How long do I have to claim for damage caused by a defective product?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

Three years from the day you suffered the damage, provided you know who to claim against. In addition, there is a limit of ten years from when the manufacturer put that particular product into circulation, that is, from when it released it onto the market. If that limit expires without your having brought a claim in court, the right is extinguished, even if the damage only occurs afterwards. Both time limits are the same throughout Spain, Catalonia included. A written claim interrupts the three-year period, but not the ten-year one. The three years They run from when you suffered the damage, for example from the day of the fire. With injuries, it may be disputed whether they run from the accident or from when the final after-effects become known, so do not wait until your treatment ends to make a written claim. If you do not know who made the product, ask the shop in writing. If it does not tell you within three months, you can claim against the shop as if it were the manufacturer. They are interrupted by a written claim to the party liable, by bringing a claim in court or if the party liable acknowledges the debt. When they are interrupted, they start running again in full from that day. Use a method that leaves a record of the date and the content, such as a “burofax”, a certified letter with proof of content. If more than one party is liable, claim against all of them. If the manufacturer has liability insurance, you can also claim against its insurer within the same time limit. Before bringing a claim in court, the law requires an attempt to reach an agreement, for example through a written proposal to negotiate or mediation. The ten-year limit This limit runs from when that particular product was released onto the market, not from when you bought it, so it may be shorter than it seems. For example, if a heater that the manufacturer placed on the market in 2015 causes a fire in 2026, it is no longer possible to claim by this route. A claim filed in court before the limit expires stops it, but a letter does not. Before bringing a claim in court you have to try to reach an agreement and it is not clear that this attempt stops the limit, so do not leave it until the last minute. Once that limit has passed, there may still be the general route of fault-based liability, in which you have to prove that the manufacturer acted negligently. The time limit for it is three years if the damage occurred in Catalonia and one year in the rest of Spain. Even so, the prudent course is to make a written claim within the first year. What changes for new products For products placed on the market after 9 December 2026, an EU directive counts the three years from when the injured party knows or ought to have known of the damage, the defect and who is liable. The general limit will remain ten years, but it will be twenty-five where a personal injury takes time to become apparent and a claim could not be made earlier for that reason. Spain has to incorporate the directive into its law and, as of October 2026, there is no record that it has done so.