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Whiplash insurance
firms in the Netherlands, we have extensive experience with injuries whiplash injury.
Whiplash victims ask us daily for help with their personal injury claims and compensation. Sometimes, this happens very shortly after their accident. Sometimes, it only happens later, for example, when the liable insurer becomes difficult about whiplash and compensation.
It also often happens that a personal injury victim feels that their legal expenses insurer or personal injury advocate isn't doing their best. Or it seems like your own advocate isn't taking your whiplash seriously enough either, or seems to agree with the other party more than you.
When it comes to whiplash compensation, the combination of “whiplash insurance” is a “difficult one,” both legally and financially.
When it comes to whiplash and compensation, you almost always have to deal with the insurance company of the person who caused the damage. Or sometimes with your own insurance company. And insurance companies often have very different views on whiplash than you and we do. So what then?
Are you dealing with whiplash and the opposing party's insurance? Then do not wait too long and ask for advice in any case. This is 100% without obligation for you. Often, we can immediately indicate the situation and what is best for you – simply based on what you tell us.
And should you advice require our specialized legal assistance, this is also completely free of charge. This is regulated by law (Article 6:96 BW).
People choose us because:
- 15,000+ victims helped
- Customer rating of 9+
- The specialist in whiplash insurance and personal injury
- The most involved personal injury law firm in the Netherlands
Whiplash insurance
Whiplash is an “acceleration declaration trauma,” in which your neck and cervical spine are excessively stretched and bent extremely backward and/or forward in a fraction of a second by a sudden, violent swinging movement of your head.
Whiplash mainly occurs in rear-end or side-end collisions, but it can also occur in head-on collisions.
Medical complaints that are most prominent in whiplash include pain in the neck, head, shoulders, and arms, dizziness, difficulty concentrating and remembering, and visual problems (such as reading difficulties and sensitivity to light). Emotional complaints, cognitive problems, and behavioral changes are also common.
Causes of whiplash
Whiplash usually occurs as a result of a car accident, most often from a rear-end collision.
But we also often see whiplash caused by side collisions or a head-on collision.
This doesn't just apply to collisions between cars. Cyclists, pedestrians, and scooter riders suffer whiplash almost as often as car drivers.
Whiplash can actually occur in many different ways. Below are the most common causes:
- car accident
- accident on a scooter, moped or light motorcycle
- you were a passenger or you were sitting on the back
- bicycle accident
- motorcycle accident
- collision with a dog or game, such as a deer or wild boar
- accident on public transport
- industrial accident
- slipping, tripping or falling
- faulty road
- different behavior of an animal.
Each type of accident has its own legal rules
In any case, you will almost always have to deal with the combination “whiplash insurance”.
Sometimes the other party will accept liability without any discussion. But sometimes an insurance company can be very reluctant to do so.
However, with whiplash and insurance (combination: "whiplash insurance for the other party"), liability is often not the biggest issue. Especially not when it concerns a collision.
The problem with whiplash and the other party's insurance is that whiplash injuries are not considered a serious and permanent injury by an insurer.
And that – if you do not engage the right legal assistance – always comes at the expense of your compensation. And surely that cannot be the intention?
How can I help you?
Floris de Bruin
Commercial Director
Commercial Director
Whiplash, third party insurance and compensation
Whiplash almost always has adverse financial consequences for you.
Perhaps not very soon after the accident. But what if, for example, you need physiotherapy and you're not adequately insured? Or you're disabled, unable to work, and are missing out on income?
If your whiplash was caused by the fault of another party, it is logical that you would want to be reimbursed for your financial losses (additional expenses and lost income) by the other party's insurance.
In fact, sometimes you may be entitled to compensation even if your whiplash was your own fault, or you believe it was your own fault.
But beware, with whiplash, you'll always have to deal with insurance. Either the other party's insurance or your own. The combination "whiplash insurance" isn't always to your advantage. On the contrary, if it takes a long time for you to recover from your whiplash, insurance will always become a problem.
Have you suffered whiplash after an accident? Are you dealing with the other party's insurer or your own whiplash insurance? Be sure to ask us for advice. It's free and 100% non-binding.
We can almost always, based on what you tell us, immediately tell you whether you are entitled to whiplash compensation and how best to approach the insurance company you are dealing with.
Do we think it's important for you to seek legal assistance? We'll let you know. By the way, if you choose to use our legal assistance, it will 100% free of charge . Just so you know.
Whiplash insurance
You will almost always have to deal with a liability insurer for your whiplash compensation . In general, the combination of “whiplash insurance” for your whiplash compensation is not very pleasant for you. On the contrary.
Determining liability isn't the biggest problem in most whiplash cases. The real problem often lies in the whiplash compensation claim.
After liability is acknowledged and your financial losses increase over time due to additional costs, third-party assistance and care, and perhaps also due to monthly income losses, the insurer will sooner or later enter into a discussion with you about the "causality" (the causal link) between your whiplash injury and the resulting financial losses.
