What’s the amount you get for a whiplash injury?
This is one of the most common questions I am asked when I am advising people about what they can expect from a Whiplash Claim with a firm of specialist injury lawyers like us. It’s a question that almost all whiplash sufferers want the answer to.
Unfortunately, there is no way I can tell you personally as a reader of this blog how much your whiplash claim is worth. There’s too much I don’t know about you that needs to be taken in to account. I can however guide you as to what you could expect based on statistics, averages, and official guidelines we here use to value Whiplash Claims.
Minor, Moderate, Severe?
Most people cannot accurately gauge the level of severity of the whiplash injury they have. To complicate things a little more, one expert’s diagnosis of severe can be another expert’s diagnosis of minor. So, when I give you the heads up of what you can expect in the next section of this blog, don’t be too presumptuous as to how bad your whiplash is classified in line with the guidelines we use to help us value claims for compensation.
According to averages and statistics, the majority of minor whiplash cases settle for around £2,500.00. The majority of people suffering from whiplash will fall in to the minor category as well (when it comes to the medico-legal definitions we use for valuing injuries).
The OFFICIAL Guidelines (Judicial Studies Board Guidelines – or JSB)
According to the guidelines in place that are used to value whiplash claims:
- Minor Whiplash Injuries are worth between £875 and £5,150
- Moderate Whiplash Injuries are worth between £5,150 and £16,400
- Severe Whiplash Injuries are worth up to £97,000!
You can use our calculator on our home page now to get a free text with an approximate valuation for your injury.
The only way to accurately find out which category of whiplash you fall in to, and therefore how much compensation you are entitled to recover, is with a medico-legal report and a fully qualified expert injury lawyer working on your case. The medico-legal expert will produce a report following an examination with you that will clarify the suffering, impact, and loss the whiplash injury has caused you.
They will then use their expert opinion to justify the information you have given to them about the suffering and effect the injury has had on you, and provide the report to your lawyer.
It is then the job of your lawyer to use their wealth of experience and knowledge, as well as the medical evidence from the expert, to research your injury and evidence and value your claim.
Getting the MAXIMUM Amount
Cold hard fact for you here ladies and gentlemen – insurance companies do not want to pay you for your compensation. If they have to by law, i.e. they admit liability and you are due a payout, they will want to pay as little as possible to you.
Why? Well, they’re a business, and their aim is to make money for themselves and their shareholders. The less they pay out, the more money they personally make…
So, you need an expert injury lawyer to fight your corner for the case to make sure you get paid out the maximum amount of compensation you can. Enlist the help of a specialist personal injury lawyer with years and years of expertise in dealing with personal injury claims to fight your corner for the case.
If you need any more advice about your claim, feel free to call us on 0800 634 75 75.
