A broken ankle can have consequences that go well beyond a few weeks of being unable to walk. You may become dependent on others, miss work and, even after the initial treatment, continue to experience pain or a sense of insecurity when moving. If someone else is liable for the accident, you can recover the resulting loss from that party. Medical expenses, loss of income, additional help and compensation for pain and suffering (smartengeld) may all play a role.
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Written by Onur Arslan, attorney at Arslan Advocaten. Registered in the specialisation register of the Netherlands Bar for employment law and personal injury law. Last updated: 17 September 2026.
The amount of compensation for a broken ankle is determined by your specific circumstances. A diagnosis alone is not enough to calculate an amount. How long are you restricted, which activities can you no longer carry out and what is the outlook for the future? Below you can read how a personal injury claim for a broken ankle is built up and which information you can gather for it.
In brief
- A broken ankle may entitle you to compensation if another party is liable: a driver, an employer, a shop or the authority responsible for public spaces.
- With an ankle, mobility is the central issue: being unable to drive, cycle or do work that involves standing leads to concrete costs and loss of income.
- Crutches, a walking boot, adapted footwear and extra transport are separate heads of damage; keep the invoices and the advice explaining why they were needed.
- Permanent instability, pain or a reduced walking distance require a separate assessment of future loss.
- If you fell in a shop or in the street, also read about personal injury in public spaces and the Kelderluik judgment.
A broken ankle does not automatically entitle you to compensation
For a claim, it must first be clear on what legal basis another party is liable. After a collision, a traffic error may be relevant. In the case of a fall from a stepladder at work, the working conditions and the employer’s duty of care are examined. If you slip in a supermarket, it must be investigated whether there was an unsafe situation for which the shop is responsible.
The fact that you fell does not automatically prove that someone made a mistake. Even a serious injury does not change that starting point. Record the circumstances of the accident as soon as possible. Photographs, camera footage, witnesses and an incident report can help reconstruct why you lost your balance or put weight on your ankle in the wrong way.
If no other party is liable, your own insurance policies may sometimes offer a solution. However, personal accident insurance works differently from a liability claim. The policy determines whether and when a benefit is paid. Check which cover you have and avoid confusing different types of compensation.
What matters medically with a broken ankle
Ankle fractures differ in location, severity and treatment. Your doctor assesses the injury and discusses whether, for example, immobilisation, surgery or rehabilitation is needed. For the legal handling of the claim, it is sensible to keep treatment letters and appointment overviews. They show how your recovery is progressing and which restrictions have been discussed.
A favourable alignment of the bone fragments does not tell the whole story about how you function day to day. Some people still have difficulty standing for long periods, walking on uneven ground or climbing stairs. Others recover without any lasting consequences. A personal injury calculation must reflect your individual progress and may not assume either outcome without substantiation.
If new or worsening symptoms arise, discuss with a healthcare provider what is needed. Do not try to draw medical conclusions yourself from an online overview of damages. The purpose of the legal file is to translate the relevant medical information carefully into its consequences for costs, activities and work.
Costs during the period in a cast or walking boot
In the first weeks, all kinds of small expenses may arise. You may need transport, hire a mobility aid or pay a personal contribution towards care. Keep an overview from the start with the date, description, amount and proof of payment. Also state why the costs became necessary because of the accident.
Check which amounts your health insurer or another scheme has already paid. The same amount cannot be claimed twice as your own loss. Incidentally, a refusal by your health insurer does not automatically mean that the costs cannot be recovered from a liable party. The assessment of medical necessity, reasonableness and causal link remains a separate matter.
For larger expenses, obtaining a quotation in advance helps. If, for example, you temporarily need an adaptation at home, record why a simpler solution would not be sufficient. Where possible, discuss the necessity with your practitioner and your claims representative. This makes the choice easier to justify to the insurer.
Unable to drive, cycle or travel independently
Reduced mobility can cause considerable extra costs. You cannot necessarily use the same means of transport as before the accident. Whether driving is medically responsible is something you must discuss with your practitioner; insurance conditions and road safety are also relevant. Settling the claim should never be a reason to travel unsafely.
Keep a record of necessary journeys to treatment and to other destinations for which you need extra transport because of the injury. Distinguish between a taxi you actually paid for, kilometres driven by a family member or friend, and costs you would have incurred even without the accident. State the reason for the journey and the distance.
In the case of long-term restrictions, a structural transport solution may be considered. That requires an assessment of your needs, the alternatives and any available facilities. Not every desired car adaptation automatically counts as loss. Reasonable additional costs connected with the accident can, however, form part of the claim.
