Traffic Accident Injury Unit

Who can suffer an accident?

Everyone is susceptible to being injured in traffic accidents: drivers, occupants of a vehicle, cyclists and pedestrians.

What about the healthcare costs?

Medical care of people injured in a traffic accident must be paid by the insurance companies, in most cases, since both the occupants of the vehicle and any other person affected by an accident are protected by the coverage for third parties. In the case of a driver who has gone off the road, the health coverage will be assumed by the company according to the particular conditions of each policy.

By law, "the expenses of medical, pharmaceutical and hospital care must be compensated by the necessary amount until the healing or consolidation of the consequences, whenever the expense is duly justified taking into account the nature of the care provided". 

Hospitales Universitarios San Roque provides full care at no cost to the patient, based on the provisions of each policy.

If I have a traffic accident, what do I have to do? Can I choose which centre to go to?

You must go to the Emergency Service of Hospitales Universitarios San Roque, within 72 hours of the accident, to the hospital of Vegueta or Maspalomas, and give the place and date of the accident and provide identification details: of the vehicles involved and their drivers, insurance company and provide insurance details.

You decide where to go: The free choice of the health centre is a right of the injured party in traffic accidents and an essential decision to be able to minimise the consequences of the accident. The victim is under no obligation to change the health centre or the doctor, as the law allows the injured party to go to the health centre of their choice.

What does the treatment include?

We have teams of professionals from all medical specialties, who provide a personal and comprehensive treatment, which guarantees you a fast and full recovery with the best quality.

• ​Primary care at the Emergency Service (24/7).
• Follow-up in consultations with medical specialists.
• Diagnostic tests prescribed by the specialist performed with state-of-the-art equipment.
• Start of the prescribed treatment with all the necessary quality guarantees.
• Comprehensive service in the rehabilitation and physiotherapy process.
• Surgical unit and Hospitalisation service.
• Detailed reports on the evolution of the process up to medical discharge.
• The guarantee of having a pioneering hospital in the Canary Islands and a national benchmark.

• Hospitales Universitarios San Roque is affiliated to the UNESPA (Spanish Association of Insurers and Reinsurers) agreement, offering the injured in traffic accidents comprehensive care treatment. It also alleviates patients from having to deal with all the insurance company paperwork.
• Can I work and also be treated?
• Yes, we adapt to your working hours and have a wide network of centres, so you can go to the nearest one to your work or home. Our comprehensive team of professionals will follow you throughout the process until you are discharged.

• For more information: trafico@hospitalessanroque.com
• Telephone: +34 928 40 40 40.

• MORE INFO: TRAFFIC ACCIDENT CLAIMS
• Who has the right to file a claim? The Traffic Accident Victims Unit of the DGT (government department that is responsible for the Spanish road transport network), states that claims can be made by the not guilty driver, the occupants of any vehicle, a pedestrian who has been run over (whose being run over is not due to "the exclusive fault of the victim") and, in the event of death, certain relatives depending on the age of the victim, the degree of kinship, the existence or absence of certain relatives, etc.
• Likewise, the DGT stresses that victims with personal injury "will always have the right to compensation", unless they are "exclusively to blame" for the accident, and it is the person who caused the damage who must "prove that there was exclusive fault (which is very difficult)". In the event of "concurrent fault", the degree of each one must be established in order to calculate the corresponding compensation. And if the opposing vehicle does not have insurance, or took off and cannot be located, the compensation will correspond to the Consortium of Insurance Compensation.
• What to claim? In its guide, the DGT indicates "What to do in the event of a traffic accident", it explains the items that can be compensated and the amounts to be received, and makes some basic recommendations to be taken into account both at the time of the accident and in the subsequent actions, regarding the material sphere (repair of vehicles), the legal sphere (choice of lawyer) and the health sphere.
• In the case of a traffic accident, Social Security benefits can be claimed for incapacity for work, interest on delays, material damage and, of course, personal injury such as death, permanent injury (sequelae), incapacity for work (days off work) and health costs. The aim is to compensate for the physical and psychological damage suffered by people involved in an accident, by means of amounts fixed in accordance with rules and scales established by law.
• Who to claim against? If the vehicle that caused the damage has insurance, against its company and against the driver of the vehicle. If not, against the Compensation Consortium, against the driver and against the owner of the vehicle.
• Time limit for filing a claim. It is important to note that the time limit for informing the insurance company is seven days, although exceeding this time "does not imply a total loss of your rights". The term to file a complaint in the criminal jurisdiction is six months from the day of the accident and for a lawsuit one year from the possibility of exercising the action or from the time that the injuries have healed and the definitive scope of the injuries is known.
• How do I file a claim? All the compensations can be claimed out of court - negotiating the amount with the insurance company - or judicially, filing the corresponding complaint so that the opportune criminal procedure can be carried out, or the lawsuit before the civil courts, claiming the amount considered appropriate.
• For the criminal procedure, there must be injuries that take more than one day to heal and it is recommended to file a complaint to obtain a report from the forensic doctor, "independent and of great value to negotiate with the insurance company or for a later lawsuit in the civil courts". The civil procedure (lawsuit) is the only way "when there has only been material damage" and, normally, "when the period of six months has passed to go to the criminal procedure". It has the disadvantage that it is necessary to hire the services of an expert specialist in the valuation of personal injury.

