The carrier is always liable unless it proves that your injury could not have been prevented despite precautions
Hundreds of thousands of us use public transport daily. Traveling by tram, bus, train, taxi, or metro is almost always safe, usually comfortable, and—during rush hour—sometimes faster than many other modes of transport.
But just as in traffic, there is simply a chance that you personal injury . It is actually only serious accidents in public transport that make the public eye. However, people injuries and personal damage in public transport every day.
Common injuries in public transport
- a collision with another vehicle
- a collision with another tram, bus or metro
- a single-vehicle collision
- a fall due to unexpected hard acceleration or braking
- a fall while getting in or out or
- a fall on the platform or in a waiting room
In all these cases, you may sustain injury and personal injury damages. The transport company has a legal obligation to ensure “safe transport”. This is regulated in the Passenger Transport Act.
The carrier is almost always liable for your personal injury. Only if the carrier proves that your injury could not have been prevented, despite all precautions, will they be exempt from liability. That sounds complicated, and it is.
Liability for personal injury in public transport
When you, as a traveler, use a tram, bus, metro, train or taxi, separate legal provisions apply.
By purchasing a ticket or taking out a subscription, you enter into an agreement with the carrier. The carrier must ensure that you arrive safely at your destination. This is called a “duty of care”. Therefore, if you safely at your destination arrive, the carrier is liable. The carrier can only be released from this liability if it can prove that your injury and personal injury could not have been prevented despite all possible precautionary measures.
So, if the carrier made a mistake, or the means of transport was defective or malfunctioning, the carrier is almost always liable for your personal injury. However, please note that the statute of limitations for personal injury in public transport is 3 years. In other words, you must hold the carrier liable within 3 years of sustaining the injury.
In case of injury on public transport, always contact a personal injury agency
If you sustain injuries on public transport, the carrier is almost always liable, unless they can demonstrate that all precautions were taken, but the accident could still not have been prevented.
The carrier's insurer therefore has an interest in claiming that the accident was simply unavoidable. And sometimes they do so against their better judgment. The carrier itself also has an interest in this, as they often have a high deductible and must pay much of the personal injury damages themselves. This is the only way to avoid their obligation to compensate you for your injuries.
It's important for you any injuries sustained during transport immediately report. Not only to the driver or conductor, but also to the transport company. Almost all major transport companies have a dedicated phone number for this purpose. If possible, ask the people around you for their names and addresses so you have witnesses. And remember all the details of your journey. Also, don't wait unnecessarily long to see a doctor.
Since you nevertheless run the risk of the carrier giving you the runaround or, even worse, leaving you in the dark, you would be wise to also immediately engage a personal injury firm . That way, you can at least be certain that there is someone looking solely out for your interests. We believe that is certainly reassuring.
If you ask us to help you with your personal injury claim, we'll first work with you to ensure liability is acknowledged and the other party pays you an initial advance. From there, we'll help you with the rest of your personal injury claim. And that's free!
Free legal assistance for personal injury involving public transport
Hiring a personal injury law firm is completely free of charge. This is because a carrier or its insurer is also obligated to reimburse your legal costs (i.e., our fee). This is stipulated in Article 6:96. If full liability is accepted, they will also be required to reimburse 100% of your legal costs.
And it is precisely on this point that we distinguish ourselves from other firms. Even if the opposing party does not acknowledge liability, or does not acknowledge it fully, you will receive completely free legal assistance. If, for whatever reason, the opposing party does not reimburse our costs (in full), this is at our business risk and you will not receive an invoice from us. We guarantee this to you in writing in advance, so there are no hidden catches.
Would you like some no-obligation advice on personal injury?
Have you suffered an injury on public transport? Feel free to contact us for a free, no-obligation consultation. This is completely non-binding.
We'll work with you to determine whether you're entitled to compensation for your personal injury. We can almost always tell you immediately—based solely on your personal story—whether you're entitled to compensation. This way, you'll know exactly where you stand.
You can call, email, or chat with us. Whatever works best for you. We'll give you honest and clear advice. Then you can decide for yourself what to do with it.
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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.
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