The reason that insurers in whiplash cases never want to reimburse your full financial loss is because the medical complaints in whiplash are "by their nature" (predominantly) subjective.
In other words, because, according to current medical and scientific knowledge, no underlying anatomical abnormalities or damage can be identified (at least not in a generally accepted manner) (just objectively). Indeed, X-rays and (MRI) scans usually do not reveal any objective abnormalities.
No causal relationship
What many whiplash victims don't know is that there is a big difference between “medical causation” and “legal causation.”.
“Medical causality” concerns the determination of medically objective (visible) abnormalities.
“Legal causality” concerns whether your pattern of complaints is sufficiently plausible from a legal point of view.
Legal causality makes it considerably easier for you, the victim, to demonstrate to the insurance company that you have suffered whiplash.
In more legal terms, the combination “whiplash insurance of the other party” means that:
- the accident mechanism can cause your whiplash symptoms,
- the whiplash complaints are consistent, consequent and coherent,
- the whiplash complaints you experienced before the accident were not present and
- there is no alternative "(other) cause" that can be identified.
If these “requirements” are met, the liability insurer's obligation to pay damages is in principle established.
But, unfortunately, you are still not there when it comes to fair whiplash compensation.
Complaints arise from other causes
In the case of the “opposing party’s whiplash insurance” combination, your opposing party will also argue that your whiplash symptoms could have arisen from other causes (for example, by stating that many people in the Netherlands suffer from neck complaints without having been involved in a collision).
This discussion will also influence the compensation the other party is willing to pay for your whiplash.
Medical history
A third argument used with the "whiplash insurance for the other party" combination is to claim that you already had similar symptoms before the accident. This means your symptoms aren't caused by the accident, but by something else.
Insurers also often try to obtain your "patient record" from your GP for several years prior to the accident. This allows them to allege other potential pre-accident causes, which would have resulted in you, as the victim, having to incur the same costs. Or, worse still, you would have been disabled and had less income.
The collision was not hard enough for whiplash
Sometimes the collision was not considered fast enough by the other party's insurance company (for example, if the speed difference was small or there was hardly any vehicle damage).
In that case, they'll argue that the collision couldn't have caused the injury because the force acting on it was too low. Sometimes, a so-called Delta-V test is suggested. You should never agree to that.
Medical advisor to insurer
Liability insurers will always hide behind the advice of their medical advisor. The medical advisor on behalf of the insurer (a purely non-partisan physician) will also always state that you may have experienced (or will have experienced) complaints and limitations for a few months at most. This is because no neurological abnormalities (i.e., injuries visible on photos/scans) have been identified.
The medical advisor of the opposing party will completely ignore the fact that the doctors and therapists treating you, your company doctor and insurance physician, view this very differently.
Whiplash insurance discussion against better judgment
If you do not recover (sufficiently quickly) or if your financial damage increases significantly anyway, an insurance company will almost always try to avoid its obligation to pay compensation in the event of whiplash, even against its better judgment.
In this case, the insurer's lawyers will almost always hide behind the "medical advisor" who is also employed by the insurer, or hired by the insurer.
As a whiplash victim, don't let whiplash insurance fool you. Make sure you can offer expert support by seeking professional personal injury advocate assistance.
Whiplash insurance: specialized legal assistance is quickly essential!
If you don't yet legal assistance when the other party becomes difficult about your whiplash injury and compensation, or if you think your legal expenses insurance or legal representative seems more inclined to agree with the other party's insurance than with you, what's the point?
Whiplash insurance: always ask for advice!
if you are dealing with hassle and nagging from an insurer regarding your whiplash and compensation advice. This is 100% without obligation and free of charge.
By discussing together what happened, how you are doing, and what the opposing party's arguments are, we can almost always tell you immediately whether those arguments are correct or not.
We can also work together to determine whether you are with the right advocate or whether it would be better for you to switch to another, more specialized personal injury advocate.
If we think you'd be better off with our specialized legal assistance, we'll let you know. You can then decide for yourself what to do with our advice.
Our specialized legal assistance is always 100% free!
We can promise you in advance that if we help you, our specialized assistance will 100% free .
Our costs must also be reimbursed by the other party, separately from your own compensation. This applies even if you change your legal representative. This is legally stipulated.
How can I help you?
Floris de Bruin
Commercial Director
Commercial Director
Whiplash Compensation Insurance
Expenses and reimbursements for assistance and informal care
- (travel) costs for a visit to the Emergency Department or GP
- travel expenses related to your medical treatments
- other travel expenses
- reimbursements for assistance, nursing and care
- compensation for household help and other family assistance
- compensation in connection with informal care
- reimbursement of your deductible from your health insurance
- medical costs that you have to pay yourself
- not (fully) reimbursed medical treatments
- personal contributions for medical consultations and medicines
- resources
- adjustments in and to the house or means of transport
- costs related to the maintenance of your garden
- maintenance work on your home and
- all other expenses incurred as a result of the accident.
