Personal injury from a workplace accident: report damage quickly?!

News

March 3, 2014

Waiting too long to report and hold the employer liable can lead to the employee's personal injury claim being rejected.

Personal injury workplace accident workshop manager

On July 16, 2007, a workshop manager, who also served as acting branch manager, suffered an industrial accident. The man worked at a car window repair shop.

While grabbing a large, heavy car window, something goes wrong. The man tried to retrieve the window from the shelf, but because he was reaching beyond his control, the window fell from his hands and landed on his right shoulder.

The man immediately reported this workplace accident to his regional manager. A few days after the accident, he visited his doctor.

Incapacitated for work

Initially, the man was able to continue working. But by the end of 2007, he was no longer able to maintain his work due to shoulder problems.

From that moment on, he was completely incapacitated. In the following period, he had to undergo several surgeries for his shoulder injury.

Employer liability rejected

On June 19, 2009, the man's legal expenses insurer held the car window repair company liable under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code. This is the statutory provision concerning employer liability.

The employer formally invokes Article 6:89 of the Dutch Civil Code and the judge rules in the employer's favour!

The judge finds it incomprehensible that the employee continued working for another six months after his workplace accident without indicating that he held his employer liable for his injuries. And that he also waited another year and a half to do so.

According to the judge, it should have been clear to the employee from December 2007, or at least from the end of January 2008 (after the second operation), that he had suffered an injury as a result of the workplace accident. And therefore, would suffer personal injury damages.

The mere notification of the industrial accident to the regional manager cannot be considered "sufficient protest" within the meaning of Article 6:89 of the Dutch Civil Code.

Employer disadvantaged by delay

The judge finds that the employer has been placed in a seriously disadvantaged position due to the length of time that has elapsed. Partly due to a warehouse renovation in June 2009, it is no longer possible to determine whether the alleged accident actually occurred and what the precise cause was.

The employee's claim for personal injury is therefore rejected by the court.

Comment: appeal?!

Employer liability for personal injury due to industrial accident

In the context of employer liability, the burden of proof lies with the employer.

When an employee suffers a workplace accident, he or she need 'merely' state that injury was sustained during work and that the cause lies in an unsafe working situation. This is stipulated in Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code .

Claims for personal injury resulting from a workplace accident only expire after 5 years

Filing a personal injury claim for a workplace accident must be done within five years of the accident. Otherwise, the statute of limitations expires, and the employee can no longer claim compensation for his injuries. Therefore, from a legal standpoint, it seems impossible to dismiss the man's claim.

Employer knew about industrial accident, but did nothing about it…

Furthermore, the regional manager was already aware of the accident from the day it occurred. So, "the employer" knew about it from day one.

It was subsequently the choice of the area manager – and therefore the company – not to investigate the cause of the industrial accident (further) or to report it to the company's legal department.

Normally, a company always draws up an (internal) accident report when an industrial accident occurs.

It was this employer's "own choice" not to do so, even though they were aware of the man's disability as of the end of 2007. The employer should have received occupational health and safety reports. These normally indicate whether the employee's disability is "work-related" or not.

It is therefore incomprehensible that the judge ruled this way. After all, it was the employer who failed to report the industrial accident, conduct an internal investigation into the cause, or investigate the accident in any other way. Not even when it was clear that the employee had become incapacitated as a result of the accident.

Moreover, it's the employer's choice to renovate the warehouse. The employee has no say in the matter.

In the context of Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code, it is not obvious to dismiss this claim. Judgment of the District Court of The Hague, April 17, 2013, Case Law Liability 2013, no. 114.

What customers ask

Is your help really free for me?

Absolutely, our help is truly FREE.

Your counterparty is also obligated to reimburse your legal costs (i.e., our firm's fees). This is stipulated by law (Section 6:96 of the Dutch Civil Code).

At Van der Toorn Personal Injury, you'll receive a written cost guarantee upfront with a clear explanation. This also clearly states what you can expect from us and what we can expect from you.

We guarantee that the liable party will reimburse our costs. If they don't, it's our business risk. You'll never receive a bill from us. We promise!

Still unsure? Just contact us. We'd be happy to explain how our cost guarantee works.

If you'd like to learn more about our FREE personal injury assistance, click here. Clarity is paramount!

When can I claim personal injury damages?

You can claim damages for personal injury if you have suffered an injury (been injured) due to the fault of another person

Personal injury can be caused by, for example:

In addition, you may think of injuries sustained during:

organized trip
unsafe product or
fall at someone else's home, in a shop or on the street

It's best not to wait too long to file a personal injury claim. It's best to do so immediately after the accident.

Even if it is not yet clear at that time what your injury and its financial consequences consist of.

However, someone else must liable and must have taken out liability insurance for this (AVP/AVB/WA).

However, even if you caused the accident yourself, you can sometimes still claim compensation for personal injury. For example, if you SVI (Passenger Injury Insurance) or SVO (Opzittende Inschadende).

Are you unsure whether and when you are entitled to personal injury compensation?

Don't hesitate to contact us now for a free, no-obligation consultation. It's free , and you'll know exactly where you stand. Afterward, you can decide for yourself what to do with our advice.

What injuries do you treat?

