If you have been injured because someone else was at fault or is legally responsible, Dutch law entitles you to compensation for your entire loss: from medical costs and lost income to household help and compensation for pain and suffering. At Arslan Advocaten, personal injury lawyers and NIVRE-registered loss experts run these files together — in English, Dutch, Turkish or Polish.
This page sets out the essentials of personal injury law in the Netherlands: when you are entitled to compensation, which heads of damage you can claim, how a case unfolds, who pays for your lawyer and how long you have. Each type of accident links through to a detailed page.
What exactly is personal injury (letselschade)?
Personal injury covers every loss you suffer because another party caused you physical or psychological harm. It means two very different things at once: your financial loss and your personal suffering.
Material damage is everything that can be expressed in money and evidenced with documents: your policy excess, physiotherapy, travel costs, hours of household help, the wages you miss now and the income you will no longer earn for the rest of your career. Non-material damage — in Dutch smartengeld — compensates the pain, the fear, the grief and the things you can no longer do as you did before.
What people consistently misjudge is the ratio between the two. In serious injury cases, compensation for pain and suffering is usually the smallest part of the claim: loss of earning capacity across a full career, lifelong care and adaptations to your home normally exceed it by a wide margin. Anyone who negotiates only over the pain-and-suffering figure leaves the largest part of their loss on the table.
The statute uses the same division. Article 6:95 of the Dutch Civil Code provides that recoverable loss consists of financial loss and other harm; Article 6:106 gives a person who has suffered physical injury the right to compensation for that other harm, assessed on an equitable basis.
Source: Dutch Civil Code, Book 6, Articles 6:95 and 6:106, wetten.overheid.nl.
When are you entitled to compensation?
Three conditions must be met together: someone else’s liability, an injury, and a causal link between them. If one is missing, there is no claim — however serious the accident was.
Liability can arise in two ways. Fault-based liability requires the other party to have done something wrong: running a red light, failing to give a safety instruction, making a wrong diagnosis. Strict (risk-based) liability does not: the law places responsibility with the person who creates the risk or profits from it, even without blame. The keeper of an animal, for example, is liable for damage the animal causes (Article 6:179 DCC), without any fault on their part.
Causation is disputed more often in practice than liability itself. Article 6:98 DCC limits recovery to loss that is sufficiently connected to the event to be attributed to it. Translated into practice: the insurer will ask whether your back complaints really come from the collision, and not from the back you have been carrying around for years. The earlier and more completely your complaints are recorded medically, the weaker that defence becomes.
What is not required causes a lot of confusion: you do not need to have filed a police report, the other party does not need to have been convicted (a decision not to prosecute does not mean there is nothing to recover in a civil claim), there does not need to be a visible abnormality on a scan, and you do not have to be entirely blameless — even with a share of contributory fault, a claim normally remains.
Which losses can you claim?
Every loss that can reasonably be attributed to the accident. The list is broader than almost anyone comes up with unaided, and what is not claimed is generally not paid.
| Head of damage | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Loss of earning capacity | income missed now and in future, lost promotions, lower pension accrual, overtime and bonuses |
| Medical costs | policy excess, own contributions, treatment, medication, aids, uncovered care |
| Household help | what you can no longer do yourself — even if family takes it over unpaid |
| Care and nursing | informal care, home care, supervision, guidance |
| Loss of DIY capacity | maintenance, gardening and repairs you used to do yourself |
| Adaptations | home, car, bicycle, workplace |
| Travel costs | to treatment, hospital, expert examinations and your lawyer |
| Study delay | for pupils and students, including later entry to the labour market |
| Property damage | bicycle, helmet, glasses, phone, clothing |
| Pain and suffering | compensation for the harm itself |
| Statutory interest | on the loss, from the moment it arose |
| Legal costs | lawyer, medical adviser, actuary, occupational expert |
Two heads are forgotten most often: loss of DIY capacity and help from family and friends. That you can no longer put up the fence yourself is a loss, even though no invoice was ever issued; the hours your partner, parent or neighbour spends helping you do not have to go uncompensated simply because nobody billed for them. From day one, keep a notebook recording who helped you, when and for how many hours — that notebook is often more persuasive later than any legal argument.
Compensation for pain and suffering is assessed equitably: the nature and severity of the injury, the recovery period, permanent limitations, your age and the consequences for work, family and social life. There is no tariff per injury type and no calculator. See our page on compensation for pain and suffering and examples from practice.
Which accidents give rise to a claim?
