Unfortunately, not all products you buy in a store, at the market or through an online store are safe
We hear this all too often in the media. Things can go wrong with a product you bought in several ways:
- a bottle of soda explodes in your face
- you suffer burns from, for example, an electric blanket or a leaking hot water bottle
- when you turn on an incandescent or LED lamp it explodes
- You bought a new bicycle and the handlebars or frame suddenly break off
- you use foods that appear to be spoiled or contaminated
- there are shards of glass in the baby food or
- or toys or other products you have purchased may cause unintended injury.
These are just a few examples of unsafe products that can cause injury to your children or yourself. The manufacturer, importer, or seller of the unsafe product may then be liable for the injuries to your children or yourself. This is called product liability.
Unsafe product
As a "consumer," you can expect a product to be safe and usable. If not, it's legally considered an "unsafe product.".
According to Article 6:186 of the Dutch Civil Code, a product is unsafe: “if it does not provide the safety that one may expect from it, taking all circumstances into account and in particular:
- the reasonably foreseeable use of the product
- the time at which the product was put into circulation and
- the presentation of the product”.
The law does stipulate the following condition: "that you use the product in principle in the manner expected of you." Because if you don't, you can be legally held accountable.
Product liability
Anyone who markets a product is liable if it turns out to be unsafe, and if it causes injury to you or your family. This is product liability.
Product liability therefore only covers injuries caused by the unsafe product, not the defective product itself.
The Product Liability Act considers a wide variety of products. An unsafe product can be:
- a car or other means of transportation
- foodstuffs
- household appliances
- Do-It-Yourself products
- raw materials and components of a product
- all kinds of other purchased “material products” and even
- gas, water and electricity and the associated equipment.
In product liability cases, you can choose who you hold liable:
- the manufacturer of the unsafe product
- the company that has attached its name to the unsafe product
- the importer who imported the unsafe product into the EC or
- the supplier of the unsafe product, when it cannot be determined who the producer or importer is.
Unsafe product and personal injury
If you suffer injury from an unsafe product, the manufacturer or supplier is liable for your damages. It's logical that you'd want compensation for your injuries. This isn't unusual, nor is it "claimant behavior.".
In the Netherlands, product liability injury consists of four different components:
- additional costs
- lost income (income loss)
- compensation for pain and suffering (loss of enjoyment of life) and
- your legal costs (the fee of the personal injury firm you have engaged).
The liable party will have to compensate all your personal injury damages. This includes your legal fees (i.e., our fees). This means legal assistance completely free of charge.
Personal injury due to unsafe product: always contact a personal injury agency!
If you've suffered personal injury due to an unsafe product, it's always best to contact a personal injury firm immediately. Establishing product liability is a legally complex, time-consuming, and frustrating process. You simply can't do it yourself.
Moreover, the legal stakes for your opponent are enormous. Perhaps not only you, but many thousands of others, have suffered personal injury due to an unsafe product. And if your personal injury is to be compensated, so too are the damages of all those other people.
You also need to remember that the liable party—almost always an insurer—deals with personal injury claims day in and day out. And this is your first time. Your counterparty is simply more expert, so you have a knowledge gap compared to the liable party.
But even if the liable party genuinely has your best interests at heart, you can never be certain of that. After all, you lack the necessary knowledge and experience. You might therefore also engage a personal injury firm purely to avoid facing your opposing party alone. Or perhaps you simply want to be able to verify whether the liable party is indeed acting properly according to best practices. And that, too, is logical.
So, it's not a matter of trust or distrust, but of verifying your lack of "personal injury knowledge." It might be helpful to know that the law explicitly states that you can seek legal assistance in the event of personal injury. And that this assistance will be completely free of charge for you as a personal injury victim.
FREE legal assistance with product liability
Our legal assistance is completely free of charge in all cases. The law stipulates that the costs of a personal injury lawyer are considered a separate component of your total personal injury claim. This is stipulated in Article 6:96 of the Dutch Civil Code.
If the other party acknowledges liability, they (almost always their insurer) must also reimburse our costs. This means our assistance is completely free of charge for you (FREE).
Our invoices are billed directly and separately from your own personal injury to the other party. They, in turn, must settle our invoices with us directly and separately from your total personal injury claim. You don't need to pay our invoices upfront or anything like that. In fact, you'll never even see our invoices. You can focus on your recovery, and we'll ensure your personal injury is compensated.
What if liability is not acknowledged?
In product liability cases, this is a legitimate concern. Because an opposing party will do anything, if not everything, to avoid liability for an unsafe product.
Compared to other firms, we are truly unique in this respect. We'll work with you to assess your personal injury claim from the very first contact. If we believe the other party is liable for your injury, we'll immediately provide you with a clear cost estimate.
You receive a written guarantee upfront that we will never charge you any costs. So, if your counterparty unexpectedly refuses to acknowledge liability, you won't receive an invoice from us. This also applies if the counterparty refuses to (fully) reimburse our costs for other reasons.
As expert personal injury specialists, we know better than anyone else when a third party is liable for an unsafe product, especially in product liability cases. That's why we confidently offer you a cost guarantee.
What now?
When it comes to product liability, it's always wise to advice . Even initial consultations are always free and without obligation, so what's stopping you?
You can call us, email us, or even chat with us. Whatever works best for you. We'll give you honest, well-informed advice. And then you can decide for yourself what to do with it.
About the author
The information on this page was written by Floris de Bruin, a specialist in liability and personal injury. The content of this page fully complies with the requirements of the National Quality Mark for Personal Injury (NKL).
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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