For Víctor Arpa, a labor lawyer specialized in work accidents, “giving away compensation for a work accident is a real crime,” and he gives an example of what he has achieved for a carpenter client who amputated the “top of his third finger.” That is, he lost the distal phalanx (the last bone of the finger, the nail), an injury that, according to his accounts, amounts to 237,822 euros between compensation and a surcharge on his pension.
Many workers think that, with the sick leave paid by the mutual insurance company, the work accident has already been paid for, which is not the case when there is a lack of safety at work, since in those cases damages can be claimed from the company.
Furthermore, if the consequences prevent you from returning to your job, you can request total permanent disability, which does not allow you to work in your usual profession, although you can work in a different one, and which does not depend on whether security has failed. “Just this part of the compensation, just this one, will be a total of 23,451 euros,” Arpa calculated for a year of medical leave.
Compensation for damages
Arpa breaks down the carpenter’s account item by item, and begins with “1,450 euros for his operation, 238 euros for being admitted to the hospital for two days” and “8,912 euros for being on medical leave for 144 days.”
Keep in mind that there is no table to calculate the damages claimed from the company for a work accident, since the Law Regulating Social Jurisdiction (can be read at this link) commissioned the Government in 2011 with a specific scale that has not been approved, so the traffic accidents are taken as a reference, with concepts such as days of sick leave, operations, consequences or loss of profits. The days of sick leave, admission to the hospital and operations do not fall within this calculation, explains the lawyer.
Then higher amounts arrive, “58,813 euros for its sequelae, 10,139 euros for the aesthetic sequelae, that is, for the visual damage caused by the amputation.” The sequel is the injury that remains forever once the healing is complete, and the aesthetic damage also counts as a sequel.
Added to this are “59,512 euros because he was granted total permanent disability for his usual profession”, since “he cannot continue working as a carpenter” although he can work in another profession compatible with his limitations. This amount is part of the damages and is separate from the pension.
This is so, since the traffic scale considers that losing “the work or professional activity that has been carried out” is a moral damage of a moderate degree due to loss of quality of life, as indicated in article 108 of the Law on civil liability and insurance in the circulation of motor vehicles.
The last concept is “9,517 euros of lost earnings”, the money that stops earning, because “the worker, as a result of his accident, will not continue to receive the same remuneration as when he worked.” “All this about damages. A total compensation of 148,582 euros,” says Arpa.
The pension surcharge and the agreement money
In addition, Arpa adds that the carpenter has received a benefit surcharge, “a 30% addition to the pension he has been receiving. This is a total of 502 euros per month.” This surcharge is included in article 164 of the General Social Security Law.
It increases the Social Security benefits charged for a work accident, such as sick leave or pension, between 30% and 50% depending on how serious the offense is, when the injury occurs with equipment or in places without the mandatory means of protection or without respecting safety measures. Now, that money is paid directly by the company, which by law cannot cover it with insurance.
On the other hand, “as they have given him a disability, compensation of 29,000 euros has been obtained by agreement,” he says. This is an extra amount that some collective agreements include, like yours, for those who are left with a permanent disability.
Although in the video Arpa does not explain how it arrives at the total amount, if the amounts that are charged at once are added, they add up to 177,582 euros (the 148,582 euros of damages and the 29,000 euros of the agreement), and the 60,240 euros that are missing coincide with 120 monthly installments of the surcharge of 502 euros, that is, ten years of money that is collected month by month together with the pension.
Permanent disability pensioners are exempt from paying personal income tax for their pensions, but only those with absolute and severe disability, while those with total disability pay taxes even if they have a 33% disability.
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The lawyer says that he is a worker who “at first was reluctant to claim, that he did not want to claim”, and who finally “has received a total compensation of 237,822 euros.” “So, you decide whether or not you want to win compensation for your work accident, which in the end is still compensation that repairs the injuries you have suffered,” recalls Víctor Arpa.