Liability in case of workplace Injury
In Spain there is a form of quasi-strict liability for the company in cases of workplace accidents where irregularities in the prevention of occupational risks are found.
This kind of liability consists in an additional amount paid by the company on top of the worker’s disability pension. For payment purposes, the surcharge is capitalized based on the worker’s age, and the company is required to pay a lump sum of this capital.
The imposition of the surcharge is not limited to the omission of legally mandated safety measures, but also extends to the failure to adopt reasonably foreseeable safety measures, even if not explicitly required by regulation. Therefore, the surcharge may be imposed when outdated safety measures are in place and have not been updated in line with technological progress or adapted to new working systems.
In any case, given the punitive nature of the surcharge and the requirement for a restrictive interpretation (as described above), case law has established that its imposition must meet the following general criteria:
a) The company must have violated a safety measure—either general or specific—and this must be clearly proven, as the constitutional presumption of innocence applies due to the punitive nature of the measure.
b) There must be a causal link between the violation and the harmful outcome, which must be demonstrated, since the restrictive interpretation (as a sanction) means that causality is not presumed.
c) There must be fault or negligence on the part of the company—sometimes it must be exclusive, while in other cases shared responsibility is accepted—because the liability is not strict.
d) Such fault or negligence must be assessed based on the diligence required of a prudent employer, taking into account standards of normality and reasonableness.
