Your employer
Employers have a duty to provide a safe working environment. After a workplace injury, the safety measures, instructions and supervision in place are examined.
Clients choose Spartalegal because we look beyond the case file. Personal injury isn’t about paperwork; it’s about people.
In many cases, legal assistance with personal injury claims is completely free of charge. We will assess your situation honestly and without obligation.
PERSONAL INJURY CAUSED BY MACHINERY
A machinery accident can have lasting consequences. Your hand may become trapped in a press, you may suffer a serious cut from a saw, or you could be injured while cleaning a production line. Beyond medical treatment, you may face lost income, a need for help at home and uncertainty about returning to work.
Did the accident happen while you were working in the Netherlands? Your employer's duty of care is an important starting point. Employer liability may still apply even if you made a mistake. If the machine was defective, there may also be grounds to investigate the manufacturer, installer or maintenance provider.
Sparta Legal can review your circumstances without obligation and explain your options for claiming personal injury compensation under Dutch law.
LIABILITY
This depends on the work you were doing, the condition of the machine and how the workplace was organised. Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code (Burgerlijk Wetboek) requires employers to take reasonably necessary safety measures and provide instructions to prevent employees being injured at work. A technical defect is not the only possible cause: missing machine guards, inadequate instructions and unsafe working procedures may also be relevant.
Employers have a duty to provide a safe working environment. After a workplace injury, the safety measures, instructions and supervision in place are examined.
Are you an agency worker or working on assignment? The company controlling the workplace may also bear responsibility. Your contractual relationship and the actual working arrangements both matter.
If a product may have been defective, a product liability claim can be considered. This requires an assessment of the defect and whether it caused your injury.
A mistake during installation, repair or maintenance may give rise to a claim against another party. Their involvement alone is not enough: a relevant fault and its connection to the injury must be established.
More than one party may be involved, and the legal basis for a claim differs accordingly. The burden of proof in a workplace injury claim also differs from an ordinary negligence claim. Once it is established that an employee suffered injury in the course of their work, the employer must generally show that it complied with its duty of care or that a statutory exception applies.
WORKPLACE SAFETY
Employers must assess workplace risks and take appropriate precautions. This covers the machine itself as well as setting it up, cleaning, clearing faults and performing maintenance.
Risk assessmentIdentify crushing, cutting and trapping hazards and organise work to reduce those risks.
Effective machine guardsProvide suitable guarding and safety devices. Missing, bypassed or disabled guards may be crucial when investigating an accident.
Maintenance and inspectionsKeep machines in safe working order, address defects and determine which inspections are required. Maintenance and formal inspections are not the same thing.
Instructions and supervisionExplain safe working methods clearly, account for workers' experience and supervise compliance.
Safe fault-clearing proceduresArrange safe procedures to prevent unexpected start-up or the release of stored energy during cleaning, maintenance or troubleshooting.
Suitable protective equipmentProvide appropriate personal protective equipment where required. It does not replace necessary machine or workplace safeguards.
A MISTAKE AT WORK
A moment of inattention does not automatically mean you must bear your own losses. Dutch employer liability law recognises that workers cannot remain perfectly attentive throughout every routine task.
An ordinary mistake is legally different from intentional conduct or deliberate recklessness (bewuste roekeloosheid). If you briefly lost concentration or performed a task incorrectly, this does not automatically defeat your claim. Even if your employer says you ignored an instruction, the circumstances and the precautions that should reasonably have been in place must be examined.
Article 7:658 does not guarantee compensation for every workplace accident. Whether the employer is liable depends on its duty of care, the working conditions and the available evidence.
MACHINERY AND WORK TASKS
Machinery injuries may involve saws and cutting machines, presses, conveyor belts, packaging equipment, industrial mixers, power tools or cleaning machinery. Accidents involving forklifts and other mobile machinery may also result in personal injury.
An accident may occur during normal operation, but also while replacing parts, removing jammed material or cleaning equipment. It is important to record exactly what you were doing when the incident happened.
Common injuries include lacerations, fractures, burns, nerve or tendon damage and amputations. Hand and finger injuries can affect everyday activities as well as your ability to work. Anxiety, sleep problems and uncertainty about returning to your job may also follow.
COMMON CAUSES
When investigating a machinery accident at work, it matters not only which machine was involved but how the injury happened. A hand may become trapped between moving parts, fingers may touch a saw blade or equipment may start unexpectedly while someone is clearing a fault.
Serious hand injuries may require surgery, prolonged hand therapy and can cause permanent limitations. For someone whose occupation relies on manual work, those limitations may affect future earning capacity. The medical prognosis and potential future loss of earnings therefore deserve careful attention.
