What types of damages are there? This question is often asked by personal injuryvictims.
All damage caused by the fault of another party can be claimed as damages. This means you can claim compensation for all forms of suffering you have experienced as a victim. A personal injury lawyer can help you with this.
We list the30 most important damage items.
As a victim, you are entitled to compensation for immaterial damage. This is referred to as compensation for pain and suffering. Compensation for pain and suffering is compensation for grief or suffering.
Examples of pain and suffering for which you can claim compensation include pain, grief, sleepless nights, mental anguish, or loss of enjoyment of life as a result of the accident. The nature and severity of the injury determine the amount of compensation.
Injuries can cause a great deal of suffering. The amount of compensation for pain and suffering can therefore run into many thousands of euros. Other factors can also play a role in determining the amount, such as the nature of the liability.
An accident injury may prevent you from performing (all) household tasks that you were able to perform before the accident. You will then need help with your housekeeping.
You can find your own domestic help for this. This does not have to be a professional, but can also be an acquaintance or family member.
Regardless of whether you actually pay compensation for this, the liable party will have to pay a certain amount of compensation.
If you use Home Care or a PGB (Personal Budget), your personal contribution will be eligible for reimbursement. The Care Assessment Center (CIZ) must first assess the level of care required.
Sometimes, an accident injury can cause you to lose your ability to function independently. You are then no longer able to do chores in and around the house that you would normally do yourself. You will need to call on the help of others to do this for you. This could be a family member, acquaintance, or a professional company.
Examples of such jobs include painting your house, major garden maintenance, or renovating your house. The additional costs you incur for these outsourced jobs are eligible for reimbursement by the other party.
In addition to the work you did in and around the house, this could also include work you did on your car, boat, or motorcycle. The costs of hiring third parties to take over this work from you will be claimed from the other party.
An accident could leave you unable to work and suffering a loss of income. This could be for a short or long period, or even permanently. This can have major financial consequences.
In some cases, the employer does not pay the full salary, but only 70%, for example. You may also lose out on overtime pay, irregular hours allowances, study costs, or bonuses. All income that you earn less after the accident is considered loss of income. This even includes income that you have not yet received, such as a pay raise after a promotion or after completing a current training program.
If you remain incapacitated for work for a longer period of time, you will lose your social security benefits (e.g. under the Income and Labor Act). Despite these benefits, you will be worse off financially. For example, the WIA pays a maximum of 75% of your last earned wage. If you are no longer able to perform your previous work due to the accident and find another job, you may earn less.
The difference in income (the loss of income) must be compensated by the other party. When determining the loss of income, not only your income at the time of the accident is taken into account: your career opportunities in your future career are also taken into account. If, for example, you could have been promoted in the situation without the accident, this will be included in the claim.
Victims are often told that there is insufficient evidence to prove career opportunities. For us, this is often not a problem. We usually call in specialized occupational experts to provide an assessment of this, based on the victim's complete employment history and the personal impression they have of the victim.
Furthermore, the insurer may not demand hard evidence regarding income development in the situation without the accident: it is precisely because of that accident that you cannot prove it. You are often entitled to more than you think!
Damage to personal property is a loss item that can often be directly traced back to the accident and does not lead to any discussion with the insurer. When calculating the damage, take into account any personal property that was damaged during the accident.
This could be an item of clothing or an accessory, but also a laptop or phone that you were carrying with you. You can always claim damage to personal property from the person who caused the damage.
The loss of a company car often results in a significant financial disadvantage. This disadvantage must be taken into account when calculating the damage.
A calculation is made of what you would have to pay for your own car and, in particular, what the private mileage would have cost if you owned your own car. It is not possible to give a general guideline for this, because the costs for private mileage depend greatly on the type of car driven. The damage can often be enormous.
It is a well-known fact that construction workers and carpenters, for example, often do odd jobs for others in their spare time. Work in other sectors such as hospitality, cleaning, or consulting is not always registered with the tax authorities either.
Did you have any undeclared earnings or was part of your salary paid under the table before the accident? The court in the Netherlands has ruled that lost undeclared income is also eligible for compensation.
This damage must be substantiated by the victim. The burden of proof for this damage is relatively low.
If a self-employed entrepreneur suffers personal injury as a result of an accident, this can have serious consequences. Often, it is not only their income that is at stake, but also the continuity of their business operations.
An entrepreneur who is unable to deliver certain orders due to an accident may lose important customers. Meanwhile, the costs continue to mount.
