If another driver hits you in the back, you have an almost guaranteed claim for personal injury compensation.
For another driver to hit you in the rear, they must have either (or a combination of) been driving too fast, not leaving a safe enough distance between them and you, or not concentrating on the road ahead etc. Unless you slammed your brakes on for no good reason, the other driver should be at fault.
Whether you’re stationary in a line of traffic or at the edge of a roundabout and you have been hit, or whether you were driving along and the other driver has simply gone in to the back of you, it is likely you will end up suffering with a whiplash injury.
Whiplash is caused by the sudden movement of you being thrown or jerked back and forwards, or to the side, as a result of an impact. Whilst a crash may only be slight, the affects of a whiplash injury can be long lasting, painful, debilitating, and sometimes complicated.
Whiplash is not the ‘weak neck’ injury the media make it out to be. I’ve had it myself, and there are sometimes certain things about it that either never go away or won’t go away for years. You may not be in a neck brace and unable to move for a long time, but the littlest of things can flare up the symptoms which can cause aches, burning sensations, stiffness, and difficulties doing the most everyday of tasks.
So if someone has gone in to the back of you, it’s likely you will feel fine before the symptoms start to make themselves known after around 12-48 hours. If you feel pain and stiffness, it’s likely you’re suffering with a whiplash injury. You should visit your doctor as soon as possible or go to a walk in centre to get the injury diagnosed.
Whilst there is very little anyone can do for a whiplash injury, it is helpful to get a proper diagnosis as this may assist with a claim later on. We can normally organise private physiotherapy to help you recover with the symptoms though. A short course of treatment can really help to ease the pain and stiffness and we can normally fund this and get the fees paid for as part of the claim by the other insurers – so you’re not out of pocket.
So if you have been hit in the back, you probably have a guaranteed claim for personal injury compensation which means you are entitled to a payout. Don’t miss out on what you are owed, and don’t get sucked in by the media myths about claims cultures and whiplash epidemics – it’s a load of rubbish! If you’re genuinely injured, you are covered by the insurance of the other side.
There’s really no difference between settling a whiplash claim and getting back your vehicle damages – it’s what you’re owed.