Personal injury in the Netherlands, a thriving market


Personal injury in the Netherlands, a thriving market

It has a major impact on your health, an accident. Think of whiplash complaints after a traffic accident, a complicated fracture or brain damage due to an industrial accident or nerve injury after a dog bite. If you have been injured in a personal injury case, you need a personal injury lawyer. For example, a personal injury lawyer in Rotterdam (Dutch: letselschade advocaat Rotterdam) after an industrial accident in the port of Rotterdam.

The personal injury system in the Netherlands

Do you need a personal injury lawyer in Amsterdam or elsewhere in the Netherlands, then you are dealing with the best system in Europe and perhaps in the world. Not so much regarding the compensation of damages, but regarding the reimbursement of the costs of a personal injury lawyer.

In many countries, a personal injury victim must pay the costs of a personal injury lawyer themselves. These costs can add up, often an hourly rate is at least € 200.00. A small allowance is available in several countries, such as Germany and Austria. But in most countries, this is not the case. For example, a personal injury victim in Belgium or France must fully reimburse his or her costs.

In the Netherlands, the reimbursement of costs of a personal injury lawyer or personal injury lawyer is regulated by law. If you need a personal injury lawyer in the Netherlands, you can often engage them for free. The law stipulates that the costs of legal assistance are part of the personal injury compensation. So, if you have an accident in the Netherlands and someone else is liable for it, you can call in a personal injury lawyer at the expense of the other party. Because most people are insured and there is even compulsory insurance for drivers of motor vehicles, the personal injury insurer usually pays the costs of legal assistance.

Disadvantages of the Dutch system

Of course, the Dutch system is unique and very nice for personal injury victims. But there is a downside to the system. It is mainly used by smart entrepreneurs. The law states that the costs of legal assistance are part of the personal injury compensation. Not that there is a right to free help from a personal injury lawyer. As a result, personal injury lawyers and even non-legally trained persons may also call themselves personal injury specialists.

The result is that there is a proliferation of rogue personal injury agencies in the Netherlands that offer free help with personal injury claims. These personal injury bureaus often have little or no knowledge of the law. The result is that a victim of a traffic accident or industrial accident is not or not properly helped. This with all the harmful consequences that entails. For example, because too little compensation is paid or because future personal injury is not considered.

The system in the Netherlands is therefore very favorable for personal injury victims on the one hand. On the other hand, it is harmful to victims of a traffic accident, industrial accident, or dog bite. After all, non-professional parties are now also holding property with personal injury claims, with all the harmful consequences that entails.

In other European countries there is no comparable system as in the Netherlands. In other countries, the costs of a personal injury lawyer are therefore largely borne by the victim of an accident.