Medical injury or injury due to a medical error is common and can be a difficult process!
Have you suffered a medical injury? Or have you been the victim of a medical error by your doctor or therapist?
As a patient, you don't want your doctor to perform an incorrect procedure. Unfortunately, doctors and therapists can still make mistakes. The consequences of these mistakes range from mild to serious. But in all cases, medical injuries occur.
Injury Van der Toorn is a personal injury firm that specializes in medical injuries and injuries resulting from medical malpractice. We are happy to assist you in recovering your damages. However, in the case of medical injuries, we cannot always provide a firm cost guarantee upfront. We will explain why.
Three types of medical injury related to cost guarantee
At Van der Toorn Personal Injury, we distinguish between three types of medical injury:
- errors for which the doctor, hospital or therapist (or their insurer) has already accepted liability
- medical injury damages that can be determined directly on legal grounds
- medical injuries can only be determined after a thorough medical examination.
Already recognized medical injury
If a doctor, hospital, or therapist (or their insurer) has already admitted the medical error and liability has been accepted, we can immediately provide you with a written cost guarantee.
Because then it's clear that your medical injury will be compensated. At that point, your legal costs (i.e., our fee) will become a separate component of your total medical injury claim. Our costs will then have to be reimbursed by the insurer of the liable physician. This is stipulated in Article 6:96 of the Dutch Civil Code. The cost guarantee we provide states that if the other party refuses to pay our costs, or only partially, you will never receive an invoice from us.
Immediately determinable medical injury
Sometimes we can immediately assess with you during our first contact whether or not there is a medical injury.
This concerns medical errors that do not require lengthy medical examinations. These are the “more legally oriented errors” and errors that the doctor or therapist (must) admit immediately and of their own accord. Perhaps this will become clearer to you if we provide a number of examples of people we have had the privilege of helping with their personal injury compensation:
- In a hospital, radiation equipment was not properly set up, causing our client to remain under the device for too long and injuries sustain
- Our client had been demonstrably misinformed about not needing malaria medication for a particular country, even though she should have been. She promptly developed malaria in that country and subsequently suffered serious health problems
- The doctors voluntarily admitted that they had misinterpreted a particular scan of an unborn fetus the night before delivery. As a result, the child died shortly after birth
- Our male client was mistakenly informed in writing that his sterilization had been successful, when it later turned out that the letter had been incorrectly written because laboratory tests had shown the operation to be unsuccessful. Because of this error, our client (our client's partner) became unintentionally pregnant and had to have an abortion
- After an operation, it was demonstrably forgotten to administer blood thinners, causing our client to have an embolism and die
- After surgery, antibiotics were demonstrably forgotten, causing someone's knee to become infected and eventually requiring his leg to be amputated
- A client with eczema on her hands was subjected to light therapy for too long, causing burns on both hands.
If we, as personal injury lawyers, can immediately determine on legal grounds that there is a medical injury and medical malpractice, we will provide you – just as with other personal injury claims – with a clear cost guarantee in advance.
We will then immediately begin working for you. If the treating physician's insurer accepts liability, they will also be required to reimburse our legal costs. This is stipulated in Article 6:96 of the Dutch Civil Code. We submit our invoices directly, separately from your own medical injury claims, to the physician's insurer. They, in turn, must pay these invoices directly to us, separately from your own medical injury claims.
Should the opposing party unexpectedly fail to acknowledge liability for your medical injury, you will not be charged any fees by us. The same applies if our costs are not reimbursed, or not fully reimbursed, by the opposing party for other reasons. In this way, you are entitled to is FREE of charge legal assistance.
Complex and difficult to determine medical injuries
Sometimes, medical injuries can only be determined after a thorough medical examination. In those cases, we unfortunately cannot provide a cost guarantee during our initial contact and "purely upfront.".
Because it can often only be determined relatively late in the process whether a medical error has actually occurred in legal terms. Until then, we will need to consult regularly with our own doctors. Or external examinations by independent physicians will need to be conducted. As long as liability has not been acknowledged, the other party is not obligated to reimburse these costs.
Until then, relatively high costs will have to be incurred, without it being clear whether the other party will ultimately reimburse these costs. Unfortunately, as a company, we cannot simply advance these costs. Therefore, we cannot provide you with an upfront cost guarantee for complex medical injuries.
That's why we've developed a quick scan. This quick scan involves us, along with our own medical advisors, requesting the relevant medical data from your doctors on your behalf. These medical records will then be assessed by our own medical advisors. This assessment will be presented in a clear written recommendation and discussed with you. Based on this, we can then jointly assess how we can best serve you, and whether we can still provide you with a cost guarantee.
This quick scan is not free. The cost of the quick scan depends on the type of medical error and the estimated scope of the investigation. Medical injury claims are always customized. We cannot provide a fixed price on our website.
Given the quality of the legal assistance they provide, we are definitely not in favor of legal expenses insurers. However, in the case of medical injuries, it can sometimes be financially better for you to ask your own legal expenses insurer for assistance. This is because there are no costs involved for you.
You may also be eligible for government-funded legal aid based on your income, with or without a personal contribution. This may also be less expensive for you than contacting our office.
In case of medical injury, always seek legal assistance
As a victim of medical injury, you'll quickly find it necessary to recover your damages. Not many people can afford all sorts of extra expenses out of pocket these days, or can afford a drop in income due to disability.
In practice, claiming and assessing medical damages proves to be a very complex process. You can't do it without the help of a specialized personal injury firm. To win your case, you must demonstrate that your treating specialist made a mistake. In reality, this proves very difficult.
Claiming medical damages requires extensive legal and medical expertise. At Van der Toorn Personal Injury Law Firm, we have all this expertise in-house. Our personal injury specialists are highly experienced and committed to a personal and decisive approach.
Have you suffered medical injuries and need advice?
Please feel free to contact us. There's no obligation. We'll give you honest and clear advice, and then you can decide for yourself what you want to do with it.
You can reach us via the form on our website, by phone, or by email. You can even chat. Whatever works best for you.
Van der Toorn Personal Injury is happy to help you, effectively and usually for FREE.
About the author
The information on this page was written by Ms. Juliëtte van Daal-Brienen, Coordinator of the Personal Injury Helpdesk and specialized in liability, insurance law, and personal injury. The content of this page is based entirely on the daily practice of Juliëtte's Helpdesk.
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).
upfront written cost guarantee 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 due to the fault of another person injury (been injured)
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 as soon as possible contact
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 without obligation us
We'll give you right away advice clear. 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.
Stories from the field
I received excellent help with my personal injury claim and it cost me nothing!
One Sunday, I was hit by a car. A car didn't give me the right of way and hit my right leg. I fell off my bike and immediately knew something was wrong.
The ambulance took me to the hospital. I had to have surgery right away. Pins and plates in my leg, almost a year of rehabilitation, but it never fully recovered.
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