2x personal injury due to a traffic accident

News

September 11, 2013

Judge: No ruling yet on causal link between personal injury and traffic accident..

what happened…

On September 20, 2010, a man riding a bicycle was hit by a car insured with De Noordhollandsche van 1816. He sustained injuries to his knee and elbow. He also suffered whiplash and psychological distress. Fortunately, his injuries and damages were ultimately manageable. After a few months, his injuries had healed sufficiently to allow him to gradually resume his daily life.

Until February 9, 2011, when the man was hit for the second^time . This time by a car insured by ASR. He again sustained physical injuries, and shortly after this traffic accident, his GP also diagnosed him with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He received treatment for this PTSD until early January 2012, but at that point, he had not yet made sufficient recovery. The man was referred to Het Roessingh, where he was still participating in a rehabilitation program at the time of the procedure (mid-2013).

what personal injury…?

The man's personal injury damages include, among other things, damages due to lost income (damages resulting from a loss of earning capacity), damages related to the loss of DIY capacity (loss of self-employment), and non-pecuniary damages. In these proceedings, the man is claiming an advance payment of €75,000.00 for his personal injury damages.

Both insurers reject the personal injury claim..

Both De Noordhollandsche van 1816 and ASR completely reject the man's personal injury claim. According to both insurers, the medical information provided by the man does not support the conclusion that he suffers from PTSD. According to ASR's medical advisor, it is inexplicable that the man is still experiencing symptoms as a result of the traffic accident. However, she believes it is plausible that previous psychological trauma or other live events have caused the man's ongoing psychological and physical injuries. ASR considers it conceivable that the man suffered these pre-existing traumatic experiences in his country of origin.

The Noordhollandsche newspaper, in turn, points out that the man only visited his GP once for back pain after the accident in September 2010, and that his GP wrote that it was non-specific back pain. The same complaints the man had been experiencing before.

additional medical information…

ASR and De Noordhollandsche van 1816 had previously requested additional medical information from the man, but had not received it. This information concerned both past data (the Medical Reception of Asylum Seekers file and the ambulance personnel's report) and current data (the psychiatrist's information at Roessing and current information about the rehabilitation program the man is still participating in). Furthermore, no independent expert assessment of the man's injuries or the medical relationship between his injuries and the traffic accident was conducted for this procedure.

the judge …

The judge is not yet willing to make a final decision in these proceedings regarding the legal connection between the man's injuries and the traffic accident. The judge believes the man has insufficiently substantiated his injuries and damages, especially given the substantiated objections from ASR and De Noordhollandsche.

The judge ruled that it was up to the man to provide more and more recent medical information to the insurers. Independent expert investigation would also be necessary before the judge could make further decisions.

In other words, the judge rejects the man's claim for compensation for his personal injury. Because the judge believes the man's lawyer could have known with certainty in advance that this would be the verdict, he also rejects reimbursement for the man's legal fees. Therefore, the man must, in principle, pay his lawyer's fees (€4,040.19) himself.

conclusion…

If the man had provided more complete medical information immediately and if an expert examination had been carried out first (at the expense of the liable insurers), the judge's conclusion regarding this personal injury might have been different and the insurers would at least have had to reimburse the man's lawyer's legal costs.

A disadvantageous ruling for this man, which under different circumstances could certainly have turned out to his advantage.

(Overijssel District Court, September 4, 2013: ECLI:NL:RBOVE:2013:2083). Click here for the full judgment.

Do you need advice about your personal injury from a traffic accident? Contact us now, without obligation

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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L. Polderman
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Van der Toorn Personal Injury assisted me very discreetly at the time. The other party's insurer paid me compensation in no time.

Gert de Laan
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As a result of an accident I needed legal assistance, Van der Toorn Personal Injury provided me with excellent support in settling the damage

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