Have you suffered a broken wrist, ligament injury or lasting wrist complaints as a result of an accident? Then you can claim compensation if someone else is liable for the accident. This involves more than just the hospital bill. Loss of income, help around the house, extra transport and compensation for pain and suffering (smartengeld) can also form part of your personal injury claim. The amount depends on your actual losses, the question of liability and the consequences for your daily life.
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Written by Onur Arslan, attorney at Arslan Advocaten. Registered in the Netherlands Bar’s register of specialist areas for employment law and personal injury. Last updated: 22 September 2026.
A wrist that has healed on an X-ray does not always function straight away as it did before. You may continue to struggle with typing, lifting, turning, holding tools or caring for a child. For a careful settlement of your claim, it is precisely these consequences that must be made visible. Below you can read what information is needed for this, how compensation is built up and when it is wise not to agree to a final settlement yet.
In brief
- A broken wrist does not in itself give rise to a right to compensation: there must be a liable party, for example a driver, an employer or whoever is responsible for a dangerous situation.
- The following may be compensated: out-of-pocket medical costs, aids, travel expenses, loss of earning capacity, household help, loss of ability to do your own DIY and maintenance and compensation for pain and suffering.
- The decisive factor is not the diagnosis but the limitation: what can you no longer do, for how long, and what does that mean for your work and household?
- If your dominant hand is affected or you do manual work, a medically minor abnormality can still have major financial consequences.
- You can request an advance payment as soon as liability and part of the loss have been established; wait before granting full and final discharge until the permanent consequences are clear.
When can you recover damages for a wrist injury?
Personal injury compensation is possible when there is a legal basis for holding another party responsible for your loss. In a collision, that may be the driver or their insurer. In an accident at work, the employer’s duty of care comes into play. A fall in a shop calls for an examination of the dangerous situation and the measures the shop could have taken. The mere existence of a broken wrist therefore does not yet prove liability.
That is why you should record how the accident happened. A claim form, witness statement, photo of a loose paving tile or report to your employer may later prove decisive. Also note what you felt immediately after the accident and what care you received. The evidence of how the accident happened and the evidence of the medical consequences complement each other, but they answer different questions.
If the injury occurred without a liable opposing party, check any insurance policies of your own. Personal accident insurance usually pays out according to the policy and is something different from compensation for your full loss. Passenger insurance may also be relevant. Which route is appropriate depends on the insured event and the policy conditions.
A broken wrist can have different consequences
A wrist injury may involve a fracture or damage to ligaments, tendons or other structures. The precise diagnosis and treatment are matters for your doctor. For the settlement of the claim, what matters most are the limitations, how long they last and the prognosis. Two people with a comparable diagnosis may experience very different financial consequences.
An office worker may be able to carry on working with adapted equipment. A painter, hairdresser or mechanic needs sufficient grip strength and freedom of movement to do their own work. Whether the dominant hand has been affected can also be relevant. This does not automatically lead to a particular percentage or fixed amount, but it helps explain why specific tasks cannot be performed.
Distinguish between pain, medically established abnormalities and practical limitations. For example, do not just write that your wrist is bad, but that you cannot carry a shopping bag for longer than a few minutes. A practitioner or expert can then assess how that information fits with the injury.
Which heads of loss apply to a broken wrist?
The loss is usually built up from separate heads of loss. Think of medical costs you bear yourself, necessary aids, travel expenses, loss of income and help with everyday tasks. You must show that these are plausibly linked to the accident. Costs you would also have incurred without the accident are, in principle, not additional accident-related loss.
Keep statements from your health insurer, invoices and proof of payment. For any aid, note why you need it and whether a practitioner recommended it. Where practicable, ask in advance for clarity about reimbursement before making a large purchase. This prevents a dispute afterwards about necessity, price or an available alternative provision.
For certain heads of loss, guidelines issued by the Dutch Personal Injury Council (De Letselschade Raad) exist. These can simplify the calculation. They do not replace a specific calculation in every situation. When a standard approach does not adequately reflect your situation, you must substantiate why a tailored approach is needed. The applicable version and conditions deserve attention in this respect.
Loss of income due to reduced use of your hand
Loss of earning capacity is examined by comparing your financial situation after the accident with the situation that would probably have arisen without the accident. For an employee, this concerns, for example, salary, allowances, overtime and career prospects. Not every expected promotion constitutes demonstrable loss. Documents about specific plans strengthen the comparison.
