Spain Scooter & Moped Accident Claims Guide – How To Claim Compensation For A Scooter Personal Injury In Spain?

Moped accident Spain

Moped accident Spain

On this page, you will find a guide to making a compensation claim following a scooter or moped accident in Spain. For many people visiting Spain, hiring a scooter is one of the first things they do on arrival. Allowing them to enjoy their holiday without depending on public transport or taxis. However, every year there are thousands of moped accidents overseas involving UK holidaymakers. This guide is aimed at helping these people.

If you have any specific questions that are not answered in this guide, please speak to one of the Accident Claims UK team on 0800 073 8801. They will be able to get you the answers that you need.

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A Guide To Claims For Moped Or Scooter Accidents In Spain

In this guide to claiming for a moped accident in Spain, you will find everything that you need to learn, to begin making educated choices about your claim. As long as you are making your claim within the personal injury claims time limit, this guide should be useful. When it comes to accident claims for Spain, personal injury claims time limits are generally 3-years for package holidays and 1-year for privately booked trips. However, these limits can differ in certain cases, so we recommend you give us a call on the number at the end of the guide to discuss this aspect of your claim.

This guide starts out by looking at scooter accidents themselves. What they are, and the legal considerations regarding licences and Spanish rules. We also cover safety equipment and clothing, as well as the most common moped accidents, and injuries such as whiplash.

The next part of this guide covers some specific information that is related to the claim itself. This includes a list of the most usual kinds of damages that a successful claim will comprise of, and also a table that details typical ranges of compensation paid for a number of different types of injuries.

The last part of this guide goes over the Accident Claims national injury and accident claims service. This is a way for you to have your claim processed in a financially risk-free way. It is simple to get a claim started with us, and we have proven to be very effective in securing compensation for our clients in the past. If you have any questions about either the service we offer, or the information in this guide, then speak to one of our team on the number at the end of the page so that they can help you.

What Is A Scooter Or Moped Accident?

Spain scooter accident statistics

Before renting or buying a scooter in Spain, check out these statistics in the graph above. There were over 1,800 fatalities on Spanish roads in 2016. Scooter and moped accidents happen due to a combination of two things in the main. Firstly, the lack of visibility of these small vehicles, and secondly, the lack of experience that UK holidaymakers have in riding them.

In the Spanish coastal towns, shops renting scooters are everywhere, and the rental requirements are very lax. Meaning they often rent them to people that have no place riding a scooter, let alone on foreign roads. This leads to thousands of moped accidents involving UK holidaymakers every year.

Permits For Driving A Scooter Or Moped In Spain

To answer the question, can I ride a motorcycle in Spain on a car licence? The answer is yes; you can ride any motorcycle up to 125cc in size, once you have had your full car license for 3 years. Before 3 years, you can only ride scooters up to 50cc. You cannot ride a scooter on Spanish roads without a full licence; you cannot use a provisional licence. Although many rental firms don’t bother checking whether a licence is full or provisional.

Each scooter also has to have a permit issued from the Spanish Government. If you are renting a scooter on holiday, always ask to see the valid, up to date permit for the moped that you are renting before you pay. If you are stopped by the police and you don’t have this, you will be fined and potentially prosecuted and even imprisoned in extreme cases.

However, many of the less dependable rental companies are happy to overlook the lack of a valid driving licence, and other documentation, and will rent scooters to anyone with a passport and the money to pay the rental fee. You can find some great information on the legal issue of scooter riding or driving on Spanish roads, at this link from the government.

Rules Of Driving Mopeds Or Scooters In Spain

The moped laws Spain visitors have to adhere to, include those mentioned above, of holding a current license, and the vehicle itself have a current permit. However, there is one Spanish road rule that catches UK visitors out more often than any other. In Spain, they drive in the right-hand side of the road. It can be very difficult to adapt to this for people on holiday from the UK.

Other considerations include the fact that speed limits are very strict on Spanish roads. There is no leeway as there often is in the UK. If you are caught doing more than 50kph in an urban area, which covers all of the tourist areas, you will be fined, with no excuses.

What Clothing Must Scooter Or Moped Riders Wear In Spain?

If you intend to make a personal injury claim in Spain for a moped accident, then you need to be sure that you were complying with all rules, and also wearing a crash helmet. If you are injured in an accident and you were not wearing a helmet, and you were not conforming to all rules, the likelihood of your claim being successful will be far reduced.