Loss of income
- your employer does not pay you 100%
- you are a temporary employee and are not paid (sick leave work)
- will be covered by the Sickness Benefits Act with a maximum of only 70% of your last earned salary
- you have a zero-hours contract and are no longer called up and paid
- you are an on-call worker, you are not paid and you are no longer called up (extra)
- your temporary contract will not be extended
- you were still in your probationary period at the time of the accident and are dismissed
- you are not paid for overtime, irregular hours allowance or extra scheduled working days
- you do not receive your profit sharing, bonus, royalty or other gratuity
- there is no more time-for-time build-up
- you miss a promotion to a higher position and/or salary scale
- you end up in the WIA or WW and therefore only receive 70% of your salary
- you are missing out on pension accrual
Study and study delays
- Due to your whiplash injury, you have to repeat (part of) an academic year, with all the additional costs that entails
- Due to your whiplash, you will enter the job market (partly) a year later and will therefore only start generating income a year later
Useless expenses incurred
Did you incur expenses before the accident that are of no use to you after the accident? Then the insurance company must also reimburse these costs, although whiplash insurance companies may sometimes be difficult about this.
Examples of “costs without benefit” are:
- You have already paid membership fees for your sports club, gym, dance lessons or other paid hobbies, but you cannot use them due to the accident
- You have already purchased tickets for sports events, amusement parks, theaters, music festivals, or other entertainment venues
- rental of services or goods that continues, but which you cannot use
- You have already booked a holiday or weekend away and you can no longer cancel it without costs.
Determining whiplash compensation “item by item”
Your whiplash compensation is determined based on these “items of damage”. First, on an interim basis (via advances on your compensation) and later definitively.
That's quite complicated for you as a "novice" in the field of personal injury. Moreover, the other party's insurance company may have very different views on your whiplash compensation than you do, especially when it comes to higher compensation.
Compensation for chronic whiplash.
If you haven't recovered from your whiplash within a few weeks or months, you may be financially dependent on the other party's compensation for a long time. In that case, you'll need your compensation even more, while the other party's insurance will become increasingly difficult to obtain.
Whiplash insurance: always seek advice.
We know better than anyone that determining compensation for whiplash injuries can be very complicated. Especially when the “average personal injury victim” usually cannot do this themselves.
early on in the event of whiplash legal assistance you to seek
Always ask for a free consultation. It never hurts, and you'll know exactly where you stand.
Compensation for non-pecuniary damage in case of whiplash
In the event of whiplash injury caused by an accident, you are always entitled to compensation for pain and suffering.
This is compensation for your non-material damage, such as pain, grief, and reduced enjoyment of life. Pain and suffering compensation is regulated by law in Article 6:106 of the Dutch Civil Code.
Of course, no amount of money can compensate for your grief, suffering, and physical suffering. Certainly not in the Netherlands, and certainly not in the case of whiplash. Compensation for non-pecuniary damage in the Netherlands is very low compared to neighboring countries.
Still, this compensation for non-pecuniary damages might still help you somewhat. It might make you feel somewhat heard and understood. Although, given the limited amount of compensation for whiplash, it can often be counterproductive.
Free legal assistance
It is good for you to know that our legal assistance with whiplash and compensation is almost always completely free of charge .
If we believe we can help you with your whiplash compensation claim, we guarantee in writing in advance that our legal assistance will be 100% free of charge.
In the Netherlands, it is legally stipulated that a liable party must also reimburse the costs of legal assistance (i.e. our fee).
Whiplash insurance: ALWAYS ask for advice!
Whiplash insurance counterparty: Have you suffered whiplash as a result of an accident?
is , engaging legal assistance very quickly in your best interest. Therefore, do not wait too long to do so. Or take another critical look at your current personal injury representative or your legal expenses insurer to see if they are really doing everything possible to recover your personal injury damages!
You can always ask us for advicewithout any hesitation; there's no harm in doing so. There's no obligation. We can almost always quickly determine whether what your counterparty or current representative is doing is sufficiently in your best interests. We'll give you honest and clear advice, and then you can decide for yourself what to do with it.
And if you ever need further assistance with your whiplash compensation claim, don't worry! We'll be the first to guarantee in writing that our assistance 100% free of charge . We promise!
Would you prefer to contact us directly? Then you can call us or send us a WhatsApp message. If you'd rather take the time to explain what's going on and what you're unsure about, you can use the form on our website or send us an email. Whatever you prefer. We're happy to provide you with expert advice!
How can I help you?
Floris de Bruin
Commercial Director
Commercial Director
Curious about your chances?
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
After the collision, we started having neck pain; we could no longer work..
It happened when I was driving to work with a colleague. Just on the highway, not even in a traffic jam. It was, of course, busy during the morning rush hour. We were going about 70 km/h. Someone behind us wasn't paying attention and crashed right into us. We didn't see it coming at all.
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