A missing protective cover, bypassed safety switch or unguarded conveyor belt may be relevant to liability. The investigation should consider why the guard was missing or ineffective, which instructions were provided and whether the task could be carried out safely.
Employer liability may also apply when a worker is cleaning, adjusting or troubleshooting machinery rather than operating it normally. Relevant questions include whether the equipment was safely isolated, how stored energy was controlled and who was authorised to carry out the work.
YOUR LOSSES
A claim for injury caused by machinery considers the losses resulting from the accident. An accident at work may lead to temporary inability to work, permanent hand limitations or reduced earning capacity. Both immediate expenses and long-term effects need to be assessed.
Recoverable amounts depend on liability, the link between the accident and the losses, and the available evidence.
More about claiming personal injury compensation in the Netherlands →AFTER THE ACCIDENT
Alert first-aiders or the workplace emergency team. Call 112 for serious injuries or immediate danger. Have the machine made safe by someone qualified and authorised to do so.
Record when the accident happened and what task you were performing. Ask for a copy of the incident report or written confirmation of your notification.
Record witnesses' details and request that available photographs, CCTV footage and machine records be retained. Do not put yourself at risk to collect evidence.
Keep records of treatment, expenses and lost income. Seek advice about the responsible parties and any further documents needed.
INVESTIGATION AND EVIDENCE
Besides your own account, photographs of the machine and its guarding, witness statements, work instructions, maintenance records and previous fault reports may be important. The workplace risk inventory and evaluation (RI&E) and any investigation reports may also help explain the safety arrangements.
You may not have direct access to every document. Your legal representative can assess which records should be requested. Write down your recollection of the events as soon as possible.
In the Netherlands, employers must immediately report workplace accidents involving a death, hospital admission or permanent injury to the Netherlands Labour Authority (Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie). If hospital admission or permanent injury only becomes apparent later, the employer must report the incident as soon as that fact becomes known.
A Labour Authority investigation and a personal injury claim serve different purposes. The absence of an official investigation does not automatically prevent you from claiming compensation.
LEGAL FEES
Sparta Legal's initial assessment is free and without obligation. Where another party is liable, reasonable out-of-court legal costs may be recoverable from that party or its insurer.
We explain the fee arrangements before providing further assistance. This is particularly important if liability has not yet been accepted or court proceedings become necessary.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
No. However, Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code imposes a substantial duty of care. If an employee was injured in the course of their work, the employer must generally demonstrate that it took the necessary safety precautions or that a statutory exception applies. The outcome depends on the circumstances.
CE marking does not rule out liability. The machine's actual condition, maintenance and safe use still matter. The marking alone does not establish whether sufficient measures were taken to prevent the accident.
Potentially, yes. For agency workers, the roles of both the agency and the company managing the workplace may be relevant. For self-employed contractors, the availability of protection under employer liability law depends on the work and the actual working relationship.
A colleague's mistake may be relevant to the employer's liability. The instructions, organisation of the work and machine safeguards should also be examined.
Yes, potentially, where another party is legally liable. Compensation may cover treatment, rehabilitation, loss of earnings, assistance at home and pain and suffering. Permanent limitations may also lead to a claim for future losses.
Potentially. Even if your salary continues, other losses may include medical expenses, household help, travel costs and pain and suffering. Losses already reimbursed cannot be claimed twice.
Employer liability will usually not be the appropriate route. If a product was defective, liability of the manufacturer or another party can be investigated. Keep the machine, purchase records and instructions, and do not use potentially unsafe equipment again.
DISCUSS YOUR SITUATION
Tell us what happened and how the injury has affected you. Sparta Legal can review your options for recovering personal injury compensation under Dutch law, without obligation.
Spartalegal supports victims in a wide range of personal injury cases, including:
Spartalegal supports victims in a wide range of personal injury cases, including:
Spartalegal supports victims in a wide range of personal injury cases, including:
Spartalegal supports victims in a wide range of personal injury cases, including:
Spartalegal supports victims in a wide range of personal injury cases, including:
Spartalegal supports victims in a wide range of personal injury cases, including:
Spartalegal supports victims in a wide range of personal injury cases, including:
Spartalegal supports victims in a wide range of personal injury cases, including:
Spartalegal supports victims in a wide range of personal injury cases, including:
Spartalegal supports victims in a wide range of personal injury cases, including:
Every day, we help victims claim compensation for their personal injuries.
Our clients particularly appreciate the personalised support, clear communication and the reassurance that they are not on their own.
