Written by Onur Arslan, personal injury lawyer at Arslan Advocaten. Registered in the legal practice areas register of the Netherlands Bar for employment law and personal injury. Last updated: 31 August 2026.
What does a personal injury lawyer in Utrecht do for you?
A personal injury lawyer holds the liable party to account, maps out the full extent of your loss and negotiates with the insurer — and where someone else is liable, the reasonable costs of doing so are in principle borne by that liable party and not by you. That last point is the fact most victims read straight past, and the reason people spend months emailing a claims handler who does this work every day.
The basis is Article 6:96(2) of the Dutch Civil Code (BW): financial loss also includes the reasonable costs of preventing or limiting loss, the reasonable costs of establishing loss and liability, and the reasonable costs of obtaining satisfaction out of court. The word "reasonable" is embedded twice: it must be reasonable that you incur costs, and their amount must be reasonable. This is the double reasonableness test. Note that paragraph 3 provides that this arrangement does not apply in so far as the costs rules of Article 241 of the Code of Civil Procedure (Rv) apply; in actual court proceedings the ordinary fixed-scale costs therefore apply.
What we actually do in a Utrecht case is less legal than you might expect:
- record how the accident happened while the evidence still exists — police report, camera footage, witnesses, the bicycle or the helmet;
- hold the liable party liable in writing and thereby immediately interrupt the limitation period;
- instruct an independent medical adviser and help steer the questions put to any expert;
- work out every head of loss, including those you would not recognise as loss yourself: domestic help, loss of the ability to do your own DIY, study delay, missed pension accrual;
- request an advance payment as soon as liability is admitted, so that you do not have to wait years for the final settlement;
- argue the non-material damages separately using comparable cases, rather than letting them melt into a single "all-inclusive offer".
You can have your situation assessed by us free of charge before you decide anything. There is no obligation behind it and no subscription underneath it.
Where is Arslan Advocaten in Utrecht, and how do you get there?
Our Utrecht office is at Atoomweg 63, 3542 AA Utrecht, and can be reached on 030 747 0038 or at [email protected]. Appointments are scheduled in advance, so please call or email before you come by.
| Detail | Utrecht |
|---|---|
| Address | Atoomweg 63, 3542 AA Utrecht |
| Telephone | 030 747 0038 |
| [email protected] | |
| Head office | Paletplein 80, 2526 GZ Den Haag — 070 450 0300 |
| Languages | Dutch, Turkish, Polish |
| Visits | by appointment |
The Atoomweg is on Lage Weide, the business park on the west side of Utrecht between the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal and the A2 motorway. A practical advantage for you: you do not have to enter the city centre and will not get stuck in the low-traffic centre with its limited through routes. Anyone coming from Nieuwegein, Maarssen, Woerden, Vleuten-De Meern or off the A2 reaches us without having to cross the city.
If your injuries prevent you from travelling — and after a serious accident that is the rule rather than the exception — we do the intake by telephone or come to your home. A first conversation does not have to be a face-to-face one; what we need at that stage is your account, the date of the accident and the documents you already have.
Which court hears a personal injury case from Utrecht?
Cases from Utrecht belong to the District Court of Midden-Nederland, with the Utrecht hearing location at Vrouwe Justitiaplein 1, 3511 EX Utrecht. Appeals in civil cases go from there to the Court of Appeal of Arnhem-Leeuwarden.
That last point deserves attention, because people in Utrecht often search for a "Court of Appeal Utrecht". There is no Court of Appeal in Utrecht. The Netherlands has four courts of appeal — Amsterdam, Arnhem-Leeuwarden, The Hague and 's-Hertogenbosch — and the Midden-Nederland district falls under Arnhem-Leeuwarden. Anyone appealing against a judgment of the court in Utrecht therefore litigates outside the city. The old name "District Court of Utrecht" no longer exists as a separate court either: it was merged into the District Court of Midden-Nederland, which besides Utrecht also has hearing locations in Lelystad, Almere and Amersfoort, among others.
