State Patrimonial Responsibility, when the government is the one who must pay you

As you read, there are situations in which the government will be obliged to pay citizens and not the other way around, as we are used to happening.

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I am referring to State Patrimonial Responsibility, a concept that refers to the situation in which citizens experience harm derived from government action, specifically, IRREGULAR action.

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By irregular administrative action, we must understand, in accordance with section I of article 2 of the State Property Responsibility Act, the following: “that action or omission that causes damage to the property or rights of individuals who have no legal obligation to bear, by virtue of the fact that there is no legal basis or legal cause of justification to legitimate the damage in question.”

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Highlighting the last part, that is, that there is no legal obligation to endure. Some common examples are floods in traffic roads, in which vehicles result in a total loss, which are caused by the lack of maintenance of sewage systems; or the poor provision of medical services, resulting in disability or even the death of the patient.

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Obviously there is no basis for having to suffer this type of damage, and the right thing to do is to repair, as far as possible, such damage to the individual.

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The repair of the damage is usually reflected through the payment of compensation, either for the value of the vehicle or the repairs that had to be done to it; or because of the damages that the citizen will face when he is incapacitated or suffers the loss of a close family member.

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However, this is not so easy, because for the authorities responsible to be convicted of paying the damages, a very specific procedure must be carried out, where the damage caused by the irregular administrative action must be verified, without a doubt. That is why it is essential that, at the time of experiencing a situation of this nature, all possible evidence is obtained and all documents derived from that event are protected, since the evidence is what will make the difference.

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As an interesting fact, compensation can amount to tens of millions of pesos, depending, obviously, on the type of damage and who caused it.

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If you have been affected by an act of government and you consider that you are in a situation of financial responsibility, do not hesitate to seek the support of an expert, as we are.