Immateriële schade

Non-material damage

Non-material damage — also called 'pain and suffering' ('smartengeld') — is the loss a person suffers that cannot be directly expressed in money: physical pain, mental suffering, grief, fear or a structural reduction in quality of life. The legal basis is Article 6:106 BW, which provides a right to pain-and-suffering compensation where:

In injury practice the most common basis is physical injury (traffic accidents, medical errors, workplace accidents). The level is set on the basis of:

In 2026 awards in the Netherlands range from a few hundred euros for minor injury to over €200,000 for very serious permanent injury such as high spinal-cord lesions or serious brain injury. The Netherlands traditionally has relatively low awards compared with Germany or the UK, but amounts have risen in recent years through a deliberate change of course in case law.

Practical consequence

Non-material damage is claimed separately alongside material damage (such as lost income or care costs). It is wise to gather comparable court rulings to substantiate the claim, as courts have wide discretion in setting the amount.