Whiplash compensation

Whiplash compensation is available to anyone involved in a road traffic accident or car accident where you have sustained a whiplash injury, and the accident was not your fault.

Can I claim whiplash compensation?

If you were involved in a non-fault accident that has occurred recently, or within the last 3 years, and you are suffering or still suffering from whiplash symptoms, then you can make a claim for whiplash compensation.

Even if you find out that the driver who caused the accident is un-insured it still may be possible for the solicitors we work with to assist you by making a whiplash compensation claim via the Motor Insurance Bureau or the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board. These organisations were set up specifically to enable individuals in difficult situations like this to still be able to receive some level of compensation for their whiplash injury.

A whiplash injury can be both annoying and distressing to anyone who is the innocent victim of a careless driver. Claiming whiplash compensation is a way to get some recompense for the pain and discomfort caused by these types of accidents.

How much compensation can I claim for whiplash

The amount of compensation you could claim for whiplash will depend largely on the severity of your injury, the recovery period, and whether or not there are any permanent long term symptoms. Further compensation may also be payable for any financial losses or expenses incurred as a result of the accident.

Guideline whiplash injury claim amounts:

For a minor whiplash injury, you could claim up to £7000

For a moderate whiplash injury, you could claim up to £25,000

For a severe neck fracture resulting from a whiplash injury, you could claim up to £200,000

The solicitors we work with are personal injury compensation specialists. We will deal with everything for you, keeping you up-to-date at every stage of the process. If you would like us to pursue a compensation claim on your behalf, you can be assured that we will always look to achieve the best possible compensation settlement available to you.

Because we and our partners recover our costs from the at-fault drivers insurance company, we and our partners can provide you with a comprehensive claims management service. Put simply it means that we and our partners take care of everything for you!

What are the symptoms of whiplash?

Whiplash compensation can be claimed for both minor injuries aswell as more serious conditions. The symptoms of whiplash often take time to develop after an accident. Inflammation and bruising in the neck muscles won't usually be obvious at the time of the accident.

It can take from 6 to 12 hours for some of the symptoms of whiplash to become apparent. The pain and stiffness can often be worse on the day after the injury, and pain may continue to get worse in the days that follow.

Common symptoms of whiplash include neck pain, neck swelling, tenderness along the back of the neck, a reduction in movement in the back of the neck and headaches.

Other symptoms of whiplash may include lower back pain, numbness or pins and needles in arms and hands, muscle spasms, dizziness, tiredness or blurred vision. Some of these symptoms could indicate more serious underlying issues, and whether they occur straight away or a few days later, you should always seek professional medical advice as soon as you can to ensure that you receive appropriate treatment.

What treatment is there for whiplash?

Treatment for whiplash can take various forms depending your symptoms, and obviously the severity of the injury. It is common for hospitals to x-ray individuals involved in road accidents to check for fractured vertebrae. If no bone injury is found then a course of anti-inflammatory medication and/or pain killers may be prescribed.

The conventional wisdom was that immobilisation of the neck muscles would help with the recovery process. Today more and more practictioners believe that gentle neck movement should be encouraged to help the neck tissues recover. In situations where neck muscles have been badly damaged after a whiplash injury, a soft neck collar may still be prescribed. This is because the damage may be so severe that the extra support may be needed initially to relieve muscle fatigue.

Herniated or ruptured discs are not an un-common type of whiplash injury, they are often identified by the individual describing a sharp or cutting pain or sometimes a tingling or numbness in arms or legs. This is due to the damaged disc compressing or ‘pinching’ a nearby nerve causing pain or discomfort in the limb served by that nerve.

A typical treatment regime will be based on gentle controlled physical activity. Usually treatment will begin with a short period of bed rest followed by a gradual return to your normal daily routine. Sitting down is not good for this condition because the sitting posture puts a large amount of stress and pressure on the lumbar spine, which may increase the pressure on the affected nerve.

The appropriate use of anti-inflammatory drugs, analgesics and muscle relaxants or tranquilisers is important to manage the condition, and in some instances a correct dose of aspirin has been proven to help herniated discs. Surgical intervention for a whiplash injury of this type is usually only as a last resort when other non-invasive methods have proved ineffective.

There are many different types of whiplash injuries and it is beyond the scope of this article to describe them all here (for more information click here). Whiplash however is quite a common injury resulting from a road accident, but thankfully modern treatments of all but the most severe cases are generally effective in the long term.

If I make a whiplash compensation claim, do I need to see a doctor first?

No not necessarily. There are occasionally situations where a person has suffered whiplash injuries, and where the other driver admits that they were clearly at-fault - this is called 'accepting liability'.

In these circumstances it is possible that the at-fault drivers insurance company may make our solicitors, acting on your behalf, a whiplash compensation 'offer' in order to settle the matter quickly and without any medical examination taking place.

Any offer like this would always be made to you via the solicitors we work with, who would then advise you as to whether it is in your best interests to accept it, or not. The final decision would always be yours.

However we strongly recommend that you seek medical advice following any type of road accident, to ensure that the extent of your injuries are correctly diagnosed, correctly treated and that you recover as quickly as possible.

The best way to find out if you have a claim and how much it could be worth is to talk to a qualified professional. Whiplash is now known to be a common injury sustained by the driver or passengers involved in front or rear end collisions on the road. If you believe you have any of the symptoms associated with this injury it's definitely worth getting it checked out by a GP.

We can also arrange for your vehicle to be repaired at either a garage of your choice, or one of our network of approved accident repair centres. We can also provide a comparable replacement vehicle while your car is off the road and have it delivered to your door.

We will recover the costs of these services back directly from the at-fault drivers insurance company.

Please call us now on 02392 484 244 or send us your details using the form on the top right of this page for help and advice from one of our experienced claims advisors.