| Question | Answer for Utrecht |
|---|---|
| Which court | District Court of Midden-Nederland |
| Hearing location | Vrouwe Justitiaplein 1, 3511 EX Utrecht |
| Appeal | Court of Appeal of Arnhem-Leeuwarden |
| Does the "District Court of Utrecht" still exist | no, merged into the District Court of Midden-Nederland |
| Is there a "Court of Appeal Utrecht" | no |
How relevant is this to you? In practice less than you think: the vast majority of personal injury cases are settled out of court, with a settlement agreement and without any courtroom ever being involved. The court only comes into the picture once the process stalls — and then usually through a preliminary-issue procedure (deelgeschil) about one defined sticking point, for example liability, the choice of expert or the level of non-material damages. That procedure is set out in Article 1019w et seq. Rv and is expressly open to anyone holding another party liable for loss through death or injury. The court decides that one point, after which the parties as a rule continue negotiating themselves.
What makes the preliminary-issue procedure special is the costs rule. Article 1019aa Rv provides that the court assesses the costs on the side of the person suffering loss through death or injury, taking into account all reasonable costs within the meaning of Article 6:96(2) BW. Those costs therefore count as a head of loss and not as ordinary legal costs — a threshold-lowering feature that in Utrecht cases regularly makes the difference between pressing on and giving up.
How do you claim personal injury compensation in Utrecht, step by step?
In principle you report the accident, hold the liable party liable in writing, have your injury recorded medically, and a negotiation process with the insurer follows that in most cases ends in a settlement. The order is almost always the same; what differs is how hard the pressure is applied at each point.
- Reporting and recording. For a road accident: the police and an accident statement form. For a workplace accident: your employer and, where necessary, the Netherlands Labour Authority. Photograph the scene, the injury and the objects involved, and note down the names of witnesses before everyone moves on.
- Notice of liability. A written letter holding the other party liable, describing how the accident happened and interrupting the limitation period. Its wording partly determines what the discussion will be about for the rest of the process.
- Response and admission. The insurer admits liability, rejects the claim or asks for further investigation. In personal injury practice there are agreed standards on the deadlines within which a response must be given.
- Medical stage. Your medical adviser assesses your situation. Where views differ, an independent medical expert examination follows, preferably with a jointly chosen expert and jointly agreed questions. Those questions steer the outcome; do not sign off on them without having had influence over them.
- Advance payment. Where liability is admitted, an advance is customary.
- Quantification and negotiation. Your heads of loss are substantiated and the non-material damages are argued on the basis of comparable cases.
- Preliminary-issue procedure. If matters stall on one point, the court can decide that point without litigating the whole case.
- Full proceedings. If the dispute remains unresolvable, ordinary proceedings before the court remain — for Utrecht therefore the District Court of Midden-Nederland.
- Settlement agreement. The settlement is recorded, as a rule with a full and final discharge. Read it carefully: after that the case is in principle closed.
Where a violent offence is involved, a second track often runs in parallel: joining the criminal proceedings as an injured party. That is free of charge and can lead to a compensation order under which the state advances the amount if the convicted person does not pay. That advance scheme is set out in Article 6:4:2(7) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Sv): if the convicted person has still not paid in full eight months after the judgment has become final, the state pays out the remaining amount. Under Article 4:14(2) of the Decree on the enforcement of criminal decisions a maximum of € 5,000 applies, which falls away for convictions for a range of violent and sexual offences. There is also the Violent Offences Compensation Fund (Schadefonds Geweldsmisdrijven), which also pays out where the offender is unknown or without means; under Article 7 of the Violent Offences Compensation Fund Act the application period is ten years from the day of the offence.
Cycling accident in Utrecht: who is liable?
If a cyclist is hit by a car, van or other motor vehicle, strict liability applies to the owner or keeper of that motor vehicle — and it can only be broken by force majeure. This is set out in Article 185 of the Road Traffic Act 1994 (WVW 1994): the owner or keeper is liable for damage to persons or property not carried by that vehicle, "unless it is plausible that the accident was due to force majeure". The 50% and 100% rules of thumb you come across online do not appear in the statute itself; they were developed in the case law of the Supreme Court.
