How much is paid for non-pecuniary damage (distress)?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

There is no fixed amount or table for every case. For injuries and deaths, the reference used is the statutory compensation scale for road traffic accidents (the “baremo”), which already includes suffering in its items. In other cases the judge sets a reasonable amount according to the seriousness of the harm, how long it lasted, how it affected the victim's life and the other circumstances. That is why two similar cases can end with different amounts. The better the harm is proved, the lower the risk of it being reduced to a token amount. Injuries and deaths The traffic accident scale is also used as a guide for falls, medical negligence and other personal injuries. Its amounts are updated every year and suffering is included in these items: Each day until recovery or until the injuries stabilise, with a higher amount if you were in hospital or could not carry on with much of your normal life. The after-effects, valued in points according to their severity and the injured person's age. Scars and other aesthetic harm are valued separately. An item for reduced quality of life, if the after-effects prevent you from doing things you used to do. In the most serious cases, another for supplementary non-pecuniary damage. In the event of death, an amount for each close relative according to their relationship with the deceased. If you claim under the scale, a separate award for non-pecuniary damage for the same injuries is not usually allowed on top, because that would mean being paid twice. Other cases For attacks on honour, privacy or one's own image, the law requires account to be taken of the seriousness, the circumstances and how widely it was disseminated, for example the audience of the media outlet that published it. If a pet dies or is seriously injured, the compensation includes the non-pecuniary damage suffered by its owner and by those who lived with it. The judge sets the amount case by case. If a doctor performed the procedure correctly but did not warn of a risk that later materialised, the “Tribunal Supremo”, Spain's Supreme Court, in a judgment of March 2026, replaced the fixed amount awarded by the lower courts with a percentage of the value of the personal injury. That percentage depends on how likely it is that the patient, if properly informed, would have decided otherwise. If there was also an error in the procedure, the harm is compensated in full. In cases of breach of contract and in all other cases, the judge sets the amount in the light of what is proved. How to justify the amount In the court claim you must ask for a specific amount and explain how it is arrived at, without leaving it for later. If you already know it, it is advisable to state it in the prior claim as well. Support it with evidence of the suffering and of how long it lasted, such as medical or psychological reports and the treatment received. If the victim was partly to blame, the compensation is reduced proportionately. Compensation makes good the harm. In Spain, no amounts are awarded to punish the person responsible.