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On April 1^st 2013, there was a huge shake-up of the personal injury claiming system that has left almost all victims facing up to 25% of their compensation being taken by their solicitor for a claim from 1^st April onwards. The government decided that lawyers should no longer be able to recover all of their fees from the other side, meaning that lawyers now need to charge clients for certain fees.

The reason why I mentioned 25% is because that is the cap that the government has placed on the charges – i.e. lawyers can’t charge anymore than 25% of a person’s compensation to cover these now unrecoverable fees. The 25% charge must be inclusive of VAT and can only be from damages for personal injury and past financial losses and be net of DWP CRU deductions.

In addition that 25% relates only to the success fee. There is no restriction on the amount they can charge in respect of basic charges.  According to our research so far, most law firms have settled at simply charging the flat rate of 25%.

But we here at The Injury Lawyers dare to be different! As we always have done!
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Whiplash, contrary to popular media fuelled belief, is a real injury. I know, as I’ve had it myself. I’m in the process of settling my claim as we speak, and I will write an article at a later date about how much I settled my whiplash claim for.

So if you have suffered or are suffering from whiplash, how do you make a successful whiplash compensation claim?

Firstly, there has to be someone else at fault. If another driver drove in to the back of you, or pulled out of a side road in to your vehicle, you should have a successful claim. As long as you were not 100% at fault for the accident, we should be able to help you make a successful whiplash claim.

There is a very straight-forward procedure for dealing with most road accidents, which provides quick timeframes for responses and generally allows claims to be resolved at a fairly quick pace. When we submit a claim electronically to an insurance company, they typically have 15 business days to formally accept liability for the accident. They have probably already accepted liability anyway, so a swift response can be common.
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Here we go again! Its snow joke out there; snowmaggeddon has returned; there’s snow way it’s as bad as this; and all the usual jokes and trends on twitter about the weather we’re having at the moment. I remember when I was a kid I was praying for snow to get me off school so I could spend all day sledging and snowball fighting. Now, as a commuter, I hate the stuff!

As well as the obvious delays it can cause, road accidents due to snow are extremely common. All drivers need to adjust the speed and manner in which they drive in to meet the conditions of the road. Snow and ice causes obvious traction issues, so we all need to slow down and take it steady on corners, hills, and country roads.  Sadly, not everyone listens to that.

The point of this article though is to let you know that the weather is not an excuse when it comes to personal injury compensation claims. If you have been injured because another driver has skidded in to the back of you, or veered over from their side of the road, or in any other circumstance because snow and ice on the road has caused them to lose control of their vehicle, they are more than likely liable by law! The at-fault driver cannot use the excuse “I was driving as safely as I could, and I wasn’t speeding; there’s just too much snow and ice and I couldn’t keep control of my car!”
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When it comes to personal injury claiming, we are the experts! As an actual law firm dealing with claims (not some claims management company passing you over to the highest bidding lawyer!) our expertise in whiplash claims spans over decades. Whiplash is the most common injury involved in a road accident, and when it comes to road accidents, they’re usually fairly straightforward when it comes to proving who is at fault. Most people can normally work out right at the start that they definitely have a claim, but they’re not sure how much they can claim for.

Given that, our busy new claims team are often asked the question “how much is my whiplash claim worth?” Now, it’s important to understand that this isn’t something anyone can just easily answer. Each claim is different and is assessed on its own merits – so we can’t just say to you “Oh, that’ll be worth £3,000 mate!” Then comes the next question, “Well, just give me a ball park figure or an average – I won’t hold you to it!” The last bit usually makes me chuckle a little.
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Whiplash is one of the most common injuries sustained in many types of accidents; primarily road traffic ones. It is something that is quoted numerous times in the media and unfortunately has got itself a bad reputation. However, whiplash can be a very debilitating injury, one which can stop people from working and living their everyday lives.

