Whiplash can be an extremely painful and frustrating injury to live with. Many clients upon approaching the team at The Injury Lawyers report a whiplash injury; most commonly as a result of a road traffic accident. Road traffic accidents tend to be on the increase – this can be due to a number of factors such as the increasing amount of traffic on the road or the fact that people’s lives seem to be getting busier all the time and they may not be paying the necessary care and attention to the road.
Whiplash is caused by a sudden jolt to the head which causes the neck to move beyond its normal range of movement. Therefore, the injury may not solely be caused by road traffic accidents, but also from accidents such as a fall.
The symptoms of whiplash tend to become apparent between 12-24 hours after the accident and then can continue to increase in severity. So you may think you have come out of an accident unharmed, then unfortunately realise that this is not the case some time afterwards. Many people may think whiplash is solely an injury to the neck – yes, it can cause tenderness, pain, swelling and/or stiffness in the neck – but the term whiplash can also encorporate injury symptoms such as headaches and further pain radiating down through the shoulders and even down the back and arms.
Whiplash can vary in severity. More minor cases may mean a few days or weeks of pain before a full resolution, whereas more severe cases may mean years of suffering with the injury which can have a knock on effect to the sufferer’s social, domestic, and professional life. It is due to this that a valuations guide is available to aid law firms in placing a value as to compensation arising out of such an injury.
The Judicial Studies Board have categorised whiplash injuries into bands for the purposes of an evaluation:
Minor whiplash injuries are worth between £1,000 and £5,000
Moderate whiplash injuries are worth between £5,000 and £15,000
Severe whiplash injuries are worth more than £15,000
The above serves as a guide with the average minor whiplash claim being worth £2,500 statistically.
At The Injury Lawyers we have a vast amount of experience in dealing with whiplash claims. We work hard on behalf of our clients to get them the best possible amounts of compensation – so feel free to give us a call.
