If I am knocked down while crossing where I should not, do I still get paid?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

Usually yes, although perhaps not in full. For your injuries, the driver is liable because of the risk created by driving and is only fully released from liability if they prove that the accident was entirely your fault. If you merely contributed, for example by crossing away from a pedestrian crossing, the compensation is reduced according to your share of the blame, but never by more than 75 %. Children under 14 do not have the compensation for their injuries reduced, unless they deliberately sought to be knocked down. Who has to prove it and how much is deducted It is the driver or their insurer who has to prove that you alone were at fault. If they cannot, the driver is liable. Crossing away from a pedestrian crossing or when the light is red is not enough on its own to release the driver from liability if they were going too fast or were not paying attention or could have braked in time. In those cases both are usually at fault. If fault is shared, every item of the compensation is reduced, including expenses and lost earnings. For example, if your injuries are worth 10.000 euros under the statutory compensation scale (the “baremo”) and the judge finds that you were 30 % to blame, you will receive 7.000 euros. Even if your share were greater, the reduction cannot exceed 75 %, so unless you alone were at fault you would receive at least 2.500 euros. Damage to your belongings, such as your mobile phone, clothes or glasses, follows a different rule. It is only paid for if the driver was at fault and in proportion to that fault. Children under 14 Pedestrians under 14 and people who, because of a disability, cannot be held responsible for their actions are paid the full compensation for the days it takes them to recover and for their after-effects, even if they alone were to blame for being knocked down. Nor can the insurer later claim back what it has paid from their parents or guardians. The rule has two limits: It does not apply if they deliberately contributed to being knocked down. It only covers their injuries. It does not extend to compensation for death or to damage to their belongings, where the general reduction may apply. What you should do Ask for the police to attend, look for witnesses and cameras that recorded the accident and see a doctor that same day. The argument will be about how it happened, how fast the vehicle was going and whether the driver could have seen you in time. You have one year to claim against the vehicle's insurer, in Catalonia too, counted from when your injuries stabilise. A written claim interrupts that time limit.