Many people who suffer from whiplash often state that at the time of the accident they felt fine and then a few days later they are experience pain in their neck, shoulders and sometimes the back. Unfortunately this is very familiar to us here at the Injury Lawyers as whiplash is one of them injuries that get worse before it gets better. Now I am not a medical expert, but I imagine that the reason many people do not realise the full extent of their injuries is because of the adrenalin that gets released whenever a sudden shock (and being hit by another car is definitely one of these!) takes place.
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Normally you will end up suffering with whiplash after a road traffic accident; unless it was serious and caused you multiple bodily injuries. For the purpose of this article I’m going to stick with whiplash.

Some people are lucky and their whiplash symptoms will completely resolve after a few days. For others, you could be suffering for weeks, months, or even years. There is no miracle cure for whiplash – the pain and symptoms can be managed with pain killers and anti-inflammatory medication, but sometimes it takes more than just a few pills to recover from this sort of injury. That’s where we come in!

We offer the whole package for a whiplash claim – we will settle your claim for the highest amount, and we will deal with your vehicle hire and repair needs, and private medical care as well. We can arrange private treatment to help you recover from your injuries at a much faster rate. This is great for you for two reasons – first you get to recover quicker, and secondly you kind of have to take treatment if it’s needed or offered as you have a duty to mitigate your losses. That means you must do all you can to recover as quickly as you can rather than just suffering on and on needlessly.
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The majority of people associate whiplash with car accidents. To be fair, the vast majority of whiplash claims are caused by car accidents. However, you can just as easily end up with a whiplash injury from a slip, trip, or a fall.

Whiplash symptoms are caused by the ligaments and tendons in your neck, back and shoulders being stretched beyond their normal range of movement. If you are jerked suddenly, like when you suddenly slip, trip, or fall over something, the tissue can be suddenly stretched and thus leave you with the injury. So don’t be surprised if you are diagnosed with whiplash after being involved in such an accident.

You’ll probably start to feel the symptoms around 12 – 48 hours post accident. This is common for whiplash injuries. There is no miracle cure for the injury, and a lot of it comes down to managing it effectively with anti-inflammatory medication, pain medication, stretching exercises, and physiotherapy. Physiotherapy is something we can normally organise for you on a private basis as part of a claim for compensation.
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According to sources from the BBC (source), Aviva have a dream – a dream that will save you money. In a triple dip recession (or whatever stage we’re at with it these days!) we’re all in need of a bit of extra cash or being able to save a little extra money in the costs of living. Aviva Insurance claim they can help you out here!

Their proposal according to news sources is to “cut out middlemen who inflate the cost of claims” as they blame whiplash claims for the rapid rise in insurance premiums for cars. The middlemen, they claim, are us – personal injury law firms. What they are proposing is that injury victims go to them directly, allow the insurers then to value your claim, and pay you out without the need for paying legal fees.
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Whiplash claims are oh so common; and the question as to how much compensation you are allowed to recover for a whiplash claim is all over the internet. We have done a fair few articles on this topic in the past, but the reason I wanted to write about this today is because I have a whiplash claim and I’ve just received my very first offer! Very exciting…
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It is understandable why many people turn to their car insurance when they have had an accident – after all, isn’t their help what we pay all that money for? However, when it comes to personal injury claims it is always best to instruct your own personal injury specialist to ensure you are getting the best help possible. When you involve your car insurance in organising legal help for a personal injury claim, all they simply do is refer your case across to a panel of their solicitors. This seems a bizarre way of doing things when you think about it – for example: would you trust someone to go and buy your house for you without you viewing the house beforehand and making sure it was the best one for your needs?

When you put your claim through your insurance this is essentially what you are doing – allowing somebody else to guess what type of solicitor is best for you. To make the system even worse, the solicitor they chose will normally pay them a referral fee which will take money away from the budget they have to run your case. In reality, it makes sense for the insurers to pass your case to whichever firm on their panel pays the most for your claim! This system of referral fees is becoming illegal this April – showing just how wrong it really is.

So how does this system actually link to how much your pay out will be for a whiplash claim? Surely, this is just a business being a business and doesn’t affect you?
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