By Lewis Lennon. Last Updated 29th March 2023. Welcome to our guide on whiplash compensation FAQs. In this guide, we are going to talk about a common injury that often occurs with road traffic accidents. Whiplash, often happens in a variety of different accidents. Not only is it a common injury in road collisions other accidents, not just vehicle accidents could cause such a soft tissue injury. People can suffer whiplash injuries if they were to have a slip, trip or fall, or an object was to fall from above or in a physical assault for instance.
Whiplash compensation guide
This can be inconvenient, as it may stop you from being able to carry out your daily activities. You may have questions about claiming for a whiplash injury; if so, our guide on whiplash compensation FAQs could help.
To hold a valid claim for a whiplash injury you must be able to prove that it was caused due to a breach in the duty of care owed to you in certain situations. If this happened to you, we’ll explain how you can calculate compensation amounts from a whiplash neck injury and take a look at how a solicitor can help you in the whiplash claims process.
Our aim is to answer your whiplash compensation FAQs, help you gather evidence, and provide advice that you may be looking for. Simply get in touch with our friendly personal injury claims team by:
- Calling us on 0161 696 9685
- Filling out our callback form at Advice.co.uk
- Speak to an adviser at our ‘live support’ option for immediate free legal advice.
Select A Section
- A Guide To Answering Whiplash Compensation FAQ’s
- Calculating Whiplash Claim Amounts
- Types Of Damages Awarded For Whiplash Injuries
- Whiplash Claims – What Is The Whiplash Reform Programme?
- Road Traffic Accidents That Could Cause Whiplash
- Whiplash Injury Symptoms
- How Is Whiplash Diagnosed And Treated
- How Long Does Whiplash Take To Heal?
- Passenger Accident Whiplash Claims
- Time Limits For Whiplash Claims
- No Win No Fee Whiplash Neck Injury Claims
- Contact Us
- More Information
- Commonly Asked Questions About Whiplash
A Guide To Answering Whiplash Compensation FAQ’s
Welcome to our guide about whiplash compensation. We hope to answer your questions and concerns about this distressing injury and help you build a case for compensation if it was caused by a third party’s breach of the duty of care owed to you.
Whiplash can happen when the head and neck suddenly snap forward and then backwards, or vice versa. This can cause severe injury under certain circumstances. Whiplash injuries can range from mild to severe and the health problems they create can take months or even years to recover from.
If you can prove through evidence that a responsible third party is liable for your whiplash injury you may be able to make a claim for compensation. In order to make a claim, you need to prove three main areas:
- That you were owed a duty of care
- This duty was breached
- You suffered whiplash as a consequence
In this guide, we’ll look at some common FAQs such as “how is blame established?”, “how much whiplash compensation could I be owed?” and “how do I find the right personal injury lawyer for me?”. We’ll conclude by showing the benefits of claiming with a No Win No Fee solicitor.
Calculating Whiplash Claim Amounts
Whiplash claim amounts depend on the severity of the injury. A slight rear-end bump could lead to a minor jolt that just pulls a tendon, which is painful, but not life-altering. However, a more severe accident could mean the soft tissue in the neck is damaged more seriously and the compensation awarded would reflect this.
Some websites offer a personal injury claims calculator service that attempts to attach general amounts to a wide range of whiplash injuries. Providing an accurate compensation amount is very difficult without viewing the medical evidence. If you would like our advisors to provide an estimated compensation amount call today.
We know that those looking to pursue a claim for whiplash would like some kind of value to add to their injury. For this reason, we have included a compensation table. The figures within the table are taken from the Judicial College Guidelines. the JCG is often used in personal injury cases when putting a value on an injury.
| Duration of injury | Amount |
|---|---|
| Not more than 3 months | £260 |
| More than 3 months, but not more than 6 months | £520 |
| More than 6 months, but not more than 9 months | £895 |
| More than 9 months, but not more than 12 months | £1,390 |
| More than 12 months, but not more than 15 months | £2,125 |
| More than 15 months, but not more than 18 months | £3,100 |
| More than 18 months, but not more than 24 months | £4,345 |
Compensation amounts are never absolutely certain and each case varies. The amounts are reflective of general damages. This is compensation awarded for the injury alone. You may also be able to claim special damages in successful personal injury cases.
Types Of Damages Awarded For Whiplash Injuries
It’s important to note that whiplash injuries can vary from mild to completely debilitating. The damages that could be awarded reflect this wide range of effects this kind of injury can cause.
For example, general damages seek to compensate you for the pain and suffering the injury has caused. Taking their lead from the suggested award amounts in the Judicial College Guidelines. Your No Win No Fee lawyer, if you have chosen to use one, will provide evidence of your injuries. Also, the effects that they’ve had on you in order to get you the compensation you deserve for your injuries.