Almost any accident for which someone else is responsible: on the road, at work, in healthcare, through an animal, through a defective object or structure, or through violence. The measure of the loss is always the same; what differs is the route to liability.
| Type of accident | Who is normally liable | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Road accident | the owner or keeper of the motor vehicle and their liability insurer | Article 185 Road Traffic Act 1994 |
| Workplace accident | the employer or the hirer of the worker | Article 7:658 DCC, duty of care and burden of proof |
| Medical error | the care provider, often the hospital | breach of the professional standard plus causation, via an expert report |
| Accident caused by an animal | the keeper of the animal | Article 6:179 DCC, strict liability |
| Defective object or structure | the possessor or the body responsible for it | Articles 6:173 and 6:174 DCC |
| Violent crime | the offender; in addition the Violent Offences Compensation Fund | criminal and civil routes run in parallel |
Road accidents make up the largest part of the practice. Article 185(1) of the Road Traffic Act 1994 obliges the owner or keeper of a motor vehicle to compensate persons not carried by that vehicle, unless the accident was due to force majeure — a strict liability designed to protect cyclists and pedestrians. The well-known 50% and 100% rules in favour of cyclists and pedestrians are not in the statute itself; they come from Supreme Court case law: Article 185 and the 50% rule, 100% for a child hit by a car. For the most common injury after a rear-end collision, see our page on whiplash.
In a workplace accident your position is strong by law: Article 7:658(2) DCC holds the employer liable unless it proves that it complied with its duty of care, or that the damage was largely caused by the worker’s intent or deliberate recklessness. The burden of proof lies with the employer. Paragraph 4 extends that protection to anyone who has work carried out by a person with whom they have no employment contract — which in principle includes agency workers and hired self-employed contractors (temporary workers, self-employed workers).
How does a personal injury case unfold?
- Report and record. Police for a road accident, your employer and where required the Labour Inspectorate for an accident at work; photographs, witnesses, and see a doctor immediately.
- Letter of liability. A written notice holding the other party liable; the same letter interrupts the limitation period. Its wording often determines what the rest of the case is argued about.
- Response. The insurer accepts liability, rejects it, or asks for further investigation (what to do if liability is rejected).
- Medical stage. Your medical adviser assesses your situation; where views differ, an independent expert examination follows. Do not sign off the list of questions without having had influence on it: it steers the outcome.
- Advance payment. Where liability is accepted, an advance is standard practice. It rarely arrives unprompted — ask for it.
- Quantification and negotiation. Your heads of damage are substantiated, if necessary with an actuarial report on loss of earning capacity (how loss of income is calculated).
- Partial dispute procedure. If the case gets stuck on one defined point, the court can rule on that point without the whole case being litigated (partial dispute procedure).
- Full proceedings or settlement. A settlement is normally recorded with a final discharge — which also closes the file for losses you do not yet know about.
How long does it take? That depends almost entirely on your medical course, not on the legal side: the loss is normally only finally quantified once a medical end state has been reached. Light injuries that fully heal can be settled within months; permanent injury takes years, and that is usually to your advantage (why a case takes a long time).
Who pays for the lawyer?
Where the other party’s liability is established, the reasonable costs of your legal assistance are in principle borne by the liable party — as a separate head of damage on top of your compensation, not deducted from it. The basis is Article 6:96(2) DCC: reasonable costs of establishing loss and liability and of obtaining payment out of court are themselves recoverable.
The honest caveats: while liability has not yet been accepted there is no paying party, so you must agree in advance with your lawyer how that phase is handled; if liability is definitively rejected there is nobody to bear the costs; and if you bear part of the fault, that percentage normally applies to the costs award as well.
How this differs from “no cure no pay”: in a percentage model the fee comes out of your compensation, whereas on the statutory route the liable party pays and nothing is taken off your award. For lawyers, result-based fees are in principle prohibited by Article 7.7 of the Dutch Bar Regulation. So there is only one question to ask: will this fee be deducted from my compensation, or paid on top of it?
If you hold legal expenses insurance, you are not obliged to accept the insurer’s in-house lawyer: you have the right to choose your own lawyer where proceedings are involved (Article 4:67 Financial Supervision Act; CJEU 7 November 2013, C-442/12, Sneller/DAS).
Why is the insurer’s first offer rarely the final one?