If you are not unable to work for long, you can sometimes find a solution by hiring a temporary assistant. The costs of this will be claimed from the other party.
Next, the financial consequences will be examined. These are determined on the basis of company information such as the accounts and tax records (annual reports). Future expectations can also be determined on the basis of these figures. Information about developments in the sector can also be taken into account.
We engage one or more experts to gain the best possible picture of your company's potential if the accident had not occurred.
The damage is determined by comparing the hypothetical situation without the accident to the situation after the accident. Because the income of self-employed persons often varies from year to year, it is often not possible to make a quick and simple comparison between the situation before and after the accident.
If you manage to keep your job after the accident, at first glance there appears to be no loss of income. But sometimes the question is whether this will remain the case in the future.
You may lose your job later on (regardless of the reason) and have reduced opportunities on the labor market due to the injury you have sustained. In that case, you are considered to be economically vulnerable.
This economic vulnerability is often valued in monetary terms, but it is also possible to hedge the future risk associated with settling the case by means of a reservation.
Do you have to repeat a year at school as a result of an accident, or are you falling behind in your studies? You can hold the other party liable for additional study costs (school or college fees, book costs, exam fees, etc.).
Due to the delay in your studies, you will enter the labor market later than planned, which means you will have expenses but less income. This future loss of income must also be compensated. You will receive compensation depending on the type of school or training program and the duration of the delay in your studies.
The Personal Injury Council has developed guidelines. Compensation can amount to approximately €20,000.
Direct costs are the most straightforward item of damage. This concerns damage to your property, such as your vehicle (car, motorcycle, bicycle, etc.), your clothing, and/or other items you were carrying with you during the accident. Most direct costs therefore consist of damage to personal property.
After the accident, you may suffer immediate damage, which is called direct damage. The damage may also continue in the future or even arise or become apparent in the future. This is called future damage. Calculating future damage is complex because you do not know in advance how your recovery will proceed and what problems you will encounter.
Future damages can be substantial. The personal injury lawyer will have the future medical risks assessed by a medical advisor, and an independent physician is usually consulted as well. In addition, other experts are often consulted, including, for example, an occupational expert.
Once all the basic principles have been established, an accounting firm is usually called in to perform the complex calculation of the loss of income and pension damage. This is a complicated calculation that also takes into account inflation and the interest you may receive on your compensation.
If you are admitted to hospital after the accident, you are entitled to a daily allowance. This is a fixed amount per day of admission.
You are also entitled to a fixed daily allowance during a temporary stay in a rehabilitation facility, nursing home, or sanatorium.
The daily allowance is intended to cover the costs of purchasing bed and hospital clothing, as well as the costs of making the temporary stay more pleasant.
If you have incurred medical expenses that are not or only partially reimbursed by your health insurer, the other party must reimburse these costs.
This includes costs for medication or treatment by a therapist or psychologist. The costs associated with an excess must also be reimbursed, unless this had already been used up in the year of the accident.
If you have sustained an injury, you may have suffered permanent damage as a result. This may make it more difficult for you to obtain insurance. An insurer may refuse to insure you or charge you a higher premium. You may also need to extend your health insurance coverage due to ongoing medical treatment.
You can claim the additional premium costs of your insurance policies from the liable party.
Personal injury can have a major impact on your independence. Due to the loss of self-sufficiency, it is sometimes necessary to seek help for tasks that you previously performed yourself.
This could involve maintaining the garden, cleaning your windows, or walking your dog. You can recover the costs you incur for this from the other party.
Even if you do not hire a professional but enlist the help of friends or family, you can still claim compensation for this.
In order to successfully claim damages, it is important to keep good records.
Receipts, appointment confirmations, or acknowledgments of receipt are possible supporting documents that strengthen your claim. In order to record all of this properly, you may also incur additional administrative costs: from purchasing folders to archive your papers to the help you receive from, for example, a family member.
A personal injury lawyer can help you gather and record evidence. A specialized lawyer knows what evidence is needed to support your claim.
After the accident, you may incur additional telephone, postage, and copying costs due to contact with your personal injury lawyer, medical professionals, and other agencies. You may need to send documents by registered mail or even deliver them in person. These additional costs must also be reimbursed by the other party.
The additional transportation costs you incur as a result of an accident are recoverable from the other party. These include additional fuel and parking costs associated with hospital visits, or visits to your doctor, therapist, or personal injury lawyer.
We usually calculate based on a mileage allowance, so it is not necessary to keep all fuel receipts. However, you do need to keep track of the extra kilometers driven!
