Employer usually liable for industrial accident caused by colleague
The law (Article 7:658 BW) states that, in principle, your employer always liable if you have an accident while performing your duties. The “only” thing you essentially have to do yourself is demonstrate that you workplace accident had injuries . You do not actually even need to explain exactly how the workplace accident occurred.
Your employer will then have to demonstrate that they have met all their safety obligations, or that the workplace accident would still have happened if sufficient safety measures had been taken.
Personal injury caused by a colleague
In the Netherlands, an employer is also liable for personal injury caused by a colleague. So, if you sustain an injury due to a colleague's fault, your employer is liable for it. And fortunately, you do not have to hold your own colleague liable.
Your employer's liability for personal injury caused by a colleague is governed by Article 6:170. This primarily concerns errors that occurred. For example, an employee who fell down a staircasebecause his colleague hadn't secured it. Or because a colleague forklift hit you commuting or at another work location.
However, your employer can even be liable for mistakes made by your colleagues outside of working hours. That liability also extends very far, as can be the examples below clearly deduced
- An employee sitting on a chair during a break is grabbed from behind by a colleague. This causes him to have severe difficulty breathing and sustains injuries. The man is suing his employer, and the court ruled that the employer is indeed liable. In this case, the court found that not only the performance of the work itself was decisive, but also the colleague's actions during a break.
- A taxi driver assaults another person on the street during working hours. The victim sues both the driver and his employer for damages. The judge clearly states that an employer can also be held liable for crimes and mischief intentionally committed by subordinates—including colleagues. This applies even if these occur outside the assigned duties, as long as they are committed during work for which the employer uses the subordinate.
Fortunately, your employer is almost always insured
Fortunately, your employer is almost always insured against personal injury caused by a colleague. Therefore, your employer and colleague have nothing to do with the financial settlement of your personal injury claim. That is handled by the insurer. Your personal injury will also not cost your employer or colleague any money, because that is precisely what insurance is for. So you do not need to worry about that.
Normally, your employer will report personal injury caused by a colleague to their insurance company themselves. To the extent that they do not do so (which would be improper, by the way), you will unfortunately have to hold your employer liable yourself first. After that, your employer will – ideally – forward the liability claim to their insurer as soon as possible, who will then contact you directly. And it is precisely such “initial conversations” regarding the accident and your personal injury that turn out not to be in your best interest!
Contact a personal injury agency immediately
Waiting too long to hold your employer liable, or starting to write all sorts of letters yourself, isn't wise. In fact, if you wait too long, you risk your employer's insurer no longer having to provide coverage. And then your employer's insurer won't be obligated to compensate you for your personal injury.
So, if you wait too long, your employer will have to pay for your personal injury damages themselves. And naturally, you would rather avoid that! Besides, the longer you wait, the harder it becomes to trace your colleague's mistake. After all, they might not even work for the company anymore, or they might have “forgotten” the incident.
Trying to resolve your personal injury claim yourself first is n't always in your best interest. This can be because your employer refuses to report your injury to the Labor Inspectorate or their insurer. Therefore, you're trying to secure a financial settlement that's insufficient. Or it can be because you're facing a dispute with your employer's insurer, who has far greater expertise in personal injury matters than you do.
It's always best to hire a personal injury law firm to help handle your injury claim. costs of your personal injury law firm 's insurer must reimburse. This is stipulated in Article 6:96 of the Dutch Civil Code.
FREE legal assistance for personal injury resulting from a workplace accident
At Van der Toorn Personal Injury, our assistance with personal injury caused by a colleague is always free!
A liable party is also obliged to reimburse your legal costs (read: our fees). This is stipulated in Article 6:96. Legally speaking, therefore, our costs constitute a separate part of your total personal injury claim.
We can almost always tell you during our first contact, based on your personal story, whether you are entitled to compensation for your personal injury. We do this purely based on our legal expertise.
If we conclude together that you have a good chance of receiving personal injury compensationprovide you immediately. This guarantee confirms in writing that our assistance will not cost you anything. This also applies if:
- liability is not recognized by your employer's insurer
- you – for example due to undue pressure from your employer or fear for your employment contract – must decide not to pursue your personal injury case
- our invoices are not or only partially reimbursed by the other party for other reasons.
our costs not have to advance or anything similar. In fact, you won't even see our invoices. Because they go directly and separately from your total personal injury claim to the liable party. And that party must settle them directly and separately with us as well.
Injured by a colleague? Ask for advice!
If your injury was caused by a colleague, please feel free to contact us for advice. You can do so via the form on our website, by phone, email, or even via chat. Whatever works best for you.
We'll provide you with honest and clear advice, without any obligation. Afterward, you can decide for yourself what you want 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
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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