Work that involves standing and loss of income
A broken ankle can have a particularly severe impact on work in hospitality, healthcare, construction, security or retail. Even once you can walk short distances again, a full shift may still be too demanding. Describe how long you normally stand, what distances you walk and whether climbing stairs, lifting or working on uneven ground is part of your job.
For an employee, the assessment looks at what income was likely without the accident and what was actually received. Continued payment of wages can limit certain losses, but missed allowances or structural overtime may be relevant separately. For each period, make clear what difference arose and why.
An occupational physician or labour expert can provide information about restrictions and suitable tasks within your own role. A decision on incapacity for work is not automatically the complete calculation of civil personal injury damages. Ultimately, what counts are the consequences of the accident for your actual earning capacity, taking account of the relevant medical and financial information.
A broken ankle when you are self-employed
For a business owner, a temporary absence can mean that assignments are postponed, cancelled or outsourced. Keep the records that show this, such as work diaries, emails with clients, quotations and invoices from replacements. Your accountant can help keep turnover, costs and profit separate.
Claiming all lost turnover as damage is usually too simplistic. Certain costs may have been saved, or assignments may have been carried out later after all. Conversely, the loss may be greater than a short dip in turnover if regular clients leave or rebuilding the business requires extra effort. Such consequences must be substantiated in concrete terms.
Discuss in good time the measures that will keep the business running. A temporary replacement or a change in the division of tasks can limit the loss. Record the considerations, especially where substantial costs are involved. It is easier to assess whether a solution is reasonable when it is clear which alternatives were available and why they were not chosen.
Domestic help and help with daily activities
With a broken ankle, a staircase at home can become an obstacle. Others may have to take over the shopping, laundry and cleaning. Start with the division of tasks before the accident: which tasks did you do yourself, how often and for what share of the household?
Help from family members may, under certain conditions, be relevant even if it is unpaid. This does not automatically mean the full wages that a family member may have missed out on. The nature of the help, its necessity and the appropriate legal assessment must be examined. A clear record of hours supports that assessment.
Distinguish between household tasks, personal care and supervision. Help with showering or moving around safely is something different from cleaning windows. When several people are helping, a joint overview prevents the same hours from being counted twice. Also note when you start doing tasks partly yourself again.
Compensation for pain and suffering for a broken ankle
Compensation for pain and suffering (smartengeld) compensates for non-financial consequences such as pain, discomfort and loss of enjoyment of life. In the case of physical injury, you may be entitled to such compensation. The amount depends, among other things, on the severity of the injury, the duration of recovery, the treatments and any permanent restrictions.
An important question is what the broken ankle means for you personally. Were you unable to walk independently for a long time? Have you had to give up sports? Can you no longer go on the same walks with your family? Describe the changes in concrete terms. The aim is not the most dramatic wording, but an understandable picture of the impact.
There is no fixed amount of compensation for pain and suffering for every broken ankle. Comparable court decisions are only useful if the individual facts are taken into account. An uncomplicated fracture with full recovery is not the same as an injury involving several operations and permanent walking restrictions. The total compensation and the compensation for pain and suffering must also be kept separate.
Permanent instability, pain or reduced walking distance
Sometimes symptoms remain after treatment. Have them discussed and recorded in good time. Note which activities cause symptoms and how your capacity to bear weight develops. An established restriction should, as far as possible, be translated into daily life, for example the maximum time you can stand or the need to rest after walking.
A medical adviser can help assess information from the various stages of treatment. If there is an ongoing dispute about the cause or prognosis, an independent medical examination may be needed. Previous ankle problems can also be taken into account. An expert should not merely state a diagnosis, but answer the questions that are relevant to settling the claim.
A medical end state does not necessarily mean that you have fully recovered. It may mean that no significant change is expected any more. Restrictions and costs may continue to exist after that point. Always ask what the term used in your file means and which expectations it is based on.
Assessing future loss carefully
Where long-term restrictions are likely, future loss can be calculated. Think of a permanent need for help, reduced income, aids or maintenance that you can no longer carry out yourself. The duration and extent must be in line with substantiated expectations, not with an arbitrary round sum.
Future medical procedures should not be presented as a certainty when there is only a possibility. It is sometimes better to examine different scenarios or to discuss an appropriate reservation. Which solution is workable depends on the nature of the uncertainty and the willingness of the parties to make arrangements about it.
With a lump sum, it must be clear how recurring loss has been converted into a present value. Assumptions about price developments, returns and duration can have a major influence. Ask for an understandable explanation and involve an actuary if necessary. You must be able to see which future needs the amount covers.
Fictitious example of a fall in a shop
While restocking shelves, a shop employee leaves an obstacle in a busy aisle. A customer falls and breaks an ankle. Whether the shop is liable depends on the established circumstances and the assessment of the safety measures. In this fictitious example, liability is eventually accepted.
