Given that whiplash claims are fairly common, you’d think this might be a simple question to answer. But the thing is whiplash can affect different people in very different ways. Some people could suffer for a mere few weeks, whereas some may have problems for months, and some may have problems for years.
From a legal perspective, there are normally three categories you can put this injury in to – minor, moderate, and severe. Now, what your doctor or a medical professional tells you is minor or severe is not the same definition as ours. So if your doc tells you that you have a severe case of whiplash, that doesn’t mean you will get the payouts that attract a severe whiplash claim by legal definition.
Most people will fall within the minor category, and this means the symptoms are normally resolved in less than two years. A whiplash claims average payout can attract awards of around £2,500 but the extent of the minor brackets can go to around £5,000.
But the key things to know when it comes to how much a whiplash claim will settle for is that it can be very circumstantial. It can depend on:
- The severity and longevity of your symptoms.
- The type of job you do – manual work might make it worse for example.
- Your lifestyle – if you are active the pain may stop you from doing hobbies which can be factored in to a claim.
- Any losses that you can claim back, such as lost earnings, medical expenses, treatment expenses etc.
- And lastly, the most important one – the quality of your lawyer!
Some lawyers will try and cut corners and save money which can lead to lower payouts. Nowadays we get fixed fees for almost every case, so lawyers have to budget how they work. You might get a lawyer who receives an offer from the other side which is the lower end of the bracket you fit in to. They may advise you to accept it because it is within that particular bracket. But if the offer is in the lower end of the bracket, why aren’t they fighting to get an offer in the higher end? The difference could be thousands of pounds.
It could also depend on any deductions your lawyer might want to take from you due to recent legal reforms.
If it helps, I got £6,500 for my whiplash claim and I can tell you with absolute unbiased confidence that the reason I got such a great amount was down to the lawyer working on the case. As a specialist injury law firm, we only represent victims for personal injury compensation claims so we are experts in our field. Our team are dedicated to one thing – getting you the highest payout.
So for maximum compensation, call 0800 634 7575.