If you are reading this blog, then you may be in the later stages of your whiplash claim. This means that you have had liability admitted on your claim, and you have completed your medical examination and have to hand your medical report. So, you may now be thinking about instructing your solicitor to settle your claim and considering when you will receive your compensation.
Firstly, consider the below options:
Should I settle my claim before I have made a full recovery?
Well, whiplash is a highly unpredictable condition, and by this I mean that a doctor could predict that you will recover in 3 months, when one year down the line you are still suffering. Usually, a solicitor will advise you to wait for a full recovery or to have recovered as much as you are ever going to, before settling your claim. I have set out an example below to illustrate the reason why:
Joe Bloggs has been in a road traffic accident and he has suffered whiplash as a result. Liability has been admitted on his claim and he has a medical report stating he will recover in 6 months. Joe is desperate for his compensation and decides to settle his claim based on the contents of the report and the assumption that he will recover in 6 months.
One year down the line, Joe is still in pain: due to his ongoing symptoms, his GP has recommended he needs further treatment but that the NHS waiting list is 3 months. Joe is also having to take unpaid days off work due to his pain. If Joe had not settled his claim, it would now be of a higher value. Joe may also have had private treatment organised at no cost to himself, meaning he would not have to wait on the NHS waiting list. Joe may also have claimed back his lost earnings as a result of being absent from work. Joe cannot go back and ask for more money, as he settled his claim on a full and final basis.
I would say that the above example illustrates why settling a claim before you have recovered must be very carefully thought through.
Other alternatives
If you are in financial hardship during the time your claim is progressing, your solicitor should advise you about interim payments. These are payments which can be made to a claimant early before their claim is concluded, and may then be deducted from any final sum they receive.
If you have any further questions regarding the above then feel free to give us a call.
