notifications and your signature. What happened, with the date, the time and the exact place. The injuries or damage you suffered. Why you believe they are due to the functioning of the service, for example to a loose paving slab that nobody had repaired. How much you are claiming. If you have not yet been discharged, you can say so and specify the amount later. The evidence you are providing, such as photos, medical reports, invoices or the local police report. The evidence you are asking to be taken, such as witness statements, with the witnesses' names and contact details. Where to file it You can do so on the town council's “sede electrónica”, which is its online office, through the electronic registry of any other public authority, at post offices or at any public registry office. If you are filing it as a private individual, you can also do so on paper. If you take it to a post office, ask for it to be sent by “correo administrativo”, the Post Office service for documents addressed to public authorities. It is handed over in an open envelope and the date is stamped on the first page, which is the date that counts for the time limit. Keep the receipt showing the date and the registration number, because it proves that you claimed within the year. What happens next If anything is missing from the claim, the town council will ask you to complete it within ten days. Do so within that time limit, because if you do not your claim will be closed. The town council then asks the service responsible for a report and takes the evidence. Next, it gives you the opportunity to be heard (the “trámite de audiencia”), during which you can see the whole file and make representations. That is the moment to respond to the service's report if it goes against you. It then prepares a proposed decision. If you are claiming 50.000 euros or more, before deciding it must ask for an opinion from the “Comissió Jurídica Assessora”, the Catalan government's legal advisory body. The file may be closed with an agreement, in which the town council's insurer is sometimes involved. If you are offered one, do not sign any waiver before you have been discharged or without checking that the amount covers all the damage. The town council has six months to decide. If it does not reply, the claim is deemed to have been rejected and you can go, with a lawyer, to the administrative court, which is the court that hears cases against the public authorities, with no time limit for doing so. If it rejects the claim in writing, you have two months to go to court or one month to first lodge an application for review (the “recurso de reposición”) with the town council itself.