Who can suffer an accident?

Everyone is susceptible to being injured in traffic accidents: drivers, occupants of a vehicle, cyclists and pedestrians.

What about the healthcare costs?

Medical care of people injured in a traffic accident must be paid by the insurance companies, in most cases, since both the occupants of the vehicle and any other person affected by an accident are protected by the coverage for third parties. In the case of a driver who has gone off the road, the health coverage will be assumed by the company according to the particular conditions of each policy.

By law, "the expenses of medical, pharmaceutical and hospital care must be compensated by the necessary amount until the healing or consolidation of the consequences, whenever the expense is duly justified taking into account the nature of the care provided". 

Hospitales Universitarios San Roque provides full care at no cost to the patient, based on the provisions of each policy.

If I have a traffic accident, what do I have to do? Can I choose which centre to go to?

You must go to the Emergency Service of Hospitales Universitarios San Roque, within 72 hours of the accident, to the hospital of Vegueta or Maspalomas, and give the place and date of the accident and provide identification details: of the vehicles involved and their drivers, insurance company and provide insurance details.

You decide where to go: The free choice of the health centre is a right of the injured party in traffic accidents and an essential decision to be able to minimise the consequences of the accident. The victim is under no obligation to change the health centre or the doctor, as the law allows the injured party to go to the health centre of their choice.

What does the treatment include?

We have teams of professionals from all medical specialties, who provide a personal and comprehensive treatment, which guarantees you a fast and full recovery with the best quality.

• ​Primary care at the Emergency Service (24/7).
• Follow-up in consultations with medical specialists.
• Diagnostic tests prescribed by the specialist performed with state-of-the-art equipment.
• Start of the prescribed treatment with all the necessary quality guarantees.
• Comprehensive service in the rehabilitation and physiotherapy process.
• Surgical unit and Hospitalisation service.
• Detailed reports on the evolution of the process up to medical discharge.
• The guarantee of having a pioneering hospital in the Canary Islands and a national benchmark.

• Hospitales Universitarios San Roque is affiliated to the UNESPA (Spanish Association of Insurers and Reinsurers) agreement, offering the injured in traffic accidents comprehensive care treatment. It also alleviates patients from having to deal with all the insurance company paperwork.
• Can I work and also be treated?
• Yes, we adapt to your working hours and have a wide network of centres, so you can go to the nearest one to your work or home. Our comprehensive team of professionals will follow you throughout the process until you are discharged.

• For more information: trafico@hospitalessanroque.com
• Telephone: +34 928 40 40 40.

• MORE INFO: TRAFFIC ACCIDENT CLAIMS
• Who has the right to file a claim? The Traffic Accident Victims Unit of the DGT (government department that is responsible for the Spanish road transport network), states that claims can be made by the not guilty driver, the occupants of any vehicle, a pedestrian who has been run over (whose being run over is not due to "the exclusive fault of the victim") and, in the event of death, certain relatives depending on the age of the victim, the degree of kinship, the existence or absence of certain relatives, etc.
• Likewise, the DGT stresses that victims with personal injury "will always have the right to compensation", unless they are "exclusively to blame" for the accident, and it is the person who caused the damage who must "prove that there was exclusive fault (which is very difficult)". In the event of "concurrent fault", the degree of each one must be established in order to calculate the corresponding compensation. And if the opposing vehicle does not have insurance, or took off and cannot be located, the compensation will correspond to the Consortium of Insurance Compensation.
• What to claim? In its guide, the DGT indicates "What to do in the event of a traffic accident", it explains the items that can be compensated and the amounts to be received, and makes some basic recommendations to be taken into account both at the time of the accident and in the subsequent actions, regarding the material sphere (repair of vehicles), the legal sphere (choice of lawyer) and the health sphere.
• In the case of a traffic accident, Social Security benefits can be claimed for incapacity for work, interest on delays, material damage and, of course, personal injury such as death, permanent injury (sequelae), incapacity for work (days off work) and health costs. The aim is to compensate for the physical and psychological damage suffered by people involved in an accident, by means of amounts fixed in accordance with rules and scales established by law.
• Who to claim against? If the vehicle that caused the damage has insurance, against its company and against the driver of the vehicle. If not, against the Compensation Consortium, against the driver and against the owner of the vehicle.
• Time limit for filing a claim. It is important to note that the time limit for informing the insurance company is seven days, although exceeding this time "does not imply a total loss of your rights". The term to file a complaint in the criminal jurisdiction is six months from the day of the accident and for a lawsuit one year from the possibility of exercising the action or from the time that the injuries have healed and the definitive scope of the injuries is known.
• How do I file a claim? All the compensations can be claimed out of court - negotiating the amount with the insurance company - or judicially, filing the corresponding complaint so that the opportune criminal procedure can be carried out, or the lawsuit before the civil courts, claiming the amount considered appropriate.
• For the criminal procedure, there must be injuries that take more than one day to heal and it is recommended to file a complaint to obtain a report from the forensic doctor, "independent and of great value to negotiate with the insurance company or for a later lawsuit in the civil courts". The civil procedure (lawsuit) is the only way "when there has only been material damage" and, normally, "when the period of six months has passed to go to the criminal procedure". It has the disadvantage that it is necessary to hire the services of an expert specialist in the valuation of personal injury.