Compensation after a collision | Legal aid centre

Questioner

I recently had an accident which was the other party's fault, he also admitted to being at fault. My car has been declared a (economic) total loss and I only get a pittance back from the insurance. I can't buy a new car for this, and certainly not the same one. How can it be that someone else causes an accident (through reckless driving) and I am the victim of it? Doesn't Dutch law state that all damage caused by the other party must be compensated by the insurer? Is there anything I can do to avoid losing my car and a lot of money? Thank you in advance for your answer.

Lawyer

Based on the principle of liability, someone is in principle required to compensate for damage caused by an unlawful act, but case law also refers to the compensation of the current value of the car in the event of a total loss if repairing the damage will cost more.