We can actually help you with all types of personal injury

Van der Toorn Personal Injury can help you with all types of injuries. We specialize in handling "serious personal injuries," such as:

brain injury (ABI)
spinal cord injury
burns
dystrophy
bone fractures and
cosmetic injury.

But of course, we are also very happy to be there for you if someone else has sustained an injury. Such as neck injuries, whiplash, back injuries, bruises, sprains, dog bites, temporary injuries, and you name it.

We cannot help with all types of personal injury

The only thing we cannot help you with is personal injury caused by:

violence
medical errors and/or
situations of abuse.

In that situation, we will of course refer you to a party that is specialized in this.

Always request free, no-obligation advice on personal injury claims

Do you have questions about your personal injury? Or are you unsure if we're the right place for you?

Please do not hesitate to ask us for a complete and free, no-obligation personal injury claim consultation.

When should I contact you?

You don't have to! But it's in your best interest to contact us as soon as possible

Only then can you be certain that there is someone who thinks solely of your interests . Because that is our job: thinking of *your* interests.

But what is: as quickly as possible?

Sometimes an insurance company will contact you very shortly after the accident. They'll ask how you're doing and also ask for all sorts of other information.

You cannot know whether that insurer is asking “too many questions” from a legal perspective. About your health before the accident and which doctors you visited. You would rather avoid that, wouldn't you? So never wait too long to engage a personal injury firm.

It's also likely that you'll quickly incur significant expenses . Or your incomemay disappear. We'll handle the initial damage payments from the other party. Then you can focus on your recovery.

Would you like to know what's best for you? Don't hesitate to contact us , without obligation

We'll give you clear advice right away . Then you can decide for yourself what to do with it.

If we think we can help you, we will let you know right away.

At the same time, we guarantee that our legal assistance completely free of charge .

To learn more about our FREE personal injury assistance services, click here.

What personal injury compensation amounts am I entitled to?

The personal injury compensation amounts you are entitled to are:

Allowances for additional assistance, such as:

household help, shopping, taking children to school, etc.
help in the garden and
help with the maintenance and painting of your home.

In addition, your personal injury may have consequences for your income, such as:

income that is not fully paid (self-employed person, temporary worker, zero-hour contract, etc.)
no more irregular hours allowance
no longer being able to work overtime
missed promotions and
missed pension accrual

Finally, you can consider other equally important personal injury compensation amounts, such as:

Study delay
Reintegration costs for guidance to other work
Costs associated with admission to a hospital or rehabilitation center
Travel expenses
Medical expenses
Non-pecuniary damages
Economic vulnerability
Statutory interest
Furthermore, all costs that you would not have incurred without the accident…
For example, the wages you did not receive because you could not go to work.
Gasoline because you had to go to the hospital or the physiotherapist.
Medicines that were covered by your deductible.

In addition, you are always entitled to compensation for pain and suffering, also known as non-material damages.

This is compensation for "loss of enjoyment of life." Your damages should compensate you for your grief, pain, and anything else that might have made you less happy than before the accident.

Unfortunately, Dutch law is not generous in awarding damages for pain and suffering. Therefore, the amounts awarded in the Netherlands are not considered "fair enough.".

If you'd like to learn more about non-pecuniary damages, click here. If you'd like to learn more about personal injury damages, click here.

Calculating non-pecuniary damages

Calculating non-pecuniary damages:

You are always entitled to compensation for pain and suffering. This is the "non-pecuniary component" of your personal injury compensation.

What is non-pecuniary damages?

Pain and suffering compensation is not in itself a “hard legal term”. It is compensation for damage that cannot be expressed in monetary terms.

So, everything that doesn't fall under additional costs or lost income. It's essentially compensation for your "mental damage.".

How to calculate non-pecuniary damages

People often ask us at the very beginning of their personal injury case how much compensation they are entitled to.

That question is actually impossible to answer. And any personal injury lawyer who claims otherwise is mistaken.

When can you calculate my non-pecuniary damages?

Your compensation for pain and suffering can only be definitively determined at the end of your personal injury case.

Only then will it be known what psychological consequences your injury has had and/or will have for you.

Because it is the psychological consequences that largely determine your compensation for non-pecuniary damages.

Important factors in calculating non-pecuniary damages

Important factors for calculating your non-pecuniary damages include:

the nature of your injury
the severity of your injury
your age
your gender
your level of consciousness
whether you will have permanent scars and where those scars are located
whether you have physical limitations that affect your quality of life
how much pain have you suffered and continue to suffer
how long your recovery period was and
whether you have recovered at all or whether there is permanent damage.

Indication calculation of non-pecuniary damages:

We cannot predict exactly how much your compensation for non-pecuniary damages will be.

What we can do is give you a general indication of the amount of your compensation for pain and suffering.

If this sounds appealing, contact us today for a free, honest consultation. Afterward, you can decide for yourself what to do with it.

We are happy to help you calculate and claim your compensation for pain and suffering and other personal injury damages, such as your additional costs and lost income.

And if you choose our legal assistance, we guarantee you in writing in advance that our assistance will always FREE .

Calculating non-pecuniary damages? Ask for advice! We're happy to help. Want to know more about calculating non-pecuniary damages? Click here.

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