In September 2023, the Supreme Court made an interesting judgment on the causal link in whiplash injuries. The Supreme Court once again explains that the absence of a medically demonstrable cause for the injury does not have to prevent the assumption of a causal connection: “If the victim’s complaints are present, real, not imagined, not pretended and cannot be considered exaggerated, there is sufficient causal connection in the legal field.”
If there are no clearly objectifiable medical explanations for the injury, as in many whiplash cases, this is often reason for insurers to question the causal relationship. But in case law, the lack of a medical explanation for the complaints is not always a reason not to assume a causal relationship. This ruling by the Supreme Court is also about that.
The case
The judgment concerns a driving school owner who already had neck complaints before the accident and is therefore partially incapacitated for work. After the accident he can no longer continue his work as a driving school owner. The liable insurer does not want to fully reimburse the damage due to the presence of the previous neck complaints. In addition, a neurologist concludes in his expert report that there is no objective medical explanation for the worsened neck complaints.
The driving school owner’s lawyer then initiates legal proceedings, in which the victim is ruled against in both the court and on appeal to the court of appeal. Because no neurological limitations can be identified, the increased disability is not a consequence of an accident, the judges said.
But the Supreme Court sees it differently. It is reiterated that the absence of a medically demonstrable explanation for the injury does not necessarily prevent the assumption of a causal relationship. Because the driving school owner’s complaints are real, not imagined, not pretended and not exaggerated, there is sufficient reason to assume the causal connection.
Positive effect
The judgment is primarily a victory for the driving school owner involved, but it is also positive for other personal injury victims. Once again it has been confirmed that a causal relationship can also be assumed without an objective medical explanation. However, this may involve a long and time-consuming process if the insurer takes a different position.
Read more: Whiplash suffered after a traffic accident? You are entitled to full compensation
MCJ Advocatuur
With MCJ Advocatuur, the victim is not alone in this. We assist the victim and take all the hassle off his or her hands. Our office specializes in personal injury, including whiplash cases. Would you like more information, or would you like to submit your personal injury case to us? Please contact us today.