Every ride and passenger of a scooter on Spanish roads must wear a helmet. This is the law. Despite the fact that many holidaymakers ride without a helmet. The law states that if you are even sitting on the scooter and not moving, you must be wearing a helmet. Other types of protective clothing are discretionary but recommended. You can find some more information about this, here:

Wearing a helmet on Spanish roads

What Safety Equipment Are Your Required To Carry When Riding A Moped Or Scooter In Spain?

When making a claim for personal injury compensation, Spain visitors who have been injured on a scooter are not required to carry any additional safety equipment, apart from the compulsory helmet. Helmets must be worn by both the rider and the pillion passenger. Spanish laws are quite lax with regard to requiring specific safety equipment such as the fire extinguisher and hazard sign, that we are required to carry in the UK. However, just because these kinds of items are not required by law, doesn’t mean it is not a good idea to carry them. You can find some excellent advice on this, here at this link:

Spanish scooter safety

Common Moped And Scooter Accidents In Spain

Of all the types of accidents claims that a personal injury solicitor helps UK holidaymakers in Spain make, scooter accidents are one of the most common. There are many types of accidents that are frequently seen, such as:

  • Holidaymakers under the influence of alcohol or drugs riding a scooter.
  • Moped riders who are hit by a car that doesn’t see them.
  • Scooter riders that hit a car that is turning out of a side road.
  • Moped riders who lose control of a scooter in high wind while overtaking.

These are just some of the ways that moped accidents happen on Spanish roads, there are many more. No matter how you have been harmed while riding a scooter, speak to one of the Accident Claims UK team on the number at the bottom of the page, to learn how we can help you to make a claim.

Can I Ride A Moped Or Scooter In Spain With A Provisional Licence?

To answer the question, can I drive a scooter in Spain with a provisional licence? Then moped laws in Spain say that no, you cannot, not on a UK provisional licence. You could ride a scooter up to 50cc capacity if you had a Spanish provisional licence. However, the big problem here, is that many rental companies are willing to overlook the fact that you don’t have a valid licence, just so that they can rent you a scooter. If you are involved in a moped accident, and don’t have a valid licence, then the chance of you making a claim successfully will be far lower.

Scooter Or Moped Accident Whiplash

A very high percentage of all European road accident claims are made for whiplash in one form or another. One of the most common injuries we help people to claim for, is whiplash. This injury is very easily caused, but very hard to diagnose and treat. It has, in the past, been used as the basis for fraudulent claims. Because of this, we recommend that everyone making a whiplash claim lets us arrange for a free local medical examination, in support of their claim.

Accident Claims UK is well experienced in claiming for whiplash injuries, and we are sure that we can help you. Speak to one of our team on the number at the end of this guide to proceed.

What Can My Spanish Scooter Or Moped Accident Claim Include?

When you make a claim for a scooter accident in Spain, personal injury claims, that are successful will receive an overall settlement that is made up of a number of different types of damages. These will all fit into the two main headings of general damages and special damages. For example:

General Damages are Paid to Compensation for Physical Harm and Suffering

  • Mental trauma – related to the shock and stress of the scooter accident, and also being given emergency treatment.
  • Pain and suffering – related to the initial pain felt in the scooter accident, and also while receiving emergency treatment.
  • Psychological harm – this would include medical conditions such as anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder caused by the accident itself, or the mental trauma of dealing with your injuries.
  • Painful treatment and recuperation – if your injuries are servere, and will take a long time to heal, and require extended periods of painful treatment.
  • Loss of life quality – if you will be left with a long-term or permanent disability, that will negatively affect your life.

Special Damages are Paid to Compensate for Financial and Other Ad-hoc Losses

  • Travels costs – if you have to pay to travel to have your injuries treated, or to deal with any aspect of the claim itself, such as attending court.
  • Medical fees – if you have had to pay for some kind of private medical care, out of your own pocket.
  • Care costs – if you had to hire a nurse to take care of you at home, or a cleaner to help maintain it.
  • Lost earnings – if you have missed work while your injuries heal, and you were not paid, or only paid partially.
  • Lowered income – if your injuries will never heal properly, and you will have to change to a lower paying job, or stop working altogether.

If you would like to know what kinds of damages might be applicable in your own case, speak to one of the Accident Claims UK team on the number below. Once they know a little about your claim, they will tell you what damages you might be able to claim for.

