Have you been the victim of a criminal offense, such as assault, and have you sustained personal injury as a result? We are happy to explain how you can claim compensation from the perpetrator. As a victim of a crime, you can claim compensation from the perpetrator through a criminal or civil case.
If you have suffered (injury) damage as a result of a crime, you must first report this to the police. If there is sufficient evidence for the crime, the police will forward your report to the Public Prosecution Service. The public prosecutor determines whether the suspect will be prosecuted, which means that the suspect must come before the public prosecutor or a judge for the imposition of a sentence and possible determination of damages.
Material and immaterial damage
Personal injury includes your material damage, such as your medical costs and your loss of income because you were unable to work for a while. Your immaterial damage is also included. Then we look at the grief, sorrow or loss that arose as a result of the crime. This damage item is called compensation. Compensation is therefore a financial compensation for the pain that someone suffers (both physical and psychological) or the grief that someone has.
Affection damage
Since 2019, you can not only request compensation for something that happened to you, but also for the grief you suffer because something happened to someone else. We also call this affection damage. Only the partner of the victim, any children and parents, or those who have a similar relationship with the victim, are eligible for compensation for emotional damage.
Compensation for your damage
Do you want to receive compensation for your damage? Then this can be done in different ways. For example, in some cases you can receive an allowance from the Violent Offenses Compensation Fund. Will there be a criminal case? Then you have the option of submitting your damage to the court with a request to order the perpetrator to pay it. If the perpetrator is sentenced to pay compensation for your damage, the Central Judicial Collection Agency (CJIB) will claim this amount from the perpetrator for you. If the CJIB has not been able to collect the entire amount from the perpetrator eight months after the court’s decision, the CJIB will transfer the remainder to you. For victims of violence and sex, this amount is unlimited, for victims of other crimes a maximum of € 5,000 applies.
Civil Procedure
Did the criminal court decide not to deal with your claim for compensation? Then the possibility remains to hold the perpetrator of the crime civilly liable. You can then claim your damages against the perpetrator in a civil case, if necessary through the courts.
Help from a lawyer
When claiming compensation for personal injury, it is wise to engage a lawyer. You can also consider membership of a specialist association such as the National Lawyers Network for Violent and Sexual Victims (LANGZS) or the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (LSA).