After previously the bill for compensation of affection damage was approved by the House of Representatives on May 9, 2017, the Senate also approved this bill on April 10, 2018. This is an important step for victims and survivors of personal injury.
Victims of personal injury in the Netherlands are entitled to full compensation for damages. This includes both material and immaterial damages. Material damage includes a wide range of items. It may include costs of various kinds, such as travel expenses for hospital visits, domestic help and care, as well as loss of earning capacity (lost income).
Compensation for immaterial damages (pain and loss of enjoyment of life) is made by awarding a compensation for damages. The amount of damages in the Netherlands is subject to debate. There is a widely held conviction that the damages
- also in European terms - is too low. Initiatives are underway to see if this can be changed.
Third parties - with some exceptions - are not entitled to compensation for the injury or death of another.
The bill submitted by the government to the House of Representatives on May 27, 2014, expands third-party reimbursement options:
1. In cases of serious and permanent injury to a victim, the victim's loved ones are entitled to grievances (ranging from
€12,500 to €17,500)
2. If a loved one dies, the next of kin are entitled to damages (ranging from €15,000 to €20,000)
In such cases, intangible damages are also referred to as ‘affection damages.
The bill also gives clearer and broader content to the right of victims to claim compensation for the costs of care, nursing, counseling and domestic assistance. If a loved one takes on care duties for the victim and is forced to work less as a result, the victim can claim the resulting damage as compensation.
Thus, the draft law involves a broadening of the possibilities to claim damages. This is not the first time that it has been proposed in the Netherlands to make affection damage eligible for compensation. Last time, the proposal was widely supported in the Lower House, but then voted down in the Senate - to the disappointment of many. It is important for victims and survivors that the Senate has now agreed to this bill, also because it gives recognition for this kind of suffering. But there is still much work to be done to improve the position of vulnerable victims. Arlette Schijns: ‘Thus, crime victims should be able to receive compensation for their damages, including their affection damages, directly from the insurer of the person convicted of the crime. In this way, crime victims, like victims of traffic accidents and medical errors, can also receive actual compensation for their damages.’
See also an earlier interview with John Beer on this topic and a interview with Arlette Schijns in the April 9, 2018, broadcast of Nieuwsuur.