Compensation
Can you claim for household help after an injury?
Cooking, cleaning and other tasks can become difficult during recovery. Record the actual help needed, including help from family.
Start with the situation before the accident
Who normally cooked, cleaned, shopped or handled laundry? A claim should reflect the injured person’s contribution rather than assume they performed every task in the household. Record existing paid help and any assistance that was already needed for unrelated reasons.
After the accident, explain which tasks became impossible, slower or unsafe. The medical context and everyday limitations help show why support was necessary. An account of real tasks is more useful than a general statement that you could do nothing.
Keep a simple help diary
Record dates, tasks, time and who helped. Note when your needs changed, for example after a cast was removed or treatment intensified. Retain invoices for paid help and distinguish household assistance from nursing or specialist care.
Family members may provide help without billing you. Whether and how that assistance can be valued requires an assessment; inventing an invoice is neither necessary nor appropriate. Explain the actual arrangement honestly.
Guidelines are a starting point, not a universal tariff
Claim handlers may use relevant guidelines to estimate reasonable household assistance. Their application depends on the period, household situation and type of need. Unusual circumstances or long-term disability may require a more individual calculation.
Where ongoing help affects your finances, ask whether a supported interim payment is appropriate. Do not assume every hour claimed will automatically be accepted at a commercial rate.
Avoid mixing different losses
Time off work taken by a partner, childcare, garden maintenance and professional care raise distinct questions. Record them separately so the same activity is not counted twice. If family support is becoming unsustainable, tell your adviser rather than allowing the initial informal arrangement to become an inaccurate picture of long-term need.
Our existing guide to Dutch injury compensation explains how separate losses fit together. Injury Lawyer can discuss the evidence needed for your particular household.
What to keep or ask for
- Your share of household work before the incident.
- A dated record of tasks, hours and helpers.
- Invoices and details of pre-existing paid assistance.
- Changes in help needs during recovery.
Questions you may still have
Can I claim if my partner helped without charging?
Potentially. The reasonable need and the nature of the assistance should be assessed. Explain the actual help rather than creating artificial invoices.
Does every family visit count as care?
No. Ordinary social contact and assistance caused by injury are different. Record the tasks performed and why you could not manage them yourself.
Sources and legal context
General information about Dutch personal injury claims. Some source material is in Dutch. Your circumstances may require a different assessment.
This guide explains general principles. It is not a decision on liability or the value of an individual claim.