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From a driver with fifteen years’ licence to a suspect in forty-eight hours. No intent to harm is required: it is enough that the result follows from careless conduct of a certain gravity. Not every accident with casualties is an offence; the three-step scale of negligence decides everything.
In brief. The penalty is measured in months; the civil liability, in hundreds of thousands of euros. A first-time offender whose penalty does not exceed two years does not ordinarily go to prison, but the driving ban that accompanies gross-negligence homicide (one to six years) is not suspended, and the compensation under the Law 35/2015 scale can comfortably exceed three hundred thousand euros.
Most people who consult us after an accident with casualties or a death had never set foot in a court. They have no record, had not been drinking, were not doing 180. They overtook a lorry on a straight stretch, joined a roundabout without seeing the motorcycle coming from the left, or turned right in the city over a pedestrian crossing. Negligence offences require no will to harm: it is enough that the result is the consequence of careless conduct and that the carelessness reaches a certain level of gravity.
Not every accident with injuries is an offence, and not every fatal accident is an offence. Some accidents are just that, accidents, giving rise only to an obligation to compensate. The question that decides between a conviction and a dismissal is where the conduct sits on a three-step scale that almost nobody knows until it affects them. And one more surprise: in the vast majority of these proceedings, a first-time offender with a penalty of up to two years does not go to prison. What truly changes their life are the driving ban and the civil liability.
| Stage | What happens | Rule | The key point |
|---|---|---|---|
| The police report | Sketch, final positions, witnesses, alcohol and drug tests | Atestado | The only photograph of the scene before the road is cleared |
| First hours | Possible arrest and duty-court appearance where there are deaths | 520 LECrim | Access to the file before any statement |
| Preservation | Tachographs and nearby cameras are overwritten within days | Urgent request | Asking for their preservation within 48 hours is genuinely urgent |
| Medical stabilisation | The injured person’s recovery report determines the classification | Forensic doctor | Until the sequelae are known, the offence cannot be classified |
| Which procedure | Gross negligence: abbreviated procedure; less serious: minor-offence trial | Art. 13.4 CP | Different time limits: five years versus one year of limitation |
| Civil strand | Compensation under the Law 35/2015 scale | Baremo | A young deceased with children can exceed €300,000 |
| Insurer’s offer | Reasoned offer within three months of the claim | Art. 7 LRCSCVM | Much of the case is decided here, before trial |
| Reparation | Payment before trial mitigates under Art. 21.5 CP | Atenuante | The insurer’s payment does not always benefit the accused; a personal effort counts |
Penalty ranges are indicative; the classification depends on the gravity of the negligence and the result, and the compensation on the statutory scale applicable to the specific case.
It is the warning we give at the first meeting and it almost always surprises. A homicide by gross negligence with a vehicle carries one to four years of imprisonment; for a first-time offender with a final penalty of up to two years, suspension under Article 80 is the usual outcome. By contrast, the compensation for the death of a young person with minor children, calculated under the Law 35/2015 scale, can comfortably exceed three hundred thousand euros. And where alcohol is involved, the insurer may recover from its own insured what it paid, a threat that often weighs more than the penalty and must be worked on from day one, contesting whether the reading was truly determinative of the result.
Reparation before trial is a mitigating circumstance under Article 21.5 CP and, in practice, the most effective lever available to the defence, with an honest nuance: the courts do not always credit the accused with the mitigating effect of a payment made by the insurer in performance of its contract. Where the client can, we assess a personal consignment complementary to the company’s payment.
On access to the file before giving any statement, the constitutional doctrine of STC 21/2018 of 5 March (ECLI:ES:TC:2018:21), STC 13/2017 of 30 January (ECLI:ES:TC:2017:13) and STC 86/2025 of 7 April (ECLI:ES:TC:2025:86) applies, though issued in detention contexts; and on the limits of overturning acquittals, STC 80/2024 of 3 June (ECLI:ES:TC:2024:80). These references must be verified at source before being relied upon; this page does not constitute legal advice.
First-time drivers investigated after a serious accident: classification of the negligence, the driving ban and the suspension of the prison term.
Lorry and bus drivers, fleets and employers: tachographs, subsidiary civil liability and employment consequences.
Foreign-licence holders: effects of the Spanish ban, interpreters and proceedings conducted at a distance where possible.
Families of the deceased and seriously injured: private prosecution, the insurer’s reasoned offer and full compensation under the scale.
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Société de Conseil Juridique et Expert es un despacho de abogados con sedes en Madrid, Alicante, Londres y París, especializado en defensa y acusación penal, delitos económicos y corporativos y derecho tecnológico. Trabajamos con orientación estratégica en procedimientos penales complejos, propiedad intelectual y análisis forense avanzado, y prestamos consultoría jurídica, compliance y escudos de protección a particulares y empresas. Atendemos desde Alicante y Madrid, con consulta online en toda España y asistencia al detenido 24 horas. Resuelva sus dudas en las preguntas frecuentes o solicite una primera consulta.
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