In Utrecht this is the most common personal injury situation we see, and that is no coincidence. The bicycle is the main means of transport here: the city has an extensive network of cycle routes, a large student population from Utrecht University and Utrecht University of Applied Sciences, and the world's largest bicycle parking facility at Utrecht Centraal. Where so many cyclists and so much motorised traffic share the same space, the classic conflicts arise:
| Situation | What the discussion usually turns on |
|---|---|
| Lorry or van turning right | blind spot, right of way, visibility from the cab |
| Car door opened into traffic ("dooring") | who opened the door and whether the cyclist kept sufficient distance |
| Junction with a segregated cycle path | the priority rules at that spot and the actual layout |
| Collision with a delivery scooter or moped | whether the vehicle is a motor vehicle within the meaning of the WVW |
| Cyclist against cyclist | Article 185 WVW does not apply; ordinary tort law governs |
| Fall due to a defective road or loose paving slab | liability of the road authority, Article 6:174 BW |
On that last point: Article 6:174 BW places liability for a defective structure with the possessor, and for public roads it rests on the public authority responsible for the state of the road. For a fall caused by a pothole, a subsided paving slab or a poorly cordoned-off road excavation in Utrecht, the road authority is therefore in principle the right address. Photograph the situation immediately, because a municipality that receives a report usually repairs the spot within a few weeks — and then your evidence is gone.
After a cycling accident, also pay attention to what does not appear damaged. Cyclists come to a stop head or neck first; neck and head symptoms that only emerge a day later often go unreported and are therefore hard to attribute to the accident afterwards.
Hit by a tram, bus or other public transport in Utrecht
In a collision with a tram or bus, the strict liability of Article 185 WVW 1994 also applies in principle to the owner or keeper of the vehicle, provided it is a motor vehicle; liability then rests with the carrier and its insurer. Whether you have a good case depends on how the accident happened, not on the size of the vehicle.
Utrecht is a public transport city with its own risk profile. Utrecht Centraal is the largest railway hub in the Netherlands, there is a tram link between the city centre, Nieuwegein, IJsselstein and the Utrecht Science Park, and many buses run on dedicated lanes that cross cycle and pedestrian routes. That combination of dedicated lane and crossing is precisely where things go wrong: a tram or bus on a dedicated lane travels faster than other traffic and has a long braking distance, while a pedestrian or cyclist crossing the tracks or bus lane is acting on sight.
What steers such a case:
- Footage. Carriers and station areas are densely covered by cameras. Footage is, however, overwritten within a limited period — request it in writing immediately or have that done.
- The journey data. On modern rolling stock, speed, braking moment and warning bell are recorded.
- The layout of the crossing. Warning installation, sight lines, markings: if these fall short, the road authority comes into the picture alongside the carrier.
- Injury inside the vehicle itself. If you fall during an emergency stop on the bus, Article 185 WVW does not apply; carriage law and the carrier's duty of care do.
Road accident on the Utrecht ring road or the motorways around it
In a rear-end collision or a motorway accident, liability is usually clear straight away from the police report or the accident statement form, after which the discussion shifts almost immediately to the injury and the extent of the loss. That is good news for the first phase and misleading for the second: the fact that the other party "admits fault" does not mean anything has been agreed about your loss.
Utrecht sits at the busiest road junction in the Netherlands. The A2, A12, A27 and A28 come together here at interchanges such as Oudenrijn, Lunetten and Rijnsweerd, with daily congestion, shifting lanes and long-running roadworks. Rear-end collisions in stationary or moving-off traffic are the result, and that is precisely the type of accident that produces neck complaints without any visible abnormality on a scan.
With that type of injury in particular, how early you record it counts. It is accepted in case law that establishing such complaints does not in every case require an objectively demonstrable medical abnormality: it may be sufficient that the complaints are real, consistent and coherent and that an alternative explanation is lacking. The starting point comes from Supreme Court 8 June 2001, ECLI:NL:HR:2001:AB2054 (Zwolsche Algemeene/De Greef): no unduly high demands may be placed on the evidence, provided the complaints are real and not imagined, feigned or exaggerated.
What makes such a case strong:
| Element | Why it counts |
|---|---|
| Early medical recording | complaints that only surface months later are harder to attribute |
| Consistency over time | the same complaints at the GP, physiotherapist, company doctor and expert examination |
| No alternative explanation | no comparable medical history or concurrent cause |
| Visible loss of functioning | sick leave, adapted work, abandoned hobbies, help at home |
| Neuropsychological assessment | for concentration and memory complaints |
What insurers push for is predictable: a personal investigation, a broad request for your complete medical history, and the argument that you would have dropped out even without the accident. You do not simply have to agree to that request for your full records — the scope of what is disclosed is negotiable and as a rule runs through a medical adviser.
