Óscar Miranda Abogado
Áreas de práctica
Ver todasDefensa estratégica · juicios orales · amparo penal
Divorcios · pensión · custodia · sucesiones
Despido, finiquito y liquidación · lo que te corresponde de verdad
Contratos · arrendamiento · daños · litigio
Cobro de deudas · pagaré · juicios ejecutivos
Constitución · compliance · gobierno corporativo
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Clausuras · multas · INVEA · juicio de nulidad
Residencias · naturalización · INM
Compraventa · escrituración · vicios ocultos
Negativa de pensión · semanas cotizadas · Modalidad 40
Asesoría inicial desde $2,000 MXN · Lunes a viernes 9:00 – 21:00
Agendar por WhatsAppÓscar Miranda Abogado
INJURY & ACCIDENT CLAIMS · CDMX & ESTADO DE MÉXICO
If you were hurt in Mexico City or the State of Mexico — in a car accident, through a doctor's mistake, or on the job — you're dealing with a legal system that works very differently from the one you know, in a language that isn't yours, while you're trying to recover. Óscar Miranda is a licensed Mexican attorney (cédula profesional 13195234) who handles personal injury and civil liability cases (responsabilidad civil) in English, end to end: gathering evidence while it's still fresh, calculating what your case is actually worth under Mexican law, and dealing with insurers, hospitals or employers so you don't have to do it in your second language.
Mexican law calls this area responsabilidad civil(civil liability) — the right to be compensated when someone else's action or negligence causes you harm. It covers three situations expat and tourist clients bring us most often:
Whether you were driving, a passenger, a pedestrian, or riding in a taxi/rideshare, Mexican traffic accidents almost always involve mandatory insurance (seguro obligatorio) and a police/traffic report (parte de tránsito) that determines fault. We handle the claim against the at-fault driver's insurer, negotiate the settlement, and litigate if the insurer lowballs you or denies the claim.
Misdiagnosis, surgical errors, medication mistakes, or a hospital that didn't get informed consent right. These cases run in parallel through two tracks: a complaint before CONAMED (the medical arbitration commission, free and often the fastest path to a settlement) and, when it's warranted, a civil liability lawsuit against the doctor, clinic or hospital for full compensation.
If you were hurt on the job in Mexico, IMSS (Mexico's social security institute) owes you medical care and a disability payment automatically — but that payment is often far below what the injury actually cost you. We handle the labor claim for the IMSS benefit and, separately, a civil claim against the employer when negligence (an unsafe workplace, missing safety equipment) made the accident worse or more likely.
We also handle personal injury claims arising from defective products, dog bites, and injuries on someone else's property, under the civil liability rules of the Civil Code — medical negligence claims in Mexico have their own dedicated page in Spanish.
This is the part that surprises most foreign clients: Mexico does notuse a jury that awards a lump sum for "pain and suffering" the way the U.S. does. Compensation is built from specific, provable categories, and a judge (or, before that, an insurer or a CONAMED panel) fixes the amount based on evidence — not on a demand letter with a big number attached.
The direct financial cost: medical bills, hospitalization, medication, rehabilitation, damaged property (your car, for example).
The income you didn't earn because of the injury: lost wages, lost business, reduced future earning capacity if the injury is permanent.
Compensation for the harm to your feelings, physical integrity, or quality of life, independent of any financial loss. Mexican law expressly presumes moral damage when someone's physical or psychological integrity is unlawfully affected — you don't have to prove you suffered, only that the injury happened and who caused it.
Some cases (traffic accidents involving a vehicle, defective products, certain medical procedures) fall under responsabilidad objetiva (art. 1913 Civil Code): you only need to prove the harm and the causal link, not that the other party was careless. Others require proving fault (negligencia). Which regime applies changes what has to be proven and how strong your case is — this is decided case by case at the first consultation.
The judge weighs the severity of the injury, the degree of responsibility, and the financial situation of both parties to set the final number — which is exactly why two similar-looking accidents can be worth very different amounts depending on how the damage is documented and proven.