Due to your injury, you may need to use alternative transportation more often because you are no longer able to walk or stand for long periods of time and regular public transportation is not adequate for this reason. If it is established that you are therefore more dependent on, for example, a taxi, it is reasonable to recover these costs from the other party.
Certain injuries can cause problems when driving a car, requiring modifications to the vehicle. For example, an injury to the right foot can cause problems when operating the accelerator pedal, particularly on long journeys.
Some problems can be solved with certain modifications, but if your current car cannot be modified to make it functional, you may be forced to buy a new, modified car. In some cases, you can hold the other party liable for the costs involved.
Costs without benefit are costs that you had already incurred before the accident, but which did not result in any pleasure or benefit as a result of the accident.
This could include a gym membership or tickets to a concert that you are unable to attend as a result of the accident. It also includes ongoing living expenses during a long-term hospital stay, such as rent, phone bills, and regular energy bills.
It can be difficult to identify your unnecessary costs, as these are sometimes unexpected items of damage. A personal injury expert can help you identify your items of damage.
Because you are disabled and, compared to able-bodied people, spend much more time at home, you also incur more costs.
This is particularly the case during a period of total or partial incapacity for work. Examples include additional electricity, gas, and water costs, as well as additional food costs, snacks, and additional telephone costs. These damages can be calculated precisely, but in practice, a specific annual amount is used for this purpose.
After an accident, you may need to make adjustments to your home. You may also need to purchase certain aids. Government provisions are available for this, but they are often inadequate. You must apply to your municipality for reimbursement for aids. Regulations vary from municipality to municipality, and it often takes a lot of time and effort to get an application approved.
Costs that are not reimbursed by the government will be claimed from the other party.
It may be that your current home has become unsuitable due to the accident injury. Sometimes this can be remedied with certain adjustments, but if the home cannot be functionally adapted, you may be forced to move. This could be the case, for example, if you live in an upstairs apartment in a building without an elevator and are no longer able to climb stairs due to a leg injury.
If it is established that you can no longer live in your current home due to your injury, you can hold the other party liable for the relocation and redecoration costs.
If you are moving from an apartment to a bungalow, additional land and construction costs may be claimed. The other party could argue in their defense that this constitutes an increase in assets. If that is the case, then there is no damage. In that case, only the additional financing costs could be claimed.
Certain injuries can cause accelerated wear and tear, such as clothing wear when you have to wear a prosthesis or use crutches. Leg or foot injuries can also cause accelerated wear and tear on footwear.
The costs for purchasing additional clothing and footwear must be reimbursed by the other party.
In the event of serious injury, a victim may be forced to incur additional costs for a modified vacation compared to a normal vacation. When this is extrapolated to the future, the damage can be considerable. In some cases, the additional costs may be eligible for compensation.
Matters are often settled on the basis of the benefits that the victim receives at the time of settlement. In principle, the other party is obliged to give you the right to revisit the matter if you lose your benefits in the future.
The compensation is paid out net. This means you do not owe any tax on the compensation payment. When the personal injury case is concluded, it is wise to ask for a tax guarantee. This can be invoked if, for example, the tax authorities make a mistake by imposing a tax assessment after all.
The lawyer's fees and/or legal aid costs form part of your damages. If you had not been involved in an accident, you would not have had to engage a lawyer and you could have saved costs. That is why the law stipulates that the reasonable costs of legal aid must be reimbursed by the other party if liability and the link between the damage and the accident have been established.
The statutory interest rate is set by the government at a fixed percentage.
The statutory interest must be paid by the other party on the compensation from the date on which the damage was suffered. This is usually the date of the accident. For example, in the case of car damage: at the moment of the collision, the car has decreased in value.
In some cases, the insurer may assume the date on which the bill must be paid. An example of this is car rental; the bill for the car rental arrives when the car is returned.
All disadvantages, all additional costs and expenses, all lost income (wages, undeclared work, bonuses, loss of profits, etc.), in short: all damage caused by the fault of another party must be compensated.
We are masters at identifying those damage items.
Together with you, we will draw up a statement of damages or damage report so that we can claim everything from the other party. This includes legal fees. After all, according to the law, you are entitled to full compensation.
Have you suffered personal injury and would you like to claim compensation? Or would you like to discuss another issue with us? Please contact us. You can do so by telephone or via the contact form. We will respond as quickly as possible, even during evenings and weekends.
Leave your worries to us. Contact Joosten Advocaten now. We are here to help you.
