Cabinet approves law giving siblings right to emotional damages in negligence cases

Brothers and sisters will automatically be entitled to compensation if a family member dies or is seriously injured due to someone else’s actions. The Council of Ministers approved the legislative change on Friday, State Secretary Arno Rutte reported.

Compensation for emotional distress, known as “affective damage,” has been available since 2019 for those whose loved ones die or sustain permanent serious injuries. Payments, ranging from 12,500 to 20,000 euros, are made by the responsible party.

Last year, researchers confirmed that the law is functioning as intended. Still, siblings were not automatically eligible for compensation, which proved difficult to explain. The Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, advocated for an expansion, and the Cabinet promised to implement it.

According to State Secretary Rutte, excluding siblings from compensation can be “very painful and unfair.” The proposed law aims to reinforce the position of brothers and sisters as next of kin and increase the compensation amounts.

Public consultation on the law opens on Monday. The proposal will then proceed to the Council of State and both houses of Parliament.

The Scientific Research and Documentation Centre (WODC) cautioned that expanding eligibility could raise “difficult questions,” such as why some groups qualify while others do not. For instance, some argued that grandchildren should also automatically receive compensation.

“You have to draw the line somewhere,” Rutte said about this. “Brothers and sisters are close enough to the victim that we considered it reasonable to include them in the circle.” Others can rely on an exception in the law.