What you do in the first 48 hours has an outsized effect on what your case is worth later. If you were just injured:
Emergency room records, diagnosis notes, imaging, prescriptions — all of it becomes the backbone of your claim. Ask for copies before you leave.
For traffic accidents, request the police/traffic report (parte de tránsito) at the scene if possible — it's the official record of who was found at fault. For workplace injuries, make sure the employer files the accident report with IMSS (aviso de accidente de trabajo) within the legal deadline; don't let it get "handled informally."
Photos of the scene, the vehicles, the injury itself, and the surroundings; names and phone numbers of witnesses (they become hard to find later); the other driver's insurance information.
A quick settlement offer in the first days is almost always lower than what the claim is worth once medical treatment is complete — signing a release can close the door to further compensation even if your condition worsens later.
What you say to police, an insurance adjuster, or a hospital's legal department in the first days can be used later. You don't need to hire anyone on the spot — but get advice before you commit to a version of events.
Claims for civil liability and moral damage in Mexico City generally must be filed within 2 years of the injury (Civil Code, art. 1934). Waiting to "see how it goes" is the single most common way foreign clients lose a claim that was otherwise winnable.
Mexico doesn't have the same "no win, no fee" advertising you may be used to from the U.S. or Canada, but the underlying tool exists and we use it: it's called pacto de cuota litis— a results-based fee where the lawyer's payment is a percentage of what you actually recover, agreed in writing before the case starts, instead of (or combined with) hourly billing.
You leave it with a clear, honest read on whether you have a viable claim, which track applies (insurer negotiation, CONAMED, IMSS, civil lawsuit, or several at once), and a closed proposal for fees — no open-ended hourly billing.
The percentage is agreed in writing before we start, based on the complexity of the case and whether it resolves by negotiation or requires full litigation. This means you're not paying legal fees out of pocket while your case is pending — the fee comes out of the settlement or award, so our incentive is the same as yours: get the highest amount, as fast as properly possible.
Available for cases that need significant upfront work — for example, medical negligence cases requiring expert medical opinions before CONAMED or a lawsuit is even filed.
Every fee arrangement is put in writing before we start, in plain English, so there are no surprises when your case resolves.
No. Your consultations, document review, and WhatsApp updates all happen in English. Court filings, medical/insurance correspondence, and official reports are in Spanish because that's what Mexican law and institutions require — we translate and explain every document clause by clause before you sign or agree to anything, so you always know exactly what you're accepting.
Yes. You don't need Mexican residency or citizenship to file a civil liability claim in Mexico — foreign nationals, including tourists, have the same right to sue as Mexican citizens for injuries suffered here. If you've already returned home, your case can usually still move forward: we can act on your behalf through a power of attorney (poder notarial, which can often be signed at a Mexican consulate abroad), and most of the process — evidence gathering, negotiation, updates — happens by WhatsApp and video call. Court appearances, when required, are the exception, not the rule, in most civil claims.
It depends heavily on the track. Insurance claims for car accidents often settle in weeks to a few months if liability is clear. CONAMED complaints for medical negligence typically take a few months and are designed to be faster than a lawsuit. A full civil lawsuit, if the other side won't negotiate reasonably, can take 1–2 years — which is exactly why documenting the case well from day one, and having a lawyer who knows when to push for settlement versus when to litigate, changes the timeline significantly.
Medical costs (past and future), lost income, property damage, and daño moral — the compensation for the harm to your physical or emotional wellbeing, which Mexican law recognizes independently of financial loss. What each category is worth depends on the evidence you have, which is why the first consultation focuses on what you already have and what still needs to be preserved or obtained.
We handle personal injury and civil liability claims throughout the Estado de México as well as CDMX — the civil codes and procedures are similar but not identical, and which one applies depends on where the accident happened or where the defendant is based. This gets confirmed at the first consultation.
Get a clear, honest read on your case in English — what it's worth, which track applies, and a closed fee proposal. No obligation, no hourly billing surprises. You can also reach the firm through the contact page.
Licensed Mexican attorney, cédula profesional 13195234 · Reply within 4 business hours · Mon–Fri 9:00–21:00 CDMX time
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