Non-material damage amounts: what amounts are realistic?

The amounts for non-material damages — the compensation for pain and suffering you receive for pain, grief, and loss of enjoyment of life — are not based on a single fixed rate, but range within parameters that depend on the nature and severity of your injury. The legal basis is found in Article 6:106 of the Dutch Civil Code: in the event of bodily injury or an infringement of your personal rights, you are entitled to compensation to be determined equitably. Important note: all amounts you see online — including in this article — are indications, not rights. What you receive is always determined on a case-by-case basis.

The short answer

• What is it: non-material damage (pain and suffering) compensates for suffering that cannot be expressed in a bill — pain, anxiety, permanent disabilities, and loss of enjoyment of life.
• When: in the event of physical injury, serious psychological damage, or an infringement of your personal rights caused by the actions of another (Article 6:106 of the Dutch Civil Code).
• How much: in the Netherlands roughly from a few hundred euros for minor, recovering injuries to tens of thousands of euros or more for permanent, serious injuries — but these are indications, not fixed rates.
• How determined: based on comparable rulings, often via the ANWB Smartengeldgids; the judge weighs all circumstances fairly.
• Costs: in a recoverable case, the liable insurer also pays for your legal assistance (Article 6:96 paragraph 2 of the Dutch Civil Code), so help generally costs you nothing.

What exactly are amounts for non-material damage?

Non-material damage is the counterpart to material damage. Material damage consists of concrete costs and loss of income; non-material damage relates to the suffering itself. Because pain and grief cannot be objectively expressed in monetary terms, the law does not provide a table of fixed prices. Article 6:106 of the Dutch Civil Code deliberately speaks of compensation “in equity”: the judge — or, in negotiation, the insurer — estimates a reasonable amount based on all the circumstances of your case.

Would you like to know first how non-material damage relates to your total claim? Then read our explanation of non-material damage, in which we explain the concept and the difference compared to material damage. This article, however, goes a step further: it covers the amounts and ranges encountered in practice.

How are the amounts determined?

In the Netherlands, compensation for pain and suffering is not calculated using a formula, but derived from previous court rulings in similar cases. The main tools used for this are:

• The ANWB Smartengeldgids, a reference work that organizes hundreds of published rulings by type and severity of injury. A personal injury lawyer uses this to compare your case with similar cases.
• The so-called Rotterdam scale, a tool that links compensation for pain and suffering to the degree of functional loss and the duration of recovery, in order to make judgments more comparable.
• Recent case law: because amounts for pain and suffering have risen slightly over the years, a personal injury expert also consults the most recent rulings via sources such as rechtspraak.nl.

These tools provide a direction, not an outcome. Two people with the “same” fracture can receive different amounts because their recovery, age, and permanent disabilities differ.

Indicative ranges by severity of injury

To give you a sense of the order of magnitude, below are some general ranges as they occur in Dutch practice. Please read them explicitly as indications: they are not rates, promises, or lower or upper limits for your case.

• Minor, fully recovering injury (for example, a minor bruise or short-term symptoms): typically from a few hundred to approximately one thousand euros.
• Moderate injury with temporary limitations (for example, a bone fracture that heals well): often in the order of a few thousand euros.
• Serious injury with permanent consequences (for example, permanent loss of function, disfiguring scars): can amount to tens of thousands of euros.
• Very serious and permanently disabling injury (such as severe brain injury or spinal cord injury): the highest amounts for pain and suffering in the Netherlands, which in exceptional cases exceed one hundred thousand euros.

Once again: these figures are intended only to provide a guideline. Only when your medical situation and the impact on your life have been assessed can a substantiated estimate be made. Would you like to know how compensation for pain and suffering compares nationally? Then please also read our page on compensation for pain and suffering.

Which factors determine the height?

Whether your amount falls at the lower or upper end of a range depends on a combination of circumstances:

1. Nature and severity of the injury — the more severe and painful, the higher.
2. Duration of recovery — a prolonged or difficult recovery counts.
3. Permanent limitations — loss of function, chronic pain, or visible scars — increase the amount.
4. Age — for a young victim with lifelong consequences, the suffering weighs more heavily.
5. Impact on your life — loss of hobbies, work, independence, or social role plays a part.
6. Psychological consequences — recognized psychological injury such as post-traumatic stress disorder may be taken into account.

Because all these factors combined determine fairness (Article 6:106 of the Dutch Civil Code), no two cases are identical. An experienced legal representative ensures that each of these elements is well-substantiated, so that you do not miss anything.

Non-material and material damage: claim both

Pain and suffering compensation is only a part of your damages. In addition, you are entitled to compensation for your actual damages: medical expenses, travel expenses, lost income, household help, and loss of earning capacity. This material damage is often many times greater than the pain and suffering compensation. By focusing solely on the amount of pain and suffering, you run the risk of missing the largest part of your claim.

A good personal injury lawyer or personal injury expert maps out both types of damage and substantiates them with evidence and, where necessary, a medical opinion. This way, you claim your full damages instead of an arbitrary amount offered by the insurer.

Beware of quick offers from the insurer

Insurers sometimes offer a settlement amount for non-material damages early in the process. That sounds attractive, but such an amount is often lower than what you are entitled to — especially if it has not yet been established whether your injury will have permanent consequences. Never sign a settlement agreement before your final medical condition is known and you know what is realistic. Always have an offer reviewed by an independent personal injury lawyer or legal expert; that is part of the work of a professional personal injury firm.

Honest recommendation

Do you have minor injuries from which you will fully recover, and does the insurer offer a reasonable, small amount? In that case, you can sometimes handle it perfectly well yourself; you do not need a lawyer for that. However, as soon as there are permanent complaints, doubts about the amount, or a combination of pain and suffering and property damage, professional help is almost always advisable — if only because victims systematically underestimate their damages. And because costs are recovered from the opposing party in a recoverable case (Article 6:96, paragraph 2 of the Dutch Civil Code), that help generally costs you nothing.

Do you want to know what compensation for pain and suffering is realistic in your situation? Schedule a free consultation or request a free intake . We will assess your case free of charge and claim your maximum compensation. You can also find more background information on the rules regarding compensation for pain and suffering at De Letselschade Raad and in the law via wetten.overheid.nl.

Frequently Asked Questions