Special damages take into account all of the things you had to pay for because of your injury. Financial losses can accumulate quickly as you attempt to live life with your new injury.
An injury could mean you need to take time off work to recover. Therefore, as part of a successful claim, you could ask for any loss of earnings. You may also find that you’re unable to drive, meaning that you need to spend money on travel expenses. You could also find that you need to pay for medication or treatment not available on the NHS.
All of these can be included in the special damages head of your claim. It’s really important that you have evidence of these damages, so keep a record of any receipts, bills or invoices.
Call us for your initial free consultation. It’s possible that there are other expenses that you don’t realise can be included.
Whiplash Claims – What Is The Whiplash Reform Programme?
If you are making a whiplash claim for an injury that is valued under £5,000, or if the total value of your claim is less than £10,000, you will claim through the Whiplash Reform Programme. It comes following the introduction of the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021, which was implemented on the 31st May 2021. Your accident will need to have taken place on this date or afterwards in order to be eligible to claim through the programme.
There are other eligibility requirements, such as:
- Your injuries must have been caused as a result of a road traffic accident
- Your injuries were minor, for example, whiplash, muscle damage, cuts, bruises or minor fractures
- You were aged 18 or over at the time of the incident
- You were a driver or a passenger of a vehicle, excluding mopeds, motorbikes and scooters
Some examples of whiplash compensation are included in the table above. If you claim through the programme, your compensation will relate to the tariff amounts found in the Regulations. Please don’t hesitate to contact our advisors if you have any questions regarding the table or about whiplash claims.
Road Traffic Accidents That Could Cause Whiplash
Road traffic accidents are common; over 150,000 accidents resulting in casualties were reported on roads in Great Britain in the year ending 2019. Every day on UK roads, small acts of negligence while driving could create a car accident scenario for whiplash injury. Some examples of accidents that could result in whiplash are:
- You’re sitting waiting for lights to change and the car behind accelerates too fast. It hits you and throws you forward.
- Someone hits you while you’re stationary in your car and you experience a jerking motion to your neck and head, resulting in whiplash.
- You’re on public transport, the driver pulls out too soon and collides with a car.
The rapid back-and-forth movement of the neck which causes whiplash can also happen in other scenarios, such as sports injuries, a fall, or as the victim of abuse or violence.
The neck is both strong and fragile. A seemingly minor bump can be all it takes to dislodge a bone or trap a nerve. This can require months of physiotherapy sessions to correct. Any sudden movement of the neck could result in injury, so please don’t disregard the slight pain in your neck. It could be the start of something much worse. Always seek medical advice.
Whiplash Injury Symptoms
Below, we’ve included a list of some of the common symptoms of whiplash. Given the wide range of effects for an injury like this, you may find that you experience some of the symptoms of whiplash in conjunction with others, while others are felt in isolation. Whiplash symptoms can include:
- Neck pain
- Tenderness and tingling
- Neck stiffness, including loss of range of motion
- Instant or consistent headaches
- Muscular spasms in shoulders and arms
- Numbness, tingling, or loss of feeling
- Ringing in the ears (tinnitus)
- Irritability and depression
As you can see, a distressing array of consequences can arise from an accident causing a whiplash injury. The symptoms above are linked to other sites that can offer details about treatment and prognosis.
If you are a victim of any injury caused by the negligent acts of another person, you could have grounds to hold them liable. Get in touch with us to discuss your options.
Can You Get Whiplash From A Fall?
Whiplash occurs when your head is suddenly jolted backwards and forwards, almost mirroring a whip like movement. Therefore, if you have a fall that causes a sudden movement to your head, you could experience a whiplash injury.
As part of the whiplash claims process, you’ll need to demonstrate that the fall was caused because a duty of care that was owed to you was breached. You’ll also need to prove you have whiplash.
Get in touch if you are ready to make a whiplash claim after a slip, trip or fall accident. Our advisors can offer you free advice and could also put you in touch with an expert personal injury solicitor from our panel if you seek legal support.
How Is Whiplash Diagnosed And Treated?
You should always seek medical advice with any injury. If you are experiencing any unusual feelings in your neck after a car accident, or another type of accident including any of the symptoms listed above, please do this as matter of urgency.
Your health practitioner or GP can confirm the extent of your injuries. At the hospital, X-Rays and MRI scans provide limited evidence for whiplash. But an examination by a doctor may provide a diagnosis.
Once your doctor has determined the extent of your whiplash injuries, they will suggest a course of treatment that can involve anything from mild painkillers to a referral to a physiotherapist.
