Introduction
The Bereavement Damages Act (Wet Affectieschade) came into effect on January 1st, 2019 in the Netherlands. Meanwhile, the BDA has led to the first compensations granted by the Dutch courts.
Fatal car accident
On July 4th, 2019, a man was sentenced in Hoorn, the Netherlands, to pay EUR 17,500 to the son and daughter of a woman who died as a result of his reckless driving.
Manslaughter
The brother of the victim of a fatal stabbing early 2019 in The Hague, the Netherlands, received EUR 17,500 in bereavement damages under the category of ‘other close and personal relationships’. A relevant factor was the fact that besides being blood relatives, the two individuals were also very close and best friends and had been roommates for a number of years.
Compensation for grief
I refer you to my previous article on this subject.
Bereavement damages are granted according to a schedule of fixed amounts, claimable by a limitative group of persons specifically mentioned in the law. In this way, negotiations and or lengthy discussions on the compensation amount are avoided which could cause additional grieve to the bereaved party.
Bereavement damages are subject to a loved one having sustained permanent bodily injury or psychological trauma or in case of death. Bodily injury is considered permanent when the impairment is 70% or higher. Lower impairment (lower than 70%) in combination with certain aggravating circumstances may also qualify for compensation. For instance, in case the loved one suffers drastic behavioral changes or loss of the ability to communicate, loss of memory, or in case the loved one becomes so heavily dependent on the bereaved party that he or she can no longer sustain a normal personal/private life.
Fixed amounts
The fixed amounts range from EUR 12,500 to EUR 20,000 for each bereaved party. The court may at its discretion limit the amount claimed. The schedule of the fixed amounts is as follows:
Spouse/registered partner/life companion: Injury € 15,000 Death € 17,500 Crime € 20,000
Children and parents: Injury € 15,000 Death € 17,500 Crime € 20,000
Children living away from home: Injury € 12,500 Death € 15,000 Crime € 17,500
Other close personal relationships: Injury € 12,500 Death € 15,000 Crime € 17,500
In sustainable family care: Injury € 15,000 Death € 17,500 Crime € 10,000
(source: www.consumentenbond.nl)
Aruba
Bereavement damages cannot be claimed in Aruba (yet). The introduction of bereavement damages in the Netherlands opens the possibility of the applicability thereof on the Dutch Caribbean Islands of Aruba, Curacao, St. Maarten, Bonaire, St. Eustatius, and Saba. On the basis of the principle of concordance, the laws within the Dutch Kingdom should resemble each other as much as possible. Based on standard jurisprudence of The Highest Court of the Netherlands (Hoge Raad), for bereavement damages to be applied in the other parts of the Kingdom, new laws would have to be introduced there as well.