A self-employed person often has to show more than a drop in turnover. Which assignments were lost? Which work did a replacement take over? Which costs were saved? Annual accounts, diaries, quotations, time records and correspondence with clients can together make clear what the wrist injury means for the business.
If you are partly back at work, the loss is not necessarily over. Fewer productive hours, adapted work or the structural loss of specialist tasks may remain relevant. At the same time, account must be taken of wages actually received, benefits and other income, insofar as these must be included in the calculation of the loss. Make sure the calculation matches the relevant periods.
Workplace adjustments and practical aids
An adapted mouse, speech recognition software or tools with a different grip can help you carry out your work again. Whether those costs can be claimed as loss depends on necessity, reasonableness and any reimbursement by another party, for example the UWV (the Dutch employee insurance agency) or your employer. Ask, therefore, for specific advice, for example from an occupational therapist or a vocational expert, describing which adjustment solves which problem. Advice that is linked to the limitation is far easier to recover than a stand-alone invoice.
Help at home and loss of ability to do your own DIY and maintenance
With a cast, brace or painful wrist, ordinary household tasks can become difficult. Think of mopping, changing beds, carrying shopping and cooking. Describe which tasks you did yourself before the accident and which part someone else is temporarily taking over. Your share in the household is more important than a general list of everything that happens in the home.
Unpaid help from a partner or family member may also qualify for compensation under certain conditions. An invoice is not always required, but the necessity and extent must be plausible. Record the date, task, duration and who carried it out. Distinguish between extra help needed because of the accident and the usual division of tasks.
DIY and maintenance covers, for example, upkeep of your home or garden that you previously carried out yourself. This is a different head of loss from ordinary household help. Avoid claiming the same work twice. Personal care, such as help with washing and dressing, may in turn require a different assessment.
How is compensation for pain and suffering determined for a wrist injury?
Compensation for pain and suffering is the compensation for non-pecuniary loss, such as pain, limitations and loss of enjoyment of life. In the case of physical injury, there may be a statutory basis for this. The amount is not determined solely by the name of the diagnosis or the number of weeks in plaster.
Relevant factors may include the severity of the injury, operations, recovery time, permanent limitations and consequences for work, hobbies and independence. Your age and personal circumstances may also play a role. A comparison with published judgments is only meaningful when the facts are sufficiently similar and account is taken of when the compensation was awarded.
An online overview of amounts is therefore not a personal calculation. A broken wrist with full recovery and a complicated injury with permanent loss of function cannot be treated alike. Always ask for an offer to be explained: which consequences have been taken into account and which comparable cases support the calculation?
Lasting wrist complaints and medical substantiation
If pain, stiffness or loss of strength persists, it is important that this is discussed in your medical file. Ask your practitioner to explain the findings and next steps. A personal injury claim does not determine which treatment you must undergo; medical decisions are for you and your healthcare providers.
For the claim, a medical adviser can assess the relevant information. If the parties disagree about permanent limitations or the link with the accident, an independent medical examination may be considered. The expert must be given appropriate questions and have access to relevant information, including any previous wrist complaints.
A percentage of permanent impairment is not the same as a percentage of incapacity for work. Nor does it directly determine your total compensation. The significance for your specific work and daily life must be examined separately. Particularly with hand and wrist injuries, a relatively limited physical impairment can seriously affect the practice of a specific occupation.
What if you previously had complaints in the same wrist?
Previous complaints do not automatically rule out compensation. However, it must be examined what already existed and what was caused or aggravated by the new accident. The situation just before the accident is important here. Were you able to work, play sport and do the housework? Did you receive treatment or take time off? What course of development was expected at the time?
Provide relevant earlier information fully and accurately. Withholding it can complicate the assessment and damage trust. At the same time, an incidental older finding should not be used without explanation to reject all new limitations. A sound assessment connects the medical information with how you actually function.
If complaints arose after two different accidents, a separate timeline is required. Record for each event which complaints and limitations changed. The legal apportionment can be complex and does not simply follow from the order in which the accidents occurred.
Requesting an advance payment during recovery
You do not have to wait for full recovery in every case before a payment is possible. If liability and a sufficiently substantiated part of the loss have been established, an advance payment can be requested. Enclose an overview of costs already incurred, payments received and the amount you need now.
An advance payment is later set off against the final compensation. State clearly, therefore, which period of loss the request relates to. If the insurer does not pay, ask for a specific explanation: is liability disputed, is evidence lacking or is there a dispute about the amount? This shows which next step is needed.
