The relatives of people who are killed or seriously injured in accidents, violence incidents and because of third-party errors should be entitled to compensation for emotional damage, according to justice minister Ard van der Steur.

While financial compensation will not take away their pain and sorrow, it will help them process events and show that their feelings are recognised, the minister told MPs in a briefing on Tuesday.

Payments would be between €12,500 and €20,000, the draft legislation shows.

The compensation would be paid by the person or company held responsible for the incident. In many cases, this would be covered by insurance companies. In cases involving violence, the state would pay the compensation and then recover it from the perpetrator, Van der Steur said.

The draft legislation, which was sent to the lower house on Monday, is not new, news agency ANP points out. In 2010, similar plans were torn up in the upper house of parliament.