Workplace accident in the Utrecht region: what is the employee's position?
In a workplace accident the employer is liable in principle, unless he proves that he complied with his duty of care or that the damage was substantially caused by the employee's intent or deliberate recklessness. This is set out in Article 7:658(2) BW, and it is one of the strongest positions Dutch law gives an injured party: you do not have to prove that the employer did something wrong; he has to prove that he did it properly.
That protection reaches beyond the permanent employment relationship. Article 7:658(4) BW extends it to anyone "who, in the course of his profession or business, has work performed by a person with whom he has no employment contract". That covers agency workers and hired-in self-employed contractors in principle. Whether a self-employed contractor can rely on it in a specific case depends on the circumstances.
That is relevant for this region. Around Utrecht lie large employment and distribution areas — Lage Weide, Papendorp, De Wetering, and the business parks in Nieuwegein, Houten and Vianen — with a great deal of logistics, transport, construction and installation work, sectors that make heavy use of agency workers and subcontractors. In practice we see the same types of accident again and again in this kind of case: collisions with forklifts at a loading bay, falls from height, crushing injuries involving machinery, and injuries caused by inadequate instruction in a language the employee actually understands.
Always report a workplace accident. The duty to report is set out in Article 9(1) of the Working Conditions Act (Arbeidsomstandighedenwet): the employer must report workplace accidents resulting in death, permanent injury or hospital admission immediately to the supervisory authority — in practice the Netherlands Labour Authority. In addition, under paragraph 2 he keeps a list of reported accidents and of accidents leading to more than three working days' absence. If your employer does not report it, report it yourself: the inspection report is often the most important piece of evidence in the file later on.
Besides Dutch we also speak Turkish and Polish. In this type of case that is not a side issue: many workplace accidents in logistics and construction happen to people who did not fully understand the safety instructions, and that fact is itself an indication that the employer did not comply with his duty of care.
Medical error in a Utrecht hospital: who do you hold liable?
In principle you hold the hospital liable, even where the error was made by an individual doctor. This follows from Article 7:462(1) BW: where procedures performed under a treatment agreement take place in a hospital that is not a party to that agreement, the hospital is jointly liable for any shortcoming, "as if it were itself a party to the agreement". Moreover, that liability cannot be limited or excluded (Article 7:463 BW). That saves you the discussion about who exactly did what and under what contract.
The standard against which conduct is tested is set out in Article 7:453 BW (the Medical Treatment Agreement Act, WGBO): the care provider must observe the care of a good care provider and act in accordance with the responsibility resting on him, arising from the professional standard and quality standards applicable to care providers. A poor outcome is therefore not the same as an error: what is tested is whether a reasonably competent and reasonably acting professional would have acted differently in the same circumstances. In practice that judgment comes from a medical expert.
Utrecht is a healthcare city with academic medicine, and that brings two things with it. First: complex, highly specialised treatments, where the question of whether something was a complication or a culpable error can rarely be answered without an expert. Second: a large catchment area, so patients from outside the city are treated here too and any claim therefore arises in this region.
Always start with your records. Article 7:456 BW obliges the care provider to give access to and a copy of your data on request. That provision does not itself set a deadline; that follows from Article 12(3) GDPR: respond without undue delay and in any event within one month, with an extension of up to two months for a complex request, of which you must then be informed within that first month. Under Article 12(5) GDPR the first copy is free of charge.
Do not confuse the routes with one another:
| Route | Where | What it produces |
|---|---|---|
| Complaint to the care provider | the hospital's complaints officer | a conversation, an explanation, sometimes acknowledgement; in principle no compensation |
| Disputes body | independent committee under the Wkkgz | binding advice; under Article 20 Wkkgz compensation of at least € 25,000 |
| Disciplinary complaint | regional disciplinary tribunal for healthcare | a ruling on the individual care provider; no compensation for you |
| Civil claim for liability | the hospital and its insurer | compensation for your full loss |
Anyone seeking compensation will not get where they want to be with a disciplinary complaint. A complaints conversation often does produce useful factual information and does not affect any limitation period — but the complaints scheme has its own deadlines, separate from the limitation of your claim for damages.
