If I was partly to blame for the accident, do I get paid anything?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

Yes, although less than if you had not been at fault at all. For your injuries, the compensation is reduced according to how much you contributed to the accident, but the reduction cannot exceed 75 %. For the damage to your vehicle, the other driver's insurer only pays in proportion to the fault of the driver it insures. You only end up with nothing if you alone were at fault. How it is split For your injuries, the judge decides what share of the blame was yours and reduces everything you are entitled to by that percentage, expenses included. The reduction is capped at 75 %. For the damage to your vehicle there is no such limit. The other driver's insurer pays the part that corresponds to the fault of the driver it insures. The rest is covered by your own policy, if it includes own-damage cover, with its excess. The same applies the other way round. Your insurer pays the other driver the part of their damage that corresponds to your share of the blame. For example, if you were 30 % to blame, your injuries are worth 6.000 euros under the statutory compensation scale (the “baremo”) and the repair of your car costs 3.000 euros, the other driver's insurer will pay you 4.200 euros for the injuries and 2.100 euros for the car. If you do not agree with the percentage the insurers attribute to you, you can dispute it, because their internal agreements are not binding on you. Claim your share in writing from the other driver's insurer before a year has passed, in Catalonia too. What else reduces the compensation Even if you were not at fault in the collision, your compensation may be reduced for the following reasons: Not wearing a seatbelt or helmet, or wearing it incorrectly, if that made your injuries worse. Abandoning medical treatment without good reason or failing to do something simple and risk-free for your health that would have stopped the harm from getting worse. If you alone were at fault Compulsory motor insurance does not cover the injuries of the driver who caused the accident or the damage to their own vehicle. Your injuries are only paid for by personal accident or driver's cover, if you have it. The damage to your car, only by own-damage cover. Your passengers do get paid by the compulsory insurance on your car, even if you were at fault.