When someone is seriously injured or dies as a result of an accident or crime, this naturally also has an enormous impact on the victim’s loved ones. Confronting the other person’s situation can have a traumatizing effect. Sometimes there is even PTSD, which makes psychological care necessary. In these cases, immediate family members of the victim can also claim damages against the person who caused the incident. We call this item shock damage.
Shock damage is psychological damage as a result of a traumatic event suffered by a loved one. The person who suffers shock damage can, in addition to the immaterial damage, also known as compensation, also claim loss of income, for example, because his normal activities can no longer be carried out.
The Taxibus ruling
In the Taxibus judgment of February 22, 2002, the Supreme Court decided that an award of shock damage is possible. This involved a terrible accident in which a young girl was killed when she was hit by a taxi bus in front of her house. The girl’s mother saw her daughter lying lifeless and suffered serious psychological injuries. She claimed material and immaterial damage from the liable party.
The Supreme Court ruled that the person who caused the accident also acted unlawfully towards the person who has a close emotional relationship with the victim and who suffers mental injury as a result of witnessing the accident or directly confronting its serious consequences. There must be a clinical picture recognized in psychiatry, and there must be a direct link between the event causing the damage and the mental injury that the loved one sustains as a result of the confrontation with the consequences of this action.
Supplement to Taxibus judgment
In the judgment of June 28, 2022, the Supreme Court provided an important addition to the Taxibus judgment. The Supreme Court considers that aspects that play a role in the assessment of shock damage include:
- The nature, circumstances and consequences of the unlawful act committed, including the intention of the perpetrator or perpetrator and the nature and severity of the suffering caused to the victim
- The way in which the loved one is subsequently confronted with the unlawful act and its consequences
- The nature of the relationship between the victim and the close relative(s), whereby, in the absence of a close relationship, unlawfulness cannot quickly be assumed.
Affection damage
In addition to shock damage, there is also affection damage. The Compensation for Affection Damage Act came into effect on January 1, 2019. Affection damage is a form of non-pecuniary compensation. The surviving relatives or relatives can receive compensation for their suffering and grief if the victim has died or has suffered serious and permanent injury as a result of an event for which someone else is liable.
Only the victim’s partner, his children and parents, or those who have a similar relationship with the victim are eligible for compensation for affection damage. The subject of political debate is whether, in the future, brothers and sisters of the victim will also fall under the scope of the Affection Damage Act.
Knowing more?
Would you like to know more about shock damage, or would you like to submit your personal injury case to us for advice? Please feel free to contact us.