What loss can you have compensated?
Your loss consists of two parts: material loss, the demonstrable financial disadvantage, and non-material loss or compensation for pain and suffering, which compensates the suffering itself. With serious injury the material loss is usually by far the largest — anyone negotiating only over the non-material figure as a rule leaves the greater part of their loss on the table.
| Head of loss | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Loss of earning capacity | income missed now and in the future, including missed promotions and pension accrual |
| Medical costs | policy excess, treatments, medication, aids |
| Domestic help | what you can no longer do yourself |
| Care and nursing | including where relatives take this on |
| Adaptations | home, car, workplace |
| Travel costs | to practitioners, expert examinations and the hospital |
| Study delay | for pupils and students |
| Loss of DIY capacity | odd jobs, garden and maintenance you can no longer do yourself |
| Out-of-court costs | the costs of your lawyer and medical adviser |
| Non-material damages | pain, grief, fear and loss of enjoyment of life |
The right to non-material damages is set out in Article 6:106 BW: for loss that does not consist of financial loss, the injured party is entitled to compensation to be assessed on an equitable basis, including where he has suffered physical injury, has been harmed in his honour or reputation or has otherwise been affected in his person. "On an equitable basis" means: no formula and no tariff, but an estimate based on all the circumstances, calibrated against what has previously been awarded in comparable cases.
We deliberately quote no amounts per type of injury on this page. Figures circulating online are often out of date, taken out of context or drawn from another country, and are almost always either too high — leading to disappointment — or too low, causing people to accept a poor offer. A realistic estimate can only be given once the injury has medically crystallised.
What drives the level of non-material damages is moreover only partly the injury itself. Nature and severity are the starting point, but age, duration of recovery, permanent limitations and the consequences for work, family, hobbies and social life all weigh heavily. A wrist that does not bend fully means something different to a surgeon, a violinist and an administrative assistant. That is why we almost always ask clients for a description of an average day before the accident and an average day now.
What is the difference between a personal injury adviser and a personal injury lawyer?
Every lawyer is a legal professional, but not every legal professional is a lawyer: only an advocaat is registered with the Netherlands Bar, falls under the Bar's disciplinary rules, has a duty of confidentiality with legal professional privilege, and can litigate on your behalf where legal representation is mandatory. In Utrecht people search for both "letselschadejurist" and "letselschadeadvocaat", and the difference is greater than the wording suggests.
| Personal injury adviser or agency | Lawyer (advocaat) | |
|---|---|---|
| Protected professional title | no | yes |
| Disciplinary supervision | not always | yes |
| Confidentiality with legal professional privilege | no | yes |
| Can litigate before the courts | limited; not where legal representation is mandatory | yes |
| Compulsory training and continuing education | depends on the organisation | yes |
| Compulsory professional indemnity insurance | depends on the organisation | yes |
For the majority of cases — out-of-court settlement with an insurer — a good adviser can do perfectly sound work. The difference becomes visible the moment things go wrong: when liability is disputed, when a preliminary-issue procedure or full proceedings are needed, or when the other side steers towards litigation because it knows your representative cannot take that step themselves. Anyone who then has to switch does so halfway through a case — the worst possible moment.
Also pay attention to the business model. Always ask explicitly how your representative is paid, whether a percentage of your compensation is withheld ("no cure no pay"), and what happens if liability is not admitted. Where liability is admitted, the reasonable costs already fall on the liable party; a percentage of your award is then effectively paid on top of something that is already being reimbursed.
What should you look for when choosing a personal injury lawyer in Utrecht?
Look at specialisation, at who bears the costs, at how reachable your own case handler is and at whether the firm can also litigate — not at superlatives on a website. "Best" and "experienced" are not quality marks; they are search terms.
The questions you should ask at an introductory meeting:
- Do you mainly handle personal injury, or is this one of ten practice areas?
- Who is my fixed point of contact, and will I speak to that person or to a case handler?
- What happens to the costs if liability is not admitted?
- Do you withhold a percentage of my compensation? If so, how much and over what?
- Which medical adviser do you work with, and are they independent of the insurer?
- Can you litigate yourself if matters stall, or will I have to switch for that?