The customer works in hospitality and is unable to work standing shifts for the time being. The employer continues to pay part of the income. In addition, taxi journeys to treatment and extra help at home are needed. For the claim, the income actually received is compared with the situation without the accident; the full normal salary is not claimed a second time.
After a few months, the customer resumes short shifts. A final settlement is only assessed once it becomes clearer whether this build-up can be extended on a lasting basis. The example shows why an initial return to work does not automatically mean the end of the loss, but also does not prove that permanent and complete incapacity will follow.
What you can record now
A good file is structured and verifiable. You do not need to write a long report every day. A simple record can already prevent costs or restrictions from becoming difficult to reconstruct later on.
- Keep evidence of the accident and the details of witnesses.
- Note treatment appointments and keep relevant medical correspondence.
- Record extra transport with the date, destination and reason.
- Keep track of hours of help per task and state who provided the help.
- Collect payslips, benefit details or business records.
- Keep the insurer’s proposals and record advance payments separately.
Check the overview regularly for duplicates. A bill that was later reimbursed by your health insurer must be adjusted in the balance. The same applies to advance payments from the liability insurer. An up-to-date overview makes a request for an additional payment more convincing and prevents misunderstandings.
A home with stairs during recovery
A broken ankle can cause additional problems at home when the bedroom, bathroom and toilet are on different floors. Describe which rooms you can reach safely and which temporary solution is needed. An aid, help with moving around or a different place to sleep can make a practical difference. Ask the appropriate healthcare providers for advice on safe use.
Keep the costs and the reason for the chosen solution. A temporary rented facility may be assessed differently from a permanent alteration. Where possible, agree larger expenses in advance and explain why simpler alternatives are insufficient. That makes the reasonableness of the choice transparent.
Note when you no longer need the facility. Loss during a recovery period must correspond to the actual duration and may change after an operation or once you start bearing weight again. If permanent restrictions are expected, examine separately which solution is needed in the long term. A temporary makeshift solution is not in itself a suitable basis for assessing years of living at home and daily functioning.
The legal basis for a claim for a broken ankle
Where you fell determines which statutory rule applies. The provisions most commonly relied on are:
- Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code (BW) anyone who allows a dangerous situation to continue while measures were possible acts unlawfully. In the Kelderluik judgment (Supreme Court 5 November 1965, ECLI:NL:HR:1965:AB7079), the Dutch Supreme Court (Hoge Raad) set out the factors that are weighed: the likelihood that someone will not pay attention, the chance that an accident will result, the seriousness of the possible consequences and the extent to which safety measures are burdensome.
- Article 6:174 BW the possessor of a defective building or structure, such as a broken paving slab, a loose threshold or an unsafe staircase, is liable when that danger materialises.
- Article 6:181 BW if the building, structure or object is used in the course of a business, that liability rests with the business using it.
- Article 185 of the Road Traffic Act (WVW) a separate regime for road traffic accidents, but with clear limits. It applies only if a motor vehicle being driven on the road was involved in the accident, and it protects only persons and property not being carried by that motor vehicle. The owner or keeper must then compensate the damage, unless it is plausible that the accident was due to force majeure. Paragraph 3 excludes three situations: damage to animals running loose, damage to another motor vehicle in motion, and damage to persons and property carried by that vehicle. In a collision between two cars, or if you were yourself a passenger in the car that caused the accident, this article therefore offers you nothing: the claim then proceeds under Article 6:162 BW. An accident in a car park or on an industrial estate that is not a road within the meaning of the Act also falls outside its scope. Paragraph 4 makes clear that other legal bases continue to apply alongside this article.
- Article 7:658 BW (the employer’s duty of care) if you were injured in the course of your work, a separate regime applies with a reversed burden of proof. You only need to show that you suffered damage in the performance of your work; the employer is then liable unless it proves that it complied with its duty of care, or that the damage was to a significant extent the result of your intent or deliberate recklessness. That last threshold is high: carelessness or routine is not deliberate recklessness. Paragraph 4 extends the protection to agency workers, seconded workers and freelancers (zzp’ers) who perform work for a client in the course of the client’s profession or business, and paragraphs 1 and 2 cannot be derogated from to the detriment of the employee (paragraph 3). Do not confuse this regime with ordinary contributory negligence under Article 6:101 BW: there, carelessness can reduce the compensation.
- Article 6:96 BW the basis for compensation of care costs, aids, travel expenses and reasonable costs of extrajudicial legal assistance.
- Article 6:106 BW compensation for pain and suffering for pain, restrictions and loss of enjoyment of life.