Whiplash includes a wide spectrum of symptoms and extremes. Each case is different and diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis will vary widely as well. We cannot provide any medical advice as we are not medical experts but we can supply free advice about making a personal injury claim for a whiplash injury.
How Long Does Whiplash Take To Heal?
If you’ve sustained whiplash as the result of an accident, an important question on your mind will undoubtedly be ‘how long does whiplash injury take to heal?’
Most people recover from whiplash within three months, whereas others can take up to a year. Some people never fully recover. There is no clearcut answer to this question as it depends on so many factors such as:
- How bad the neck injury is.
- What your general health and fitness levels are like.
- Whether you have acted upon the advice of medical professionals.
- Whether you are receiving the right treatment.
Recovering from a whiplash injury can be a real inconvenience. Even though you may only feel slight pain in your neck after an accident it is advisable to have it checked out with a doctor as such an injury can get worse as time goes on.
The NHS offers advice here to help those recovering from whiplash, and you can get in touch with our team if you would like your claim assessed for free.
Passenger Accident Whiplash Claims
One question we’re often asked is “can you claim for a whiplash injury if you were not driving?” The answer to this is yes.
There are different options for making a whiplash compensation claim as a passenger. You can sue the driver in the other vehicle who caused the injury or, if you were travelling with the at-fault driver, you may be able to claim against them for the injuries you’ve sustained.
Perhaps a taxi driver failed to maintain the correct stopping distance and collided with the rear of another vehicle, throwing your neck forward, or you were involved in a collision on a bus resulting in your head and neck being jolted.
If you have suffered a whiplash injury as a passenger in a vehicle accident you could be eligible to be compensated for your suffering.
Time Limits For Whiplash Claims
There is a three-year time limit to making a personal injury claim. When this time limit begins depends on different circumstances. While most time limits begin from the date of an accident some begin much later. Therefore the time limit may begin from the date of knowledge.
If the injured person is under the age of 18, then a litigation friend can claim on their behalf until they turn 18, at which point they will have three years to claim for themselves. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 states that a litigation friend can also be appointed to claim on behalf of someone who lacks the capacity to do so themselves.
No Win No Fee Whiplash Neck Injury Claims
Claiming compensation for any injury could be stressful that is why many opt to use a solicitor to represent their case. However, often claimants worry about the costs involved when using a solicitor. But if you were to use a solicitor that offers a No Win No Fee Agreement you would not have to worry about upfront charges. Moreover, you would not have to pay any solicitor fees while the case was ongoing.
So, if the case lost and no compensation was awarded you would not have to pay the solicitor anything.
And, winning cases means that you only need to pay a percentage of your compensation award, which is legally capped, to the solicitor as their fee for representing your case successfully.
Although you don’t need a solicitor in order to make a claim, working with a No Win No Fee solicitor means that they can explain the jargon and offer legal advice and support throughout the whole process.
Contact Us
Thank you for reading our guide; we hope that we’ve been able to answer some of your whiplash compensation FAQs.
Call our advisors today and receive the advice you may have been looking for. There is no obligation to go any further just because you have spoken to our claims team.
- Calling us on 0161 696 9685
- Filling out our contact form.
- Speaking to an adviser at our ‘live support’ at the bottom right of this page for immediate free legal advice.
More Information
If you have other whiplash compensation FAQs or need further guidance on any of the subjects we’ve covered, please refer to the links below. We try to supply you with the resources to make an informed decision about claiming for whiplash and our team are on hand to offer help with any queries you may have.
Petrol Station Accident Claims: If you’ve been injured in an accident at a petrol station, then this guide will help you in making a claim.
Taxi or Minicab Accident Claims: Have you been injured in an accident while a passenger in a taxi or minicab? You may be entitled to claim if so. Read our guide for more details.
Back Injury After A Car Accident- Case Study: This guide will look at a case study relating to a car accident and subsequent back injury.
Common Whiplash Compensation FAQs
How long does it take to know if you have whiplash?
With whiplash, you may feel pain immediately, 24 hours later, or even a few days later.
How do I know my whiplash is serious?
Always seek medical attention if you’re experiencing any neck pain after an accident.
Is it okay to massage whiplash injuries?
We cannot provide any medical advice. However, we can assess any personal injury claim for free.
Can a physiotherapist really help with whiplash?
A doctor that treats you can advise whether physiotherapy would help your whiplash injury.
What is the best way to sleep with whiplash?
This is one of the most common whiplash injury FAQs, as sleeping with whiplash can be very uncomfortable. Due to the wide range of severities of this kind of injury, it’s best to ask your doctor or physiotherapist for advice about sleeping.
Thank you for reading our guide looking at whiplash compensation FAQs.
Page by FS
Published by AL.