Note: Nervous shock damages awarded

In Jurisprudentie Aansprakelijkheid (JA) 2019/173, Petra klein Gunnewiek wrote a footnote to the ruling of the District Court of The Hague of 25 September 2019. In these civil proceedings on the merits, a man, woman and their son claimed damages from the man who had killed their daughter/sister with many knife thrusts. The note discusses the requirements for being able to award damages in the context of nervous shock: the direct confrontation and the presence of a syndrome recognised in psychiatry. The note also homes in on compensation for pain and suffering on the basis of other (similar) cases.

You can download the full article below. Please note the article is only available in Dutch. You can of course contact the author of the article for more information. All of our attorneys-at-law speak fluent English and will be happy to help.

Download pdf