Ever wondered what you actually have to do to make a whiplash claim for a road accident? Here is a guide on the process, and what you should look for when making a claim for whiplash compensation.
Making a Claim – The Process
If your road accident happened after 30th April 2010, your claim will likely fall under the new Road Traffic Accident Protocol for personal injury claims if your injuries are not classed as too serious. This new process was brought in to play to make the process much quicker, and allow injury lawyers and insurers to exchange information over the Ministry of Justices’ secure online internet portal.
Your lawyers will complete an online Claim Notification Form and submit this to the other side. The other side then has 15 working days to accept liability for your accident for the claim to remain in the new, faster system. So long as the claim stays in the system (i.e. deadlines are met by both lawyers and insurers), your claim can be resolved in a matter of months. The claim may ‘fall out’ of this new faster system for a number of reasons. For example:
- They deny fault for your accident
- They accept fault, but allege you were partly to blame for the accident as well
- They allege that your Claim Notification Form did not have enough information on it
I will briefly explain the latter, as this has happened on my very own claim today (rather annoyingly). The whole idea of this new process is to ensure information is exchanged honestly and fairly right from the start. If not enough information is confirmed, insurers can remove the claim from the new system, meaning it will fall under the normal Personal Injury Protocol, which means they get much more time to investigate the claim (3 months to be precise).
However, they should only do this if they have a justifiable reason as to why your lawyers have failed to give enough information. For my case, their allegations are unfounded. My case has already been reviewed by my expert lawyer, senior management, my dedicated legal assistant, and myself. Sadly for me, this means I am now going to have to wait longer for my claim to resolve. Because their allegations are not justified and they will likely be penalised on lawyers’ costs later on down the line of the claim.
So far, my claim happens to be the only claim where this has happened at The Injury Lawyers.
Had my claim remained in the new, faster system, I would probably have got my compensation quicker. This is part and parcel of the whole point of the new system. Sadly, there are some insurers who will try and flout the rules for their own requirements – I suspect they haven’t been investigating my claim properly, despite my initial complaint to them days after the accident, and the involvement of my expert lawyers (i.e. us, The Injury Lawyers!).
OK – so you now know a little about the process; but, who should you instruct to deal with your claim?
Choosing Your Lawyers
Firstly, make sure you go to a law firm directly, and avoid letting your claim be passed round between insurers and claims companies to lawyers. With insurers, this is commonly known as Legal Expenses Insurance, or Motor Legal Protection. This is normally an addition to your policy that guarantees you free legal representation for a claim, with no costs to pay. Sounds great, right?
Well, we have always been against this practice, as what your insurers normally do is refer your claim over to a solicitor for a referral fee. This, confirmed by the Law Society and Bar Council, has the potential to limit your access to justice, and reduce the quality of legal services on offer. The reason for this is that you are allocated a lawyer – you don’t get to choose. The referral fee they pay is not recoverable from the other side at the end of the claim; meaning it will either have to be recovered from your payout (a deduction from your compensation) or will leave your solicitor with less money to spend on your service levels for the claim (hence the potential to reduce the quality of legal services on offer).
We, as a firm proud to be independent, and proud that we never pay referral fees, have always spoken out against this practice. Now, thanks to former Justice Secretary Mr Jack Straw, the issue has hit the headlines, as he has launched a crusade against insurers who sell customers details to claims companies, according to reports from The Guardian (source) and several other news reports and sources over the last week or so.
The report goes on to quote Mr Straw – “This is not a system, it’s a racket. The quicker it’s ended, the better it will be for the law-abiding motorist.”
Mr Jack Straw has called for the referral fees to be banned. Reports confirm they can range from £200 to a whopping £1,000 per claim! We lawyers get around £1,500 in costs for a claim; to waste up to two thirds of this on a referral fee is crazy! This leaves them with just £500 to spend on your service whilst still making sure to turn over a profit!
With a Genuine No Win No Fee lawyer directly, you can enjoy benefits like the ones we offer for our clients:
- A Genuine No Win No Fee that actually guarantees in writing that you will NOT be charged
- No costs to pay if you lose (so, win or lose, you never pay a penny, and you never incur a deduction from your payout)
- Regular contact – at least every 14 days (because we can afford to do so)
- A fast and efficient service – your calls, emails, letter responded to on a same day basis (because we can afford to do so)
- Private medical care at no cost to you right from the outset of the claim (because we can afford to do so)
You have the complete freedom of choice to select your injury lawyer. Use it wisely, and avoid letting any company – whether it’s your own insurers, the police, a garage, or a claims company, refer your claim to a lawyer. A referral fee will likely be involved. Don’t get caught up in the “racket” Jack Straw is openly trying to stop!
Feel free to get in touch with us if you need any more advice on this issue.
