Did you or your family suffer an accident in Puerto Rico?

On November 28, 2020 a new Civil Code became effective in Puerto Rico. This new Civil Code and in particular, chapter 5 of the same, substitutes the previous Civil Code with regard to damages claims in Puerto Rico and provides additional rights and remedies not available under the previous Civil Code. Under the new Code, Article 1536 provides that the person that by fault or negligence causes damages to another, is obligated to repair said damage. The previous Code like the present have the same finality: to repair damages caused by fault or negligence. To be able to have a right to compensation after suffering damages due to an accident, as a general rule under the previous Civil Code required: (1) Physical or emotional damages (the possibility of pure economic damages only may also play under the new code).; (2) that the damage was caused by the fault or negligence of the defendant; and (3) that a nexus exists between the act and the damages caused to suffer.

Depending on the type and place of the accident, other laws and regulations may also be applicable, such as Admiralty Laws, special laws, Laws of the United States, etc.

If you or Your family members suffered an accident in Puerto Rico, request legal advice from a duly licensed and competent attorney, licensed to practice in Puerto Rico as soon as the circumstances allow you to do so. Your legal rights depend on a number of factors and your particular situation, to include place of the accident, time, type of claim, damages suffered, etc. ALL LEGAL CASES ARE NOT THE SAME. WE RECOMMEND THAT YOU SEEK COMPETENT LEGAL COUNSEL FROM A DULY LICENSED PUERTO RICO ATTORNEY OF YOUR CHOICE. PARTICULARLY ONE WITH EXPERIENCE HANDLING DAMAGES ACTIONS. DO NOT DEPEND ONLY ON THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS WEB PAGE. SEEK COMPETENT LEGAL ADVICE.

NO. YOU DO NOT NEED TO CONTRACT WITH AN ATTORNEY ALWAYS. Not all legal cases, situations, damages, etc. are the same. Depending on your particular situation, you may not need to hire an attorney to represent you. However, ALWAYS TRY TO CONSULT ANY DAMAGES CLAIM THAT YOU MAY HAVE WITH A DULY LICENSED ATTORNEY BEFORE YOU COMMENCE ANY LEGAL ACTION, TO INCLUDE A NEGOTIATION PROCESS. CONSULT WITH AN ATTORNEY AT THE EARLIEST POSSIBLE OPPORTUNITY. YOU ALWAYS HAVE THE RIGHT TO CONSULT WITH AN ATTORNEY. IF YOU DECIDE TO CONTRACT AN ATTORNEY, contract one the same way you hire other professional service providers.

IT IS ADVISABLE THAT BEFORE YOU BEGIN ANY CLAIM OR NEGOTIATION PROCESS, that you consult with an attorney to understand your rights. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO NEGOTIATE if you do not know your PUERTO RICO legal rights. Again, every jurisdiction is different. What may be aplicable in another Country or State, does not necessarily apply to Puerto Rico, and vice versa.

We again remind you that Puerto Rico just implemented a new Civil Code that may affect your rights to claims and compensation. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS. You always have a right to consult with an attorney of your choosing. Always assume that who caused damages to you has his or her own attorney providing advice! GET YOUR OWN COMPETENT ADVICE FROM A DULY LICENSED IN PUERTO RICO ATTORNEY.

In certain cases your claim may fall under the jurisdiction of one or more Puerto Rico government agencies that were created to protect the rights of consumers, such as DACO (Department of Consumer Affairs). Seek competent legal advice before you commence any legal claim.

As a general rule, under Puerto Rico Law and jurisprudence, a Business establishment open to the public needs to take the necessary measures to ensure that the areas open to the public are reasonably safe. The owner and/or operator of a business or a commercial establishment needs to provide reasonable measures to maintain the areas open to the public in safe conditions so that their clients do not suffer accidents and damages. The duty of the business establishment includes the obligation to anticipate and to avoid accident and injuries in their commercial establishment, particularly if they have knowledge of the dangerous condition.

Said obligation of a business establishment IS NOT ABSOLUTE. Not every accident that happens in a Business establishment generates responsibility and a duty to make hole the injured. An owner of a commercial establishment does not have absolute responsibility over all types of accidents and damages suffered by its clients, particularly if they claim no knowledge of the dangerous condition.

To try to make a successful claim the injured party needs to be able to offer proof that the Business establishment omitted a duty to act or incurred in negligence that caused or contributed to the occurrence of the accident and the damages suffered by the claimant. Many times to establish this the services of expert witnesses or accident reconstruction specialist may be needed.

Certain Business establishments and activities have a special duty to act and protect the public from harm, such as hotels. This responsibility generates a higher level of duty of care than the duty of care imposed on other types of persons and commercial establishments. The right of compensation for an accident can be affected by a number of factors such as time, place, the facts, dangerous conditions, knowledge or lack of knowledge, rules and regulations, waivers, the actor that caused the damages, laws, insurance or lack of insurance coverage, etc.

Accidents that happen in business establishments are fact specific and time sensitive.

NOT ALL ACCIDENTS ARE THE SAME. YOUR RIGHTS ARE AFFECTED BY A NUMBER OF FACTORS. You should contact a competent attorney admitted to the practice of law in Puerto Rico in order to get legal advice regarding your rights and steps that you should follow after suffering an accident.

