Personal injury

• Personal injury (PI): Physical or psychological harm resulting from another party’s actions, arising from incidents like traffic accidents, workplace mishaps, or poorly maintained public spaces.
• Types of damages: Claims are divided into material damages (quantifiable financial losses like lost income and medical expenses) and non-material damages (court-assessed compensation for pain, suffering, and lost enjoyment of life).
• Free legal support: Under Article 6:96 of the Dutch Civil Code, the at-fault party’s insurer must cover the claimant’s legal fees, removing financial risk and balancing the playing field against corporate insurers.
• Kracht’s assistance: Kracht! Letselschade manages the entire legal and evaluation process through dedicated specialists who provide personalized, in-person support so the injured individual can focus on recovery.

Personal injury refers to the physical and/or psychological harm you suffer as a result of someone else’s actions. It includes both material damages and non-material damages.

How can personal injury occur?

In most cases, personal injury results from a traffic accident or a workplace accident — that’s what most people think of first. But other situations can also cause injury (and therefore personal injury), such as a dog bite, poorly maintained roads, or a slippery shop floor. Even occupational illnesses — like burnout or back problems from heavy work — can lead to personal injury.

When are you entitled to compensation?

An injury often has a major impact on your life. You may be unable to work or study for a while, causing loss of income or study delays. You might also face additional expenses, for example, for medical treatment, home adaptations, or help with daily tasks.

The emotional and psychological consequences can be just as severe — chronic pain, anxiety, lasting limitations, or losing something important to you, such as your job, sport, or hobby.

That’s why it’s important to know that you may be entitled to compensation if someone else is liable for your accident. The basic principle is clear: you should be restored, as much as possible, to the situation you would have been in if the accident had never happened — both financially and personally.

In personal injury cases, we distinguish between material damages and non-material damages — the latter also known as compensation for pain and suffering.

Material damages

Material damages include all financial losses directly related to the accident, such as:

• Lost income (now and in the future)
• Travel and parking expenses
• Costs of home modifications
• Costs of household help
• Costs of assistance with maintenance or chores
• Costs of personal care support
• Damaged personal belongings
• Costs resulting from the study delay
• Costs of unused tickets or subscriptions

Non-material damages (compensation for pain and suffering)

Non-material damages — or compensation for pain and suffering — cover the physical pain, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life caused by the accident.

The amount of compensation depends on the specific circumstances of each case. Courts determine this based on comparable rulings, as published in the ANWB Compensation Guide for Pain and Suffering (ANWB Smartengeldgids).

Legal Fees

You don’t have to worry about legal fees. In personal injury cases, the costs of hiring a personal injury specialist are fully covered by the at-fault party’s insurance under Dutch law (per Article 6:96 of the Dutch Civil Code).

Filing a personal injury claim can be a lengthy and complex process, especially when you are trying to focus on your recovery. For many people, the idea of getting professional legal help without ever receiving a bill sounds too good to be true. Yet, under Dutch law (Article 6:96 of the Dutch Civil Code), this is clearly and firmly established: our legal assistance is completely free of charge for you.

Why is legal help free?

The Dutch legislature determined that an accident victim should never be financially burdened by the costs of seeking justice. When you are injured due to someone else’s fault, you are suddenly thrown into a web of complicated legal and medical procedures. On the other side is the insurance company. A highly professional corporate entity backed by a team of experienced lawyers. Without your own expert, you start at a major disadvantage.

To level the playing field, the law states that the cost of hiring a personal injury specialist is considered part of your total damages. This means the liable party (or their insurer) is legally required to pay not only for your physical damages, pain, and suffering, but also for your legal fees.

Why you shouldn’t handle a claim alone

While you are legally allowed to handle a claim yourself, insurance company claims specialists often “overlook” certain types of damages or undervalue them. Without specific legal and financial expertise, it is incredibly difficult to know exactly what you can claim and how each item of damage should be calculated. This could mean you end up receiving far less than you are truly entitled to.

By utilizing your right to free legal support, you gain an expert who will advocate for your best interests. A personal injury specialist almost always secures a significantly higher compensation amount than someone handling the claim alone.

Best of all, we take care of the entire legal process for you, allowing you to focus entirely on your healing and recovery—with total financial peace of mind.

Personal injury has a major impact — not only on your body, but also on your life, your work, and your future. Whether you’ve been injured in a traffic accident or a workplace accident, our experienced personal injury specialists are here to help you claim fair compensation.

At Kracht! Letselschade, everything revolves around your recovery. We listen to your story, provide clear explanations, and are fully committed to finding a solution that does justice to your situation. We take care of the entire legal process so you can focus on what truly matters: getting better.

Why choose Kracht! Letselschade?

• • With us, you’re not just a case number. You’ll have one dedicated personal injury specialist guiding you through the entire process.
  • We always visit you in person — at home, at work, or in the hospital. Wherever you feel most comfortable.
  • If necessary, we’ll visit the scene of the accident together. This helps us get a complete picture of what happened and represent your interests even better.
  • We dig deep into your case and don’t let go until you’ve received fair compensation.
  • We think in solutions, go the extra mile, and keep going — especially when others give up.
  • If needed, we bring in one of our affiliated litigation lawyers.
  • Our clients rate us 9.8/10 on Klantenvertellen.nl and we have excellent reviews on Google.
  • We are certified according to the National Personal Injury Quality Mark.