There are undoubtedly A LOT of personal injury solicitors out there that help with road traffic accidents and whiplash injuries. However, it is important that you choose the right one to help run your claim since, unfortunately, there are some out there that may present themselves as something they are not.
Whiplash is the injury primarily to the neck and is most commonly caused by the action of being jolted forwards and backwards quickly. This distorts the muscles in your neck and can consequently lead to long term problems in this area such as reduced movement and constant pain and discomfort. Settlements for whiplash injuries can differ with regards to the “grade” of the injury you have sustained. The JSB guidelines (for more information on these see the JSB guidelines blog) separate whiplash injuries into three main categories: minor, moderate and severe- with understandably the last being valued at the highest amount.
I mention these different categories as this links directly to being prudent when deciding on a solicitor to pursue your claim as it is important you are classed as the right one and receiving the right settlement.
As soon as you have an accident (and even when you haven’t!) you will often receive text messages stating that somebody, somewhere knows about your accident and has the figure you are entitled to- funny how people find out these things without you actually telling them isn’t it? These types of things are sent round by claims companies and are often a result of you ringing your insurance-which in 9/10 cases is of course the first thing anybody does when they have been in an accident.
What insurance companies do is SELL your details across to solicitors- what is commonly known as a referral fee. This then takes away from the amount of money the solicitor has to run your case and therefore they may not lead you down the path to the best settlement.
The best way to explain this scam is using something a little less “taboo-ish”. If you were looking to buy a new house, you wouldn’t just let somebody else buy one for you without you viewing it, making sure everything is above board etc would you? In the same way- why would you let your insurance company choose a solicitor for you? Surely, you want to know their service levels, whether their No Win No Fee is genuine and perhaps most importantly are they even experienced personal injury lawyers? The system of referral fees is to become illegal next April and therefore we always advise people that come to us not to get mixed up in this mess but instruct their own solicitor direct.
It is common in this area for insurance companies to encourage you to deal with them directly and you may be offered a figure from them. Any settlement should be based on medical evidence, as compensation is calculated on how big an affect your injury has on your everyday life and for how long in the future it will affect you for. If you settle you cannot pursue a claim for the same accident later down the line, even if you are still suffering. Settlements should also look to include losses such as loss of earnings, medical expenses and care and assistance. It is likely that this settlement from the insurance will not do this.
Here at The Injury Lawyers, we run claims in a unique client focussed way. We update our clients every 14 days and never leave any important case correspondence untouched for longer than 24 hours.
We work on a genuine no win no fee, which means that, win or lose, we cannot come to you for any costs that we fail to recover from the other side. Finally, we NEVER get involved with referrals and as we only specialist in personal injury you can be assured that we understand what types of settlements you should expect with different severities of whiplash