Do not inadvertently sign for a full settlement when you only expect an interim payment. Read the covering letter and any agreement. Terms such as full and final discharge may mean that you waive further claims. Where future complaints are uncertain, this deserves extra attention.
Fictitious example of a statement of loss
A self-employed hairdresser breaks the wrist of their working hand in a collision. Liability is accepted. In the first period, appointments are cancelled; after that, a temporary replacement helps out. The hairdresser can later cut hair again, but only for a limited number of hours at a time. This is what the statement of loss looks like:
| Item | Period | Calculation | Amount | Substantiation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lost turnover, fully unable to work | Weeks 1–6 | 6 × € 1,400 average weekly turnover, minus € 300 per week in saved costs | € 6,600 | Turnover in the same period last year, accounts |
| Cost of replacement | Weeks 7–16 | 10 weeks × 20 hours × € 28 | € 5,600 | Invoices from the replacement |
| Loss of turnover during limited return to work | Months 5–12 | 8 months × € 700 reduced turnover | € 5,600 | Comparison of monthly figures with the previous year |
| Treatment costs and compulsory excess | Year 1 | Compulsory excess + physiotherapy above the reimbursed amount | € 640 | Health insurer’s claims statement |
| Travel expenses | Year 1 | 22 visits × 14 km | € 108 | Overview of appointments |
| Household help | Weeks 1–10 | 10 weeks × 3 hours | € 450 | Proof of payment, household help guideline |
| DIY and maintenance | Year 1 | Outsourced painting and garden maintenance | € 380 | Invoices |
| Workplace adjustment | Month 6 | Adapted scissors and stool | € 290 | Occupational therapist’s advice, invoice |
| Compensation for pain and suffering | n/a | On an equitable basis, with reference to comparable cases | to be determined | Medical information, consequences for daily life |
| Permanent loss of earning capacity | From year 2 | Only if the limitation proves permanent; if necessary, estimated on the basis of probabilities | to be determined | Reports by a vocational expert and an actuary |
| Subtotal of established items | € 19,668 | Minus advance payments received | ||
Which documents should you collect?
A well-organised file saves you from having to reconstruct later what happened months earlier. Keep documents by subject and note the relevant period on each statement of loss. You can start with the following documents:
- Evidence of how the accident happened, such as photos, witness details and the claim form.
- Letters from practitioners and appointment overviews, insofar as relevant to the claim.
- Invoices, claims statements, travel details and payments.
- Payslips or business records showing how your income has developed.
- A record of extra household help and other tasks taken over.
- Correspondence about liability, advance payments and any settlement proposal.
A symptom diary can be a useful addition if you write factually and concisely. Note what you could not manage, how long an activity took and what you noticed afterwards. The diary does not replace medical information. Above all, it makes the consequences between treatment appointments easier to discuss.
Share medical documents through a suitable secure channel and limit their distribution to what is necessary. Ask who will assess the information and for what purpose. A medical adviser has a different role from a claims handler who discusses the financial items.
When is a final settlement responsible?
A settlement is essentially a balance between sufficient clarity and the remaining uncertainties. Absolute medical certainty is not required in every case. You must, however, understand which future costs and risks are included in the amount and for which risks a reservation may apply.
Check whether your return to work is lasting and not merely a short trial. Discuss whether further treatment is expected and whether aids will need replacing. Also look at less visible matters, such as pension accrual in the event of structural incapacity for work. A settlement that looks only at the past year may miss important consequences.
Make sure the settlement agreement reflects what was agreed. An exception discussed orally must also be clearly recognisable in the text. Also check how advance payments are set off, the payment deadline and how legal costs are dealt with. That way you know what you are actually concluding when you sign.
Which statutory rules underpin a claim for a wrist injury?
Your compensation does not follow from a list of tariffs but from the Dutch Civil Code (BW). These provisions most often come into play with wrist injuries:
- Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code (tort) the general basis: anyone who acts unlawfully, and to whom that act can be attributed, must compensate the loss. In a collision involving a motor vehicle, Article 185 of the Road Traffic Act (WVW) also applies, but only if you were not being carried by that motor vehicle and the collision was not between two moving motor vehicles (Article 185(3) WVW).
- Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code (employer’s duty of care) if you broke your wrist at work, your employer is liable unless it proves that it fulfilled its duty of care or that there was intent or deliberate recklessness. The burden of proof therefore lies with the employer.