In Puerto Rico, as a general rule, you have ONE (1) YEAR to make a claim counted from the date of your accident. In case of a claim against the Government of Puerto Rico or its municipalities, you need to also comply with certain formal notice requirements in a short period of time after the occurrence of an accident.

You should consult with a competent attorney admitted to the practice of law in Puerto Rico in order to get legal advice regarding your rights and steps that you should follow.

First, ensure that you and your family members are safe as well as the safety and wellbeing of anyone else involved in an accident. Included below are recommendation and suggestions that you may want to implement, depending on the circumstances of the accident:

In case of emergency dial 911. Call the police to report the accident. If the accident occurred in a Business establishment, hotel, etc., call management or the business establishment’s security department to report the incident or accident. Write the name (you can also take notes in your cellular phone) of the police officer’s name, security personnel, manager, etc.; the address of the police precinct, and the police officer’s badge number. Make sure you are provided with an accident or incident number, and also make note of the same. Ensure that you report to the police all of your personal information as well as the full name of others who were with you and may be injured.

Seek medical help as soon as possible, preferably at the Emergency room of the nearest hospital. Report to the emergency room of a hospital closest to the place of your accident and make sure you report all areas of your body that you belief were affected as a consequence of your accident. The lasting effects of an accident are not known until days after the occurrence of an accident, thus the importance of reporting all possible physical consequences of your accident.

It is of extreme importance that you report to an attending physician the occurrence of the accident and that you ensure that you and your family members are thoroughly evaluated for damages as soon as possible after the occurrence of an accident. Do not assume that nothing happened.

Ask for help or if you can, take pictures and videos of the damages and the cause of the accident. A well documented historical file with plenty of contemporary pictures and videos will be of great help in your claim process.

Take pictures of the accident area and adjacent zones.

Take pictures of any report that you are asked to provide. Try to consult with an attorney of your choice before providing any statement of fact and before you sign the report.

In case you are involved in a traffic accident in Puerto Rico, ask to see the driver licenses of all involved in the accident and if you can, take pictures of the same. Also ask for the vehicle registration of all vehicles involved in the accident and try to take pictures of the same. Drivers and vehicle owners may be different. DON’T ASSUME THAT THE DRIVER IS THE OWNER OF THE VEHICLE.

In case of traffic accidents, take pictures of all damages suffered by all vehicles. Ask the drivers/vehicle owners if they have private liability Insurance, and if affirmative, get the name of their Insurance provider.

Make a note of the name, telephone number, email and address of any witness that observed the accident. Use your phone if necessary. Keep in mind to also collect information on service providers such as ambulance and tow trucks personnel.

Seek further medical treatment and follow all instructions provided by doctors. In case of a traffic accident in Puerto Rico, medical assistance and treatment is also available through ACAA. You have an affirmative duty in Puerto Rico to mitigate your damages. If you do not follow doctors orders, it can be claimed that you are not mitigating your damages.

Consult with an attorney experienced with accident claims as soon as the situation allows, particularly one admitted to the practice of law in Puerto Rico.

As soon as the situation allows, make a detailed memorandum of everything that occurred involving the accident. If other people were also with you, ask them to also make a memorandum. Make sure you cover who, what, where, why and how.

Ask others if they have pictures, to include pictures in electronic form and make sure you safe them for possible future use. DO NOT DEPEND ONLY ON YOUR MEMORY. If you were involved in an accident, do not delay preparing the memorandum.

If you are insured, call your Insurance company to report the accident, regardless if you are at fault or not. Do not assume that you will not be held responsible or partially responsible for the occurrence of the accident. Some Insurance policies provide coverage know as “uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage”, that depending on the circumstances of your accident may provide insurance coverage to you if you are involved in a traffic accident. IN PUERTO RICO, NOT ALL DRIVERS HAVE LIABILITY INSURANCE COVERAGE. To the contrary, many drivers have NO LIABILITY INSURANCE COVERAGE.

If you rented a vehicle using your own or Business credit card, report the occurrence of the accident to your credit card, since you may have additional Insurance coverage through your credit card.

If you are contacted by an Insurance adjuster, take down his full name, name of employer and name of the Insurance company that retained his services and all of his contact information. Seek assistance from an attorney before providing any information to an Insurance adjuster. An insurance adjuster does not work for you. He does not necessarily have your best interests in mind.

Ensure your full compliance with aplicable laws and regulations. Accidents involving the Government of Puerto Rico and municipalities, require formal notice requirements of accidents shortly after the occurrence of an accident. Seek legal advice so that you understand your duties and comply with the steps that you need to follow.

Keep in mind that Puerto Rico has a ONE (1) year statute of limitations. It is better to begin your claim process as soon as practicable, before the one year deadline. If you do not claim within the one year statute of limitations deadline, you may NEVER BE ABLE TO BE COMPENSATED FOR YOUR DAMAGES.

This list is not complete. The purpose is to provide suggestions and ideas of what steps you can follow in case you are involved in an accident.

WE RECOMMEND THAT YOU ALWAYS CONSULT WITH A PUERTO RICO COMPETENT LICENSED ATTORNEY IF YOU WERE INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AFTER YOU SUFFER AN ACCIDENT.