If you have been involved in an accident in Europe, different rules apply in each country. That is actually quite strange, because more and more uniform rules apply in Europe. However, this is not the case in the field of compensation for attorney’s fees in personal injury cases.
This contribution discusses the various types of compensation. Because there are still some differences. For example, you can engage a personal injury lawyer in Eindhoven (Dutch: letselschade advocaat Eindhoven) for free, but you have to pay a lawyer in Antwerp all by yourself! How is this exactly?
The legal system in the Netherlands
We find the best legal system regarding attorney fees for personal injury claims in the Netherlands. At least it seems that way at first glance. In the Netherlands you can claim the help of a personal injury lawyer free of charge. For example, if someone has a bicycle accident in The Hague, you can call in a personal injury lawyer in The Hague (Dutch: letselschade advocaat Den Haag) for free.
What about in the Netherlands, free legal assistance in case of personal injury? This right to a free personal injury lawyer is included in the Dutch Civil Code. This will then state that part of the damage suffered by an injured party also includes the costs that the injured party must incur to determine the damage, to estimate the damage and to obtain the damage. This means that all legal assistance that a lawyer provides to a personal injury victim is completely free.
The only condition for free legal assistance after an accident in the Netherlands is that the other party is liable for the injury suffered and to be suffered.
Although the Dutch system is beautiful, it also has a major drawback. It also affects all kinds of entrepreneurs who think they can earn good money from legal aid to victims of a traffic accident, industrial accident or dog bite. The result is that there are many personal injury agencies active in the Netherlands that provide poor legal assistance.
The Dutch system of legal aid for victims of injury is therefore progressive, but also carries a risk for victims of accidents.
No cure no pay for personal injury claims
In many other European countries, the costs of a personal injury lawyer are not covered by the compensation. You must then pay the costs of your lawyer yourself. It is true that in Germany and Austria a small fee is given for engaging a lawyer in the event of personal injury. But in a large number of other countries you have to pay a personal injury lawyer entirely yourself. Examples include France and Belgium. If an accident happens there, you will have to pay the costs of legal assistance yourself. These costs can add up enormously, because a personal injury lawyer often charges a high hourly rate.
There are systems that make it easier for litigants to engage a lawyer. For example, there is the system of no cure no pay. You only pay the lawyer if personal injury claims have been successfully claimed. If you lose a personal injury case, you pay the lawyer nothing. The risk then lies with the personal injury lawyer and not with the victim.