What about compensation for pain and suffering in the event of personal injury?
Non -pecuniary damages are intended to compensate you for your emotional distress. Therefore, non-pecuniary damages are only one component of your total personal injury damages.
Non-pecuniary damages
It is often thought that the term “pain and suffering” refers to a person’s total personal injury damages. That idea is understandable in itself, but it is incorrect.
Pain and suffering compensation is a very special part of your total personal injury claim. It is a separate payment you receive for the suffering inflicted upon you. It is compensation for “loss of enjoyment of life, and loss yet to be lost,” or “non-material damages,” as it is officially called.
In addition to compensation for pain and suffering, you are also entitled to compensation for all your other personal injury damages. In the Netherlands, this concerns all extra costs (including unpaid informal care) that you injury have incurred and continue to incur
In addition, you are entitled to all income that you have lost and will continue to lose due to your injury.
When is compensation payable?
If you suffer bodily injury due to the fault of another, you are always entitled, under the law, to compensation for your "emotional damage", also known as non-pecuniary damages or damages for non-material damage.
In the Netherlands, only the victim is entitled to compensation for non-pecuniary damages. For example, if someone's partner or child dies, there's unfortunately no legal option for non-pecuniary damages. In those cases, you are entitled to other forms of compensation, death damages .
What is non-pecuniary damages or compensation for pain and suffering?
The term "non-pecuniary damages" already tells you that it's not about material damages; it's about mental harm. This is also sometimes referred to as "loss of enjoyment of life" or "emotional harm.".
Please note that in addition to compensation for pain and suffering, you are also always entitled to compensation for your material injury, which may include:
additional costs and lost income
If you have sustained injuries due to, for example, a traffic accident or workplace accident , you are therefore always entitled to compensation for pain and suffering or non-material damages.
Non-pecuniary damages are intended solely to compensate you for your grief, pain, or other loss of enjoyment of life. You will receive non-pecuniary damages in addition to compensation for your other personal injuries, such as additional costs and loss of income. It is usually the liability insurer of the person who caused the damage that is required to reimburse your non-pecuniary damages.
Amount of non-pecuniary damages in the Netherlands
Would you like expert advice on calculating non-pecuniary damages?
The amount of non-pecuniary damages is determined in the Netherlands in a somewhat unusual way. When determining non-pecuniary damages, the following factors, among others, are considered:
- the type of injury you sustained and its severity
- whether or not to be admitted to hospital or to a rehabilitation clinic and the duration thereof
- the duration and severity of the medical treatments
- the final duration of your injury recovery
- the pain you experienced during your recovery
- the pain you will continue to have in the future
- the presence of permanent residual limitations
- the presence of permanent, visible consequences of the injury (for example, scars or the inability to walk properly)
- the impact of these lasting, visible consequences on your work, relationships, social circle and leisure activities
- the duration and degree of disability resulting from your injury
- the degree of limitation in the development of your future working life.
The sum of these considerations results in a specific amount of compensation for pain and suffering, which must be reimbursed to you by the liable party. Unfortunately, this is not a matter of "measure twice, know twice," easy-to-read tables, or fixed amounts. The ANWB Smartengeldgids (ANWB serve as the starting point for determining your compensation for pain and suffering.
The ANWB Non-pecuniary Damages Guide
All rulings by Dutch judges ever made ANWB Non-pecuniary Damages Guide.
This guide is used by judges and personal injury specialists as a guide in determining the amount of your non-pecuniary damages. The most recent version is the 24th edition (2019). The guide lists all court rulings on non-pecuniary damages.
The judgments are listed by category, namely non-pecuniary damages after:
- accident
- medical error
- abuse
- non-injury and
- joinder in criminal proceedings.
You usually have to deal with personal injury and compensation for pain and suffering after an accident.
Within each category a distinction is made between “types” of injury:
- leg and foot injuries
- arm and hand injuries
- head, brain and nerve injuries, psychological damage
- eye injury
- ear injury
- loss of smell and taste
- disfigurement of the face and body
- shoulder, chest and spine injuries
- whiplash injury
- hip and pelvic injuries, damage to internal organs
- impaired speech, mouth injury and
- injury to the genitals.
Compared to neighboring countries and the United States, the compensation for pain and suffering in the Netherlands is certainly not generous. In fact, many personal injury victims don't even experience the amount of compensation as a proverbial "band-aid" but as a downright disappointment.
It's therefore wise not to discuss the amount of your non-pecuniary damages with the liable party yourself. Determining non-pecuniary damages requires significant legal, medical, and specialized knowledge. Furthermore, emotional feelings and thoughts also play a role in determining your non-pecuniary damages.
Examples of non-pecuniary damages payments
View examples of non-pecuniary damages
Below you will find some examples of compensation for pain and suffering.
mentioned in the 2012 Pain and Suffering Guide amount of pain and suffering after an accident amounts to €210.00. The highest is €178,336 (indexed), for a 25-year-old recently graduated dentist with serious injury. The examples:
Non-material damages €7,500.00 after amputation of right little finger
Non-pecuniary Damages Guide | 2010 Additions | Calculating Non-pecuniary Damages for Whiplash
Amount of non-pecuniary damages €100,000 after brain injury due to employer's fault
Non-pecuniary Damages Guide | 2011 Additions | Calculating Non-pecuniary Damages for Whiplash
Calculate non-pecuniary damages / compensation for pain and suffering
Of course, you can try to calculate the amount of your compensation for pain and suffering. And then attempt to recover your compensation from the opposing party. Sometimes that works out fine, but that is really only the case when it involves very minor injuries and is therefore a matter of "tens of euros".
The situation changes when your injury has more consequences for you than just a visit to your GP. In that case, you must ask yourself whether it is sufficiently in your interest to calculate and claim. Ultimately, determining compensation for pain and suffering is quite complicated.
No two personal injuries are the same, so calculating compensation for pain and suffering is a customized approach. Furthermore, the liable insurer has an advantage in this regard, as they are simply more expert in the field of pain and suffering than you are.
A good personal injury specialist—the name says it all—knows better than anyone how to calculate your compensation. We'll work with you to determine the appropriate amount. And we'll claim it for you.
We will also calculate your other personal injury damages, such as your additional costs and lost income. Your total personal injury damages must be properly compensated by the other party. We will work with you to ensure this.
Would you like to know more about our free legal assistance?
The support of a personal injury specialist is almost always free of charge for you, under the law.
At our firm, we take this a step further. During our initial consultation, we'll work with you to determine whether you're actually entitled to free legal aid. If so, we'll provide you with a firm cost guarantee upfront.
If the other party refuses to reimburse our costs, that's our business risk, and you won't receive an invoice from us. Our first visit is always free of charge and without obligation.
Read HERE for you FREE and why we can give you a cost guarantee in advance.
Do you have a question about non-pecuniary damages or other personal injury claims? Contact us for a free initial consultation.
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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
That conveyor belt just pulled two of my fingers along with it…
As a temp, I was assigned to work on a sort of assembly line. They explained to me that I had to clean the conveyor belt occasionally, otherwise it would get too cluttered and jam. After a week of working on the conveyor belt, I noticed it was starting to malfunction.
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