- How do you substantiate the non-material damages — with which comparable cases?
- How often will I hear from you, even when there is nothing to report?
That last question is less trivial than it seems. Personal injury cases often run for years, and the complaint we hear most often from people changing firms is not about the outcome but about the silence.
What we offer: a free assessment of your case before you decide anything, one fixed point of contact, cooperation with independent medical advisers and forensic accountants, and the ability to litigate when negotiation goes no further. And assistance in Dutch, Turkish or Polish.
How long do you have to claim personal injury compensation?
For loss caused by injury or death a single period applies: five years, counted from the day after the day on which you became aware both of the loss and of the person liable for it. The absolute twenty-year limit that applies to other claims for damages expressly does not apply to injury and fatal-accident claims. This follows from Article 3:310(5) BW, which departs from the main rule of paragraph 1 on this point.
The period therefore does not automatically start on the day of the accident. Where injury only becomes apparent later, or where the liable party only becomes known later, it may start later.
| Situation | Where the period in principle starts |
|---|---|
| Road accident with a known other party | at the accident |
| Injury that only comes to light later | on becoming aware of the loss and the liable party |
| Minor victim | Article 3:310(5) BW: if the victim was a minor on the day the loss and the liable party became known, the five-year period only starts on the day after reaching the age of majority |
| Injury caused by a criminal offence | Article 3:310(4) BW: where the event is a criminal offence to which Dutch criminal law applies, the claim against the offender does not become time-barred as long as the right to prosecute has not lapsed through limitation or the offender's death |
| Direct claim against the motor insurer | Article 6 of the Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM) gives the injured party a direct right against the insurer; Article 10(1) WAM makes that claim time-barred after three years from the event causing the loss — so much shorter, and without any awareness requirement |
| A very old event | for injury or fatal-accident claims there is no absolute twenty-year period; only the five-year period after awareness |
Interrupting the limitation period is simple and sensible. A written communication in which you unequivocally reserve your right to performance in principle starts a fresh period. If you are unsure whether your claim is still in time, have that assessed before you do anything else — a time-barred claim cannot be rescued, however strong the case is on the merits.
Why is the insurer's first offer rarely the final offer?
An insurer serves the interests of its insured and of its own claims burden; in practice a first offer is an opening bid and not a calculation of what you are entitled to. That is not a reproach — it is the role an insurer has in this system. It only becomes a problem when a victim believes the claims handler is on their side.
| What happens | What lies behind it |
|---|---|
| A quick offer shortly after the accident | your injury has not yet crystallised; buying it off early is cheaper |
| An offer "covering everything" | non-material and material loss are merged, so you can no longer see what is for what |
| Reference to one low comparable case | cases with higher awards go unmentioned, and no index-linking is applied |
| Emphasis on contributory negligence | part of the loss is deducted; that apportionment is negotiable |
| Personal investigation or a broad medical request | building pressure and looking for an alternative explanation for your symptoms |
| Request for full and final discharge | closing the case definitively before the course of your recovery is known |
What you can do about this is less complicated than it looks: sign nothing while your medical situation is still changing, have every offer itemised per head of loss, and deal with the non-material damages separately using your own comparable cases. An offer that is not itemised cannot be assessed — and therefore cannot be accepted.
Loss is as a rule only finally quantified once the medical end situation has been reached: the point at which no further improvement or deterioration is expected. Where there is doubt about the future course, a reservation can be included so that a specifically named deterioration can still be claimed later. That reservation must be precisely worded; a vague clause offers little protection in practice.
What can you do yourself, immediately after an accident in Utrecht?
Most of the damage in a personal injury file is not done by the other side, but by decisions the victim takes in the first few weeks. These points cost you nothing and cannot be made up for later.
Immediately:
- Get yourself examined medically, even if the symptoms seem mild — a record made on day one is worth its weight in gold later.
- Make sure there is a formal record: a police report, an accident statement form, an accident notification to your employer.
- Note down the names and contact details of witnesses.
- Photograph the scene, your injuries and the objects involved — in the case of a defective road or pavement, before the municipality repairs it.
- Keep damaged clothing, the bicycle or the helmet; that is evidence.
In the weeks that follow:
- Report all your symptoms fully to your GP. "I'm managing" ends up in the file and is used against you years later.
