If the person responsible is declared insolvent, will I go unpaid?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

Not necessarily. Before writing the debt off, you need to look for others who have to pay, such as the insurer of the person responsible, the company they worked for if they caused the damage in the course of their work or, in traffic accidents, the “Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros”, Spain's state insurance compensation fund. If you were the victim of a violent crime or of sexual violence, you can apply for public financial aid. Moreover, the debt does not disappear just because they have no assets today and it can be recovered from them if they acquire some later. Who else may pay The insurer of the person responsible, against which you can claim directly. It pays up to the policy limit even if its customer has nothing. The Consorcio, in accidents caused by an uninsured or unidentified vehicle, within the limits set by law. The employer, if the damage was caused by an employee in the course of their work, or the public authorities, if it was caused by a public employee in the performance of their duties. The parents, if the person responsible is a minor. Aid for victims of crime It is available to victims of sexual violence and to victims of intentional violent crimes committed in Spain that cause death, serious injury or serious harm to physical or mental health. The law also lays down certain nationality or residence requirements, which do not apply to women who are victims of sexual violence or gender-based violence and are in Spain. Applications are made to “Clases Pasivas”, the State pensions office, which processes them and has the form on the Social Security website. The general time limit is one year from the crime. It does not run while the criminal proceedings are ongoing and resumes when the victim is notified of the final decision ending them. For victims of sexual violence and gender-based violence, the time limit is five years, counted from the final court decision or from when their status as a victim is established. If there were no court proceedings, they are counted from the crime. Before there is a final court decision, interim aid can be requested if the victim is in financial hardship. Victims of sexual violence and gender-based violence can apply for it without meeting that requirement. The aid has its own amounts, which the law sets according to the seriousness of the harm. It cannot exceed the compensation awarded in the judgment and is not paid on top of what the convicted person pays. It covers, in whole or in part, what the convicted person cannot pay. The State then claims it back from them. How to avoid going unpaid If there are criminal proceedings, ask from the outset for the judge to require the person under investigation to provide a bond or to attach their assets to secure the compensation. A declaration of insolvency in criminal proceedings is not final. If the convicted person's financial situation improves, payment can be recovered from them. With a final civil judgment, you have five years to apply for its enforcement. Apply within that period even if the debtor has nothing, because once enforcement has been applied for it does not lapse, however much time passes without any assets being found. The court can investigate the debtor's assets and attach, for example, the part of their salary above what the law protects or what they receive from an inheritance. If it finds nothing, you can ask it to search again later, because the debtor's situation may change. The so-called second chance procedure (“segunda oportunidad”), which allows an individual to be released from debts they cannot pay, does not extend to compensation for death or injury caused outside a contract or to compensation arising from a criminal offence. Hiding assets or disposing of them to avoid paying the compensation can be a criminal offence, known as “alzamiento de bienes” (fraudulent concealment of assets).