With great pleasure and pride I “nailed” 95 statements to the church door of the Laurenskerk in Rotterdam on 31 October 2017 (Reformation Day). Of course, I did this in playful reference to Martin Luther, who had done the same thing 500 years ago in Germany. This set of statements serves as a plea for the introduction of personal injury 3.0, with the new creed: return to autonomy.

The launch in the Laurenskerk

The launch started with the memorable “nail moment”: the attachment of the 95 statements to the door of the Laurenskerk. As this door is made of bronze, the nailing had to be done symbolically. After all, my focus was on a different type of damages…

 

The Hammer Challenge

After this symbolic launch, I drew the attention to the contents of my plea for personal injury 3.0, through a presentation in the Laurenskerk. If you would like to see the PowerPoint version, please click here. During the presentation, I personally handed out the statements to various persons who fulfil a position of authority.

With and through the personal handing out of the statement I started a Hammer Challenge. To this purpose, I warmly recommended that these persons consider certain specific statements, accompanied by the request to discuss the statement(s) within the own organisation / the people they work with and to consider a follow-up to this discussion.

The following were given a Challenges:

• Slachtofferhulp Nederland (Victim Support)
• De vereniging van Letselschade Advocaten (LSA) (the Association for Personal Injury Lawyers)
• De commissie Register Letselschade (the Personal Injury Register Commission)
• De Letselschaderaad (LSR) (the Personal Injury Council)
• Het Personenschade Instituut voor Verzekeraars (PIV) (the Personal Injury Institute for Insurers)
• Het Verbond van Verzekeraars (the Association of Insurers)
• Het Nederlands Instituut voor Registerexperts (NIVRE) (the Dutch Institute for Register Experts)
• Studiecentrum Kerckebosch (Kerckebosch Study Centre)
• OSR Juridische Opleidingen (OSR Legal Courses)
• De Denktank Overlijdensschade (the Death Damages Think Tank)
• De Europese Commissie (via het Nederlands Bureau Motorrijtuigverzekeraars) (the European Commission, through the Dutch Bureau of Motor Insurance Companies)
• De Hoge Raad (the Dutch Supreme Court)
• Het Ministerie van Justitie (the Ministry of Justice)
• Het Ministerie van Financiën (the Ministry of Finance)

The “parchment” with statements as award

The “parchment” of statements was given to (i) Louis Visscher, professor of Economics and Law, with Erasmus University in Rotterdam and (ii) John Beer, president of the Pan-European Organisation of Personal Injury Lawyers (PEOPIL). Louis Visscher received the award in connection with his scientific plea for the use of the Qaly Method as a valuation principle for determining the level of non pecuniary damages. John Beer received the award, because he rightfully continuously demands attention for the international aspects of personal injury.

The parchment with statements is dedicated to …

Of course, mention must be made of the fact that the parchment with statements was also presented to Henk Koudijs: a victim who was involved in a 39-year (!) adjustment process. I dedicated the statements to him through statement 95, which has the following message for the world of personal injury:

Life is too short for a long and frustrating adjustment process. However, it can never be too long for a good glass of wine. 

The last to receive the parchment with statements was Professor Hans Franken, my “hero”. During my final year at university, I was his student assistant. Hans Franken is the Founding Father of statements 1 and 2, which have become my personal Leitmotiv when carrying out my work. I am greatly indebted to Hans. It is therefore with pride, reverence and respect that I was able to present the parchment with statements to “my professor”, after which he gave a poignant closing speech.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The international forum: Tromps95.com

During the presentation, the forum Tromps95 went online. The forum already has more than 30 members. The reactions are coming in from a variety of countries. Would you also like to actively contribute? That can be done effortlessly. After you have logged in (via a one-time Sign Up, on the righthand side of the home page) you can access the 95 statements and our closed members page. There, you can follow all the activities on the forum, ranging from those of other members to all (inter)national reactions.

The reception afterwards: the initiative was given wings

After the presentation, the initiative was literally given wings: we hosted a reception in our beautiful new office space on the 22^nd floor of the Rotterdam WTC. This space is still empty, but we were given permission to host our reception there.

The first follow-up has taken place!

It is with great pleasure that I learned of the first Hammer Challenge follow-up. The Tromps95 banner was displayed on 16 November 2017 during one of the presentations at the Personal Injury Council Meeting in Figi Zeist (see photo). That, of course, was greatly rewarding.

And finally

It goes without saying that I look back on an exceptionally wonderful and memorable day. You can (re)visit the launch here with the help of a photo impression of the entire day. The are no exclusive rights attached to the photos, so feel free to share them.

We will, of course, continue to closely follow the Challenges and the reactions to Tromps95. At the start of 2018 (and from time to time afterwards) I will report on the actions and reactions to this initiative, so that you can remain abreast of the worldwide developments in the area of personal injury 3.0, with the new creed: return to autonomy. Why? Because at one point or another, everyone is faced with personal injury. And because you can help make a difference.   Would you be so kind as to share this message within your network? And would you then please (continue to) use the hashtag #Tromps95 in your tweets?

Spread the word!

Maarten Tromp & the team of Maarten Tromp Advocaten

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