Compensation and damages

Long-term harm after bullying can give a right to damages. The process is long and demanding — keep the documentation now, and you keep the option open.

Children who are subjected to bullying may have a reduced earning capacity later in life, and may become entitled to erstatning (damages). Compensation may not be a live issue for you as you read this, but keep your documentation all the same, with a view to a possible future claim.

In 2013 there was some improvement in families’ rights, when a shared burden of proof was introduced in damages cases (described in the press as schools being given more responsibility in bullying cases; the original article is no longer available). At the same time, the limitation period for claiming damages was extended.

The sums awarded are generally modest compared with the lifetime earnings of a working person. Claiming damages for lost childhood years, lost education and long-term harm after bullying is a long, heavy and often costly process. No award will ever make good the harm the child has suffered. Our focus is on getting the child out of the bullying situation as quickly as possible, in order to avoid long-term harm.

If you are working on a damages case, we recommend that you use a skilled lawyer with experience of such cases. You are welcome to contact Foreningen Mobbing i Skolen for recommended lawyers.

We are waiting for a compensation scheme to come into force

In connection with the legislative revision in 2017, an oppreisning (compensation for non-economic loss) scheme was adopted for bullying cases. That scheme is not yet in force, but it may represent a substantial improvement when it comes. Bullying cases often cost a great deal of energy, time and money. The individual sums are unlikely to be large, but it may be a welcome scheme that gives you some financial breathing space when you need it most.

Read: Using the media

Update (2026): No separate oppreisning scheme for victims of bullying has been introduced so far. What exists today is the general scheme rettferdsvederlag fra staten — ex gratia compensation from the state — which is applied for through Statens sivilrettsforvaltning (the Norwegian Civil Affairs Authority), and ordinary claims for damages against the school owner under the Compensation Act (skadeserstatningsloven) § 2-1 (KS-advokatene om erstatningskrav i mobbesaker). Note the deadlines: a claim for damages normally becomes time-barred three years after the point at which you gained — or ought to have obtained — knowledge of the harm and of the party responsible. The documentation you are gathering now is decisive.

Note: The old Education Act (opplæringsloven) had a specific rule on the burden of proof in damages cases (referred to above as the “shared burden of proof” from 2013). Whether this has been carried over into the new Education Act has not been verified as of July 2026 — the point is with FOMIS for legal clarification.

From the original FOMIS parents' guide (2018). The content is reviewed and updated.