- Start a diary: symptoms, limitations, what you no longer do, who helps you.
- Keep a loss file with every receipt, invoice and travel cost.
- Note what help you receive from family and how many hours it takes.
- Hold the liable party liable in writing and thereby interrupt the limitation period.
- Do not give unlimited medical authorisation; its scope is negotiable.
- Be restrained on social media: photographs of a holiday or a party are used in files as counter-evidence against claimed limitations.
Which places around Utrecht does this office serve?
From Utrecht we act for victims throughout the province of Utrecht and the adjoining region. Even if the accident happened elsewhere in the Netherlands, the case can be handled here: your place of residence and your lawyer's address do not determine which insurer is liable.
Among others: Nieuwegein, IJsselstein, Houten, Vianen, Maarssen, Vleuten-De Meern, Leidsche Rijn, De Bilt, Bilthoven, Zeist, Bunnik, Driebergen, Doorn, Woerden, Montfoort, Oudewater, Soest, Baarn, Amersfoort, Veenendaal and Wijk bij Duurstede.
For clients from the north or west of the province our office in Amsterdam (Pieter Calandlaan 769) may be more practical; for the south-west Rotterdam (Schiedamsedijk 60-A) or the head office in The Hague (Paletplein 80). For Brabant we have offices in Tilburg (Kraaivenstraat 38-10) and Eindhoven (Croy 7C). In all cases the file stays with one handler; which office you visit is a matter of travel distance.
Does the Utrecht office also handle other matters?
Yes. Besides personal injury we handle tenancy law, employment law, insurance law, administrative law, family law, business law and criminal law, among others. For Utrecht these are in practice mainly the cases in which a private individual faces an institution or a professional counterparty.
| Area of law | What it often concerns in Utrecht |
|---|---|
| Tenancy law | defects and maintenance, rent increases, service charges, eviction, fixed-term contracts — in a city with large student and tenant populations and a tight housing market |
| Employment law | dismissal, illness and reintegration, and the employment-law side of a workplace accident |
| Insurance law | refused cover, underinsurance, disputes about the policy terms |
| Administrative law | decisions by the municipality or an implementing authority, objection and appeal |
| Family law | including recognition of a child, custody, contact arrangements and maintenance |
| Criminal law | defence, and joining proceedings as an injured party on behalf of victims |
If your personal injury case runs alongside an employment dispute or a benefits issue — which after long-term absence is the rule rather than the exception — it is practical for both tracks to be handled within one firm, because what you state in one file can be held against you in the other.
About this advice
Arslan Advocaten handles personal injury cases from offices in The Hague, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Tilburg and Eindhoven. We assess your situation free of charge, work with independent medical advisers and forensic accountants, and act for victims of road accidents, workplace accidents, medical errors and violent crime. Besides Dutch we speak Turkish and Polish.
Utrecht office: Atoomweg 63, 3542 AA Utrecht — 030 747 0038 — [email protected]. Visits by appointment.
Call 030 747 0038 or send us your question via the contact form. We will tell you where you stand and what the next step is.
This page provides general information and is not legal advice on your own case. No rights can be derived from the principles set out here.
Sources and accountability
The statutory rules referred to on this page can be consulted at the official source:
- Article 3:310 BW — limitation: Dutch Civil Code, Book 3
- Article 6:96 BW — out-of-court costs: Dutch Civil Code, Book 6
- Article 6:106 BW — non-material damages: Dutch Civil Code, Book 6
- Article 6:174 BW — liability for structures: Dutch Civil Code, Book 6
- Article 7:453 BW — the care of a good care provider: Dutch Civil Code, Book 7
- Article 7:456 BW — right of access to your records: Dutch Civil Code, Book 7
- Article 7:462 BW — hospital liability: Dutch Civil Code, Book 7
- Article 7:463 BW — liability cannot be excluded: Dutch Civil Code, Book 7
- Article 7:658 BW — the employer's duty of care: Dutch Civil Code, Book 7
- Article 185 WVW — protection of non-motorised road users: Road Traffic Act 1994
Judgments can be found via Rechtspraak.nl. Statutory texts checked on 9 September 2026; the limitation periods, costs and competent court in your own case are assessed by the lawyer handling it.