On Jan. 26, 2019, the John Beer interviewed on the Argos radio program about the settlement of medical errors, which is often very difficult and not always fair. In the broadcast, a proposal to have that settlement take place in a fundamentally different way was discussed.
Climbing hall and directors convicted of fatal fall of 11-year-old boy
June 20, 2025
Today the Amsterdam District Court (Criminal Chamber) handed down its verdict in the "Climbing Wall" case. In this sad case, a boy fell 14 meters down during a children's party because it turned out he was not properly secured. This became fatal to him. Arlette Schijns, Irene Timmermans and Nicole Hoogenboom assisted the relatives in the criminal case in which the legal entity and two directors were prosecuted for culpable homicide. The Amsterdam court reached a conviction of all three defendants as supervision was inadequate and essential precautions were lacking. Leaving securing while climbing to an inexperienced parent, while the supervisors were busy baking pancakes, among other things, was irresponsible. A painful conclusion, now that the death could have been prevented. For parents, the claims for compensation of affection damage as well as shock damage were granted, both with respect to the damages and (part of) the costs incurred and lost income. The judgment is satisfactory, but is only a very small plaster for an immense wound. For more information about the ruling For the NOS report