Webinar 28 September 🌱 Can fear of environmental damage give rise to a claim for compensation?

On 28 September 2026, Dr Simon Van Eekert, lawyer at Aurion Law, will host a webinar on the subject of his PhD thesis: extracontractual liability for harm resulting from environmental fear.

This is a highly topical issue. After all, harm resulting from fear is increasingly featuring in case law. For instance, in the recent Utexbel judgement of 19 May 2026, the East Flanders Criminal Court ruled that a number of local residents with elevated PFOS levels in their blood were entitled to compensation on the grounds of their genuine anxiety. In climate-related cases, too, the fear of future harm is taking on an increasingly prominent role.

⚖️ But where does the law draw the line?

Can every form of environmental anxiety lead to extracontractual liability? And how can the law distinguish between normal anxiety and actual harm?

During the webinar, Simon analyses Belgian and Dutch case law and links it to insights from environmental psychology. This interdisciplinary approach demonstrates that a nuanced assessment framework is not only possible but also legally workable.