These provisions have been checked on wetten.overheid.nl. A fall does not in itself prove liability, but the question that follows differs depending on the legal basis. Under Article 6:162 BW, the question is indeed whether the party held liable should reasonably have taken measures. With strict liability (a defective building or structure (6:174), a defective movable object (6:173) or an animal (6:179)), you do not need to prove any fault or negligence: the defect itself is sufficient. And in the case of an accident at work, the employer bears the burden of proving that it complied with its duty of care (7:658 BW). So first find the correct legal basis; it determines who has to prove what.
Record sheet for transport costs and aids
With a broken ankle, small costs add up quickly: taxis to check-ups, crutches, a shower stool, help at home. Individually they seem minor, but together they form a substantial item, provided you keep track of them. Use this record sheet from day one.
| Date | What | From – to / description | Amount or km | Proof | Already reimbursed? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Sep | Taxi | Home – A&E | €28.50 | Receipt | No |
| 8 Sep | Own car (driven by partner) | Home – plaster room and back | 34 km | Appointment letter | No |
| 8 Sep | Hospital parking | – | €6.00 | Receipt | No |
| 9 Sep | Crutches and walking aid | Purchase | €45.00 | Invoice | Partly: health insurance €20 |
| 12 Sep | Shower stool and raised toilet seat | Hire for 3 months | €39.00 | Hire agreement | No |
| 15 Sep | Domestic help | 3 hours per week | €45.00 per week | Proof of payment | No |
| ongoing | Compulsory excess | Health insurance 2026 | €385.00 | Health insurer’s statement | n/a |
Frequently asked questions about a broken ankle
How much compensation will I receive for a broken ankle?
That depends on liability and your actual loss. The consequences for work, need for help and recovery can vary considerably. A personal calculation adds up the substantiated heads of damage and assesses compensation for pain and suffering separately.
Can I get an advance payment before I have recovered?
Yes, once liability and a sufficiently substantiated part of the loss have been established. Submit an itemised request. An advance payment is an interim payment that is offset later and does not have to mean a final settlement.
What if I lose my job because of my broken ankle?
Have the link between the accident, your restrictions and the loss of income investigated. The legal assessment of the dismissal and the personal injury calculation are different matters. Gather the relevant employment and medical documents so that both aspects can be assessed carefully.
Are crutches and a walking boot reimbursed?
Necessary costs can be relevant, insofar as you bear them yourself and they can be attributed to the accident. First check what reimbursement is available through your health insurance or other schemes. Keep the prescription, invoice and statement.
Can I get compensation for help provided by my children?
Necessary extra help from family members and friends can count under certain conditions. Age, the type of task, the extent of the help and the usual family situation are relevant. Record the help carefully and have it assessed which calculation is appropriate. Not every form of presence is separately compensable care.
My bone has healed but I am still in pain. What now?
Discuss the symptoms with your practitioner and inform your claims representative. Medical healing of the fracture does not automatically mean that all functional consequences are over. For the claim, the remaining restrictions and their link with the accident are what matter.
Do I have to accept the insurer’s offer straight away?
No. Ask for the calculation and check which periods of loss and risks have been taken into account. A settlement with a full and final discharge may rule out further claims. Especially if the prognosis is unclear, it is wise to have the proposal carefully assessed first.
Who is liable if I tripped over a loose paving slab?
In principle the road authority, usually the municipality, under Article 6:174 BW. The decisive question is whether the road met the requirements that may reasonably be expected of it. Record the situation immediately with photographs, a measurement of the difference in height and the exact location.
Is my taxi transport to the hospital reimbursed?
Reasonable travel expenses resulting from the accident are eligible for compensation. If the cast meant you could not drive or cycle yourself, support this with the treatment advice and keep the receipts for your journeys. The same principle applies to commuting.
I still have pain and instability after a year. Can I still claim compensation?
Yes. As long as your claim is not time-barred and you have not already granted a full and final discharge, you can raise ongoing symptoms. Have the permanent restrictions medically documented and consider whether the remaining loss needs to be reassessed.
Help with your personal injury claim
Arslan Advocaten can review with you whether your ankle injury is recoverable and which losses have not yet been properly identified. For an initial assessment, bring information about the accident, your recovery and your correspondence with the insurer. Also discuss in advance how the legal costs will be dealt with in your situation.
You can find more information on our page about personal injury. For advice on your own situation, you can contact Arslan Advocaten.
Related articles
- Broken wrist after an accident
- Slipping in a supermarket
- Personal injury in public spaces
- The Kelderluik judgment explained
- An advance payment on your compensation
- Full and final discharge: do not sign too quickly
- Loss of income and loss of earning capacity
