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Liability law deals with loss and damage and compensation. This makes liability law a broad field of work, in which our Liability Law practice group also has its spearheads. In particular, our Liability Law practice group deals with the following legal issues:
Professional damage
To err is human. A professional does not have to be wicked to be faced with a claim; the lawyer who lets a deadline slip, a civil-law notary who words the intention of the parties ambiguously or the mortgage broker who misrepresents the net charges. Our lawyers assist both the aggrieved party and the professional, whether in civil proceedings or the disciplinary proceedings that are often related to them. Disputes about the (sometimes poor) performance of the accountant, lawyer, civil-law notary, architect, engineer and estate agent are common occurrences. We also represent the interests of directors of companies who are accused of mismanagement. You are in good hands with us.
Property damage
Damage may be caused to property, for which the owner of the property will usually want to seek redress against the party causing that damage. In our Liability Law practice group, this usually involves damage (particularly fire damage) to homes, valuables, antiques and art. It also happens that a buyer can be dissatisfied with a purchase when it comes to the matter of conformity. Did the property have the features that the buyer was entitled to expect? Our lawyers will assist you on either side of the line. We represent the interests of the aggrieved party and the party causing the damage.
Personal injury
Damage can also be the result of injury to the body. If another person can be held liable for that damage, then personal injury law comes into play. We commonly see damage in our practice resulting from a traffic accident, industrial accident or assault while, in certain circumstances, a surviving relative may be able to claim nervous shock damage and emotional damage. Personal injury law is a special area of law with its own ground rules, including the fact that the lawyer's fees are usually fully reimbursed; in other words, legal assistance is in principle free of charge. Partly because of these special ground rules, we have set up a dedicated website (www.vandiepenletselschade.nl) for personal injury victims, with additional information and answers to the most frequently asked questions.
Large-scale damage
The right to bring a claim as a group is relatively recent and also still developing. However, the trend is increasingly for victims and aggrieved parties to join forces against wealthier opponents, which we think is a good thing. Our lawyers regularly handle class actions for groups of claimants or claims foundations, where our expertise is focused particularly on fraud issues and swindles.
Swindles
Unfortunately, sometimes damage is not simply an unintended consequence. In our practice, we also regularly handle issues related to swindles and fraud, where the perpetrator takes the other person's damage for granted. Internet fraud in particular has boomed in recent years, as have unfair commercial practices, investment fraud and boiler room fraud. The aggrieved party then invests in products that in reality turn out not to exist or are different from what was presented. Effecting recovery - in other words, getting the money back - is not always easy in these cases, but that is our absolute focus. What is more, we have become very good at it.
Insurance disputes
Insurers also play their part in cases of damage and compensation. The fact is that every risk in life can be insured in principle. However, an insurer may refuse to provide cover to the insured, or the insurer may decide not to pay out for its own reasons. Disputes also arise in all these cases, and not infrequently for large sums of money. Our lawyers act for both the insured and the insurer in these matters.
With our lawyers, you are assured of thorough, inspired and committed legal assistance. Do not hesitate to call or email us for a no-obligation consultation.
In general, professional errors concern actions by a professional contrary to his duty of care or contrary to his professional rules. The professional is often accused of being negligent, of having acted incompetently or of having neglected his professional standards. In court, the discussion usually comes down to the question of whether the professional has behaved as a reasonably competent and reasonable professional, and what that standard entails varies per profession.
Civil damages proceedings involve recovering damages from the professional. The professional plays a modest role in this procedure, because it is often the professional's insurer who acts on his behalf. Moreover, the compensation is usually covered by the insurer, and to that extent the professional has little to lose in the civil procedure. This is different in disciplinary proceedings, where it is sometimes even questionable whether the professional will be allowed to continue practicing his profession. Disciplinary proceedings are about disciplinary measures and not about damage.
The sun does not rise for anything, except in personal injury cases. In most cases, our legal assistance is free for the victim, because in practice the (insurer of the) perpetrator usually also has to pay the lawyer's costs. While in other procedures the lawyer's costs amount to hundreds of euros per hour, the situation is different in personal injury cases.
It is important to seek legal assistance at an early stage. The insurer itself employs lawyers and lawyers, so do not make the (at least human) mistake of trying to take on the insurer yourself. A legal proceeding can hinge on a period or a comma, and you can easily put that period or comma wrong yourself.
The law sets limits on what can be claimed as compensation; this only concerns "pecuniary damage" and "other disadvantage", according to the law. The latter only to the extent that the law explicitly provides a basis. So not American situations, but a victim or victim does not necessarily come off badly. In practice, a judge will compare the situation that has arisen with the imaginary situation without the alleged conduct. The difference is then the damage. A good lawyer presents a cogent argument and gets the most out of it.
Do you have a question or do you want more information, our specialists respond quickly and are always available.