- Article 6:96 of the Dutch Civil Code (pecuniary loss) covers losses suffered and profits forgone, as well as reasonable costs of establishing the loss and of obtaining payment out of court. On that latter basis, the costs of your legal representative may be recoverable.
- Article 6:98 of the Dutch Civil Code (attribution) only loss that is sufficiently connected with the accident qualifies for compensation. This is what the dispute about previous wrist complaints or pre-existing conditions turns on.
- Article 6:106 of the Dutch Civil Code (compensation for pain and suffering) in the case of physical injury, you are entitled to compensation, set on an equitable basis, for pain, grief and loss of enjoyment of life. See also our explanation of non-pecuniary loss.
- Article 6:107 of the Dutch Civil Code (transferred loss) costs that someone else incurs on your behalf and that you could have claimed yourself, such as your partner’s travel to the hospital, may also be compensated.
- Article 6:101 of the Dutch Civil Code (contributory negligence) if you yourself contributed to the loss, the compensation may be reduced. In personal injury cases, the equity correction can in turn limit that reduction.
These articles have been checked against the consolidated text on wetten.overheid.nl. Which provision is decisive in your case depends on how the accident happened; have that assessed before you accept the insurer’s position.
Frequently asked questions about wrist injuries and compensation
How much compensation will I receive for a broken wrist?
There is no fixed total amount. The compensation depends on liability, recovery, costs, loss of income and the consequences for your life. Compensation for pain and suffering is one component. A substantiated statement of loss is more useful than a general figure from an online table.
Can I claim compensation if my salary continues to be paid?
Yes, other heads of loss may still exist. Think of out-of-pocket medical costs, extra transport, help at home and compensation for pain and suffering. Also check whether allowances or overtime are lost. Salary that continues to be paid may of course not be claimed again as the same loss of income.
Does help from my partner also count as loss?
It can, when it concerns necessary extra help because of the accident. What compensation is appropriate depends on the type of help and the circumstances. Record specifically which tasks your partner takes over, for what period and how much time is involved.
Do I have to wait until my wrist has fully recovered?
No, liability and the first heads of loss can be dealt with earlier. An advance payment may be possible. For a final settlement, there must be sufficient insight into remaining limitations and future loss, or uncertainties must be carefully provided for.
What if the insurer says my complaints are caused by wear and tear?
Ask which medical information supports that position. Previous abnormalities do not automatically explain all limitations after the accident. Compare how you functioned before and after the incident and, if necessary, have a medical adviser or independent expert assess the relevant information.
Can I switch to a personal injury lawyer?
You can instruct a different legal representative. Discuss in advance the transfer of the file, any arrangements made and any costs. A switch must be handled carefully, so that deadlines, advance payments and ongoing correspondence are not overlooked.
Does the other party pay the lawyer’s fees?
Reasonable extrajudicial costs may qualify for compensation where liability exists. That does not mean that every cost item is automatically paid in every situation. Where liability is disputed or court proceedings are brought, different arrangements and cost risks may apply. Have these explained to you in advance.
How long does a personal injury case take after a broken wrist?
That depends on your recovery and on whether liability is accepted. As long as the medical end state has not been established, the permanent loss is difficult to estimate, but an established end state is not an absolute requirement. If it remains uncertain whether complaints are permanent, the court can estimate the loss on the basis of the chance that a particular future situation will arise, or a reservation can be included in the settlement agreement. Waiting is therefore not the only route. How long a case takes varies greatly from file to file; with permanent limitations it usually takes longer because the medical assessment requires more time. See our explanation of the duration of a personal injury case.
Can I also claim if I am self-employed?
Yes. In that case you do not merely demonstrate a drop in turnover, but the difference between the result with and without the accident: lost assignments, cost of replacement, costs saved. Annual accounts, diaries, quotations and time records together substantiate this.
What if the insurer accepts liability but I consider the amount too low?
Ask for a breakdown per head of loss setting out the assumptions used. If you continue to disagree on one clearly defined point, partial dispute proceedings (deelgeschilprocedure) may offer a solution: the court then rules only on that point of dispute.
Discuss your wrist injury with Arslan Advocaten
Would you like to know whether your wrist injury can be recovered from another party and which heads of loss are still missing? Contact Arslan Advocaten. We can discuss with you how the accident happened, your limitations and the documents available. You will get clarity about the possible approach and the fee arrangements that suit your situation.
Also read our information on personal injury and contact us for an assessment.
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- Compensation for pain and suffering: what are you entitled to?
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