Spain Scooter Or Moped Personal Injury Compensation Calculator

We have not included any type of personal injury claims calculator on this page. These are generally very inaccurate, and we prefer to give real factual information to you. This table below gives potential compensation ranges, for a number of types of injuries. It is based on the actual judicial guidelines used by the UK legal system, to judge the value of a claim.

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Injury Type Severity Compensation Information
Back injury Minor to severe Up to £141,171 Injuries will start at bruising, scrapes and cuts to the soft tissue, through sprains, nerve damage and fractured vertebrae, to either partial or full paralysis of the back.
Neck injury Minor to severe Up to £130,081 Injuries will start at bruising, scrapes and cuts to the soft tissue, through sprains, nerve damage and fractured vertebrae, to either partial or full paralysis of the neck.
Toe injury Moderate to severe Up to £49,141 Injuries will start at soft tissue damage (bruises, scrapes, cuts, etc), through dislocations and fractures, to total loss of one or more of the toes.
Ankle injury Minor to severe Up to £61,141 Injuries will start at lacerations, cuts and bruises, through sprains, nerve damage and fractures, to paralysis of the ankle.
Foot injury Minor to very severe Up to £96,141 Injuries will start at scrapes, burns and cuts, through nerve damage, sprains and fractures, to amputation of one or both feet.
Leg injury Minor to severe Up to £119,241 Injuries will start at soft tissue damage such as cuts and lacerations, through sprains, nerve damage and fractures of the leg bones, to paralysis or amputation above or below the knee.
Hand injury Minor to serious Up to £54,301 Injuries will start at scrapes, burns and cuts, through nerve damage, sprains and fractures, to amputation of one or both hands.
Wrist injury Minor to severe Up to £4,181 Injuries will start at lacerations, cuts and bruises, through sprains, nerve damage and fractures, to paralysis of the wrist.
Arm injury Moderate to severe Up to £114,831 Injuries will start at soft tissue damage such as cuts and lacerations, through sprains, nerve damage and fractures of the arm bones, to paralysis or amputation above or below the elbow.
Finger injury Minor to severe Up to £21,941 Injuries will start at soft tissue damage (bruises, scrapes, cuts, etc), through dislocations and fractures, to total loss of one or more of the fingers.
Thumb injury Minor to severe Up to £48,041 Injuries will start at soft tissue damage (bruises, scrapes, cuts, etc), through dislocations and fractures, to total loss of one or both of the thumbs.

If you would like to receive a more accurate, personalised estimate of how much you might be able to claim in your own case, speak to one of the Accident Claims UK team on the number below. They will go over your claim with you, and once they know enough about your claim, will be able to give you an idea of the level of compensation you could receive.

No Win No Fee Claims For A Moped Or Scooter Accident In Spain

Here at Accident Claims UK, we can offer to process your claim under a No Win No Fee agreement. Our national accident and injury claims service is available to people all across the UK. We won’t charge you a fee when we first take your claim on, and we won’t charge you a fee as we process it, even if this takes many months or even years to complete. We also won’t charge you a fee if we fail to win you any compensation. In fact, the only time that we will charge a fee, is when we have actually received a compensation payment for you. At this stage, we will take our fee out of the amount received, and then pass the remainder over to you. If you have any questions about our claims service, please speak to one of the Accident Claims UK team on the number below.

How We Can Help You Can Make A European Road Accident Claim

Starting your personal injury claim for a scooter accident on Spanish roads is very simple. Just reach out to one of our team on the number below, and they will talk you through our new claims process. This will involve asking you a series of questions, that will tell us more about your claim. Once we know enough about your situation, we will offer you a simple, effective and financially risk-free way to have your claim processed. Speak to one of our team on the number below to learn more.

How To Contact Our Team

If you are ready to engage Accident Claims UK as your personal injury lawyer to process your claim for a scooter accident in Spain, then please call us on 0800 073 8801. One of our team will go over your claim with you, and then offer you some free legal advice on how to get your claim started right away.

Additional Guides And Information

We gave you some useful links further up this guide, but you may not have checked them out yet, so here they are again:

Spanish scooter safety

What do I need to rent a Spanish scooter?

Wearing a helmet on Spanish roads

You can also check out the following there guides which may be useful, that we have published on this site:

How to make overseas accident claims

A guide to road traffic accident claims

Road traffic accident claims involving a motorcycle