An insurer looks after the interests of its policyholder and of its own claims burden; a first offer is in practice an opening offer. That is not a reproach — it is the role an insurer has in this system. It becomes a problem only when a victim believes the claims handler is on their side.
| What you encounter | What lies behind it |
|---|---|
| A quick offer soon after the accident | your injury has not yet crystallised; buying it off early is cheaper |
| An offer “including everything” | material and non-material damage are mixed, so you can no longer see what covers what |
| Emphasis on your own fault | a share of the loss is deducted; that split is negotiable |
| A request for broad medical authorisation | access to your full history, to find an alternative explanation |
| A request for final discharge | closing the file before the course of your injury is known |
What you can do about it is simpler than it looks: sign nothing while your medical situation is still changing; ask for every offer to be broken down per head of damage — an unspecified offer cannot be assessed and therefore cannot be accepted; and do not give unlimited medical authorisation (medical authorisation).
How long do you have?
For injury and fatal-accident claims one period applies: five years, running from the day after you became aware of both the loss and the person liable for it. The absolute twenty-year limit that applies to other damage claims is expressly excluded for injury and death (Article 3:310(5) DCC).
| Situation | When the period normally starts |
|---|---|
| Road accident with a known other party | at the accident |
| Injury that only emerges later | on awareness of both the loss and the liable party |
| Victim who is a minor | the five-year period only starts on the day after they reach the age of majority (Article 3:310(5) DCC) |
| Injury caused by a criminal offence | the claim against the offender does not lapse while the right to prosecute still exists (Article 3:310(4) DCC) |
| Direct claim against the motor insurer | Article 6 WAM gives you your own right; Article 10 sets a three-year period for that claim |
Interrupting the limitation period is simple and sensible: a written notice in which you unequivocally reserve your right normally starts a fresh period. Send it by registered post and keep the proof. If you are unsure whether your claim is still in time, have it assessed before you do anything else: a time-barred claim cannot be rescued, however strong it is on the merits.
What if you were partly at fault yourself?
Contributory fault does not normally end your claim; it divides the loss — and that division can be corrected on equitable grounds. Article 6:101 DCC first apportions the loss according to the extent to which each party’s circumstances contributed to it, and then allows a different apportionment where fairness requires it because of the differing seriousness of the mistakes or other circumstances. The severity of the injury, the fact that the other party is insured and the special protection of vulnerable road users can mean that a victim who made a mistake still recovers most or even all of their loss.
What should you do yourself after an accident?
- See a doctor immediately, even if it seems minor; a record made on day one is worth a great deal later.
- Make sure there is an official record: a police report, a European accident statement, an accident notification to your employer.
- Take the names and telephone numbers of witnesses and photograph the scene and your injuries.
- Do not throw away damaged clothing, your helmet or your bicycle — that is evidence.
- Report all your complaints in full; “it’s not too bad” ends up in the file and is used against you years later.
- Keep a diary of complaints, limitations and hours of help; keep all receipts in one folder.
- Be careful on social media: holiday and party photographs are used as counter-evidence against claimed limitations.
- Sign nothing while your medical situation is still changing, and have any settlement with a final discharge checked before you sign.
Frequently asked questions
What if I cannot afford a lawyer?
Where liability is accepted, reasonable legal costs are in principle borne by the liable party (Article 6:96(2) DCC). We assess your situation free of charge and explain in advance who pays what, and from when.
The accident was a few years ago — am I too late?
The period runs not from the accident but from the day you became aware of both the loss and the liable party, and it is five years. For minors it does not start until they come of age. If in doubt, have it checked.
Nothing shows up on the scan — can I still claim?
Yes. With whiplash, brain injury and psychological injury there is not always an objective finding; what matters is that the complaints are consistent, persistent and documented.
I was partly at fault — does that end my claim?
Normally not. The loss is apportioned, and the equitable correction can shift that apportionment in your favour.
What is the difference between a claims agency and a lawyer?
Only a lawyer can represent you in court proceedings, is subject to disciplinary supervision and must carry professional indemnity insurance. The titles “injury specialist” and “claims agency” are not protected. That difference starts to count as soon as liability is disputed, the injury is permanent or the file gets stuck.
Contact us directly
The first weeks after an accident are the most decisive part of the file. For a free, no-obligation assessment, call us:
- Amsterdam — 020 747 00 55
- The Hague — 070 4500 300
- Rotterdam — 010 311 5500
- Utrecht — 030 747 0038
- Eindhoven — 040 711 3099
This page is published under the responsibility of Onur Arslan, personal injury lawyer at Arslan Advocaten, registered in the Netherlands Bar’s register of legal practice areas for employment law and personal injury. Last updated: 13 September 2026. This page is general information and does not replace individual legal advice.