Compensation for Whiplash Injuries
Whiplash is a type of personal injury which takes place in the neck as a result of severe stretching in the spine. The whiplash injury may be minor but can have a detrimental affect on your whole life.
Car accidents are the most common cause of whiplash injury with rear-impact collisions showing the highest incidence rates.
Every year the number of road casualties in the UK totals over 300,000 and 14-20% of those involved in car accidents sustain whiplash injuries. Whiplash can occur immediately after an incident or take place a few days later.
The severity of a whiplash injury can vary greatly and while some people make a recovery within a few days or weeks, others are left with symptoms and pain from their whiplash for months or even years. If the whiplash is really severe, it can cause an injury to the spinal joints and also the discs that support the spinal column.
Whiplash Injury Claim
Whiplash is common after road accidents and so are whiplash claims. Anybody who is involved in a road traffic accident is likely to have eligible whiplash claims as a result of the incident, hence its very frequent appearance in the compensation industry.
In the UK there are around 600,000 personal injury claims every year and around 80% of these are for whiplash injury compensation claims.
Whiplash payouts are variable depending on the circumstance of the accident and the nature of the injury itself. Depending on the severity of the whiplash injury it may be that the sufferer is out of work for some time and loses income as a result; which is the common trigger for many claims.
Making a whiplash claim to get compensation may be straightforward, but in some cases complications can arise as there are things that can stand in the way of you making a claim for whiplash compensation, such as whether or not the incident itself was actually your fault.
If the accident was not your fault and the accident itself has been within the last 72 months, (provided you were in the vehicle at the point of collision,) only then can you make a compensation claim for your whiplash injuries.
Why take help from a whiplash injury attorney?
It is always your best option to approach an experienced lawyer or solicitor firm for making a whiplash injury claim, as there are many other aspects to such claims.
A whiplash injury lawyer will help you to pursue a whiplash injury claim by checking all medical records made after the accident, thus establishing the extent of the post-accident medical condition. The lawyer will also analyse the accident and collect further proof and evidence.
If you suffered from any type of financial losses, as in loss of income, your whiplash injury attorney may help you get extra compensation. This compensation usually covers a loss of past and future wages.
Moreover, if the accident caused a detrimental change in your lifestyle, a lawyer can work to ensure this is covered as well.
Updated on 27/01/2010