Team

Liability, insurance and criminal law

Damage and loss are part of life. Sooner or later everyone will have to deal with it. The issues of liability and insurance quickly arise if you incur any damage or injury. When a person causes damage he can be held “liable” and must pay compensation. An insurer might also be involved. Because serious cases of damage are almost always investigated under criminal law, legal issues are never far away.

It is precisely because different branches of law are intertwined that the settlement of these claims can often raise complex issues and disputes that drag on for years. With our extensive experience, we are only too glad to guide you through this often very confusing jumble of criminal and civil proceedings. Of course, wherever possible GSJ will make every reasonable effort to reach an out-of-court settlement in such cases.

Over the years, GSJ have acquired considerable specialised expertise in assessing serious personal damage and injury. Indeed, the handling of the most diverse and taxing cases of professional liability (the liability of the various construction stakeholders, medical liability, the liability of the lawyer) is day-to-day work for GSJ's team of lawyers.

Thanks to our long-standing experience with the most diverse claims, GSJ can offer unique assistance when it comes to advising insurance companies and their customers (i.e. companies and private individuals) in the areas of risk and policy analysis.

Intermediaries (or brokers) have a key role to play in the insurance world. They don’t just sell you an insurance policy. In the event of a claim, they can be the indispensable linchpin between the insurance company and the insured party. And the increasingly complex regulations also have an impact on their professional practices. This is where GSJ’s lawyers can offer clients much-needed support.

GSJ’s teams of lawyers have been actively involved in the insurance sector for many years, in particular in various insurance associations such as the Kempische Verzekeringskring, the Verzekeringsjuristen and the Antwerpse Kring van het Verzekeringswezen. On 26 September 2014, the Antwerp Liability Law and Insurance Chair (ALLIC) was established in the University of Antwerp. This Chair is an initiative of Prof. Dr. Thierry Vansweevelt and Prof. Dr. Britt Weyts. GSJ have agreed to sponsor the Chair and are in fact on the steering committee. In addition, our team members have been invited to the University as guest speakers.