More and more employees develop health problems that are directly caused by their work: RSI from screen work, lung damage from chemical exposure, hearing loss from workplace noise, or burnout from structurally excessive workload. What many people don't realise is that in many of these situations you can hold your employer liable and claim compensation.
What counts as an occupational disease?
An occupational disease is a condition predominantly caused by the work you performed for your employer — RSI, lung conditions from exposure to substances, hearing damage from prolonged noise, skin conditions from chemicals, and burnout caused by structural overload or an unsafe work culture.
The employer's duty of care
Under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code, your employer has a far-reaching duty of care regarding your workplace, equipment and the organisation of the work. This includes proper risk assessments, protective equipment, information about health risks, and monitoring workload.
When is the employer liable?
Once you make it plausible that your complaints may have been (partly) caused by your work, the burden of proof shifts to the employer. They must then prove they fully complied with their duty of care, or that the damage would have occurred regardless. In practice, employers rarely succeed in providing this counter-evidence, especially for well-documented occupational diseases such as RSI, hearing damage and lung disease.
Causation is the hard part
The biggest hurdle is often proving the causal link between your work and your complaints, especially with conditions like burnout where private circumstances may also play a role. Dutch courts apply a relaxed burden of proof: you only need to make it plausible that you were exposed to conditions that could cause the complaints, and that your complaints match. A solid medical file, reported promptly to your manager, company doctor and GP, is essential.
What can you claim?
Pain and suffering compensation (smartengeld), loss of earning capacity, uncovered medical costs, household help, travel costs, and legal costs.
Limitation period
Claims generally lapse five years after you became aware of both the damage and the liable party — though occupational diseases that only surface years later (such as asbestos-related lung disease) are treated separately. Don't wait too long to seek legal advice.
Dismissal after an occupational disease
Your employer cannot simply dismiss you because you developed an occupational disease, and a dismissal ban applies during the first two years of incapacity for work. If you are pressured into resigning or signing a settlement agreement, get legal advice first.
Arslan & Arslan Advocaten helps you
At Arslan & Arslan Advocaten we assess free of charge whether your employer is liable for your occupational disease, working on a no cure, no pay basis for personal injury claims.
Call 070 4500 300 or visit arslan.nl for a free assessment of your case.