When Should You Make a Claim for a Whiplash Injury?

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Posted On Fri, Mar 22nd 2013 Posted by : Legaladvice.com Staff

One of the most common injuries resulting from a car accident, whiplash can be a serious, painful injury that leaves the victim debilitated and in need of constant medical care. It affects the neck, shoulders and spine and in the most serious of cases can leave the sufferer unable to regain full mobility of this part of their body.

Whiplash most commonly occurs when you, as a driver or passenger, are hit by a car coming from behind. The results in a motion of your head and neck being pushed forwards very quickly in a snap-like motion - hence where the term ‘whiplash’ has got its name from.

So when should you look at making a whiplash claim?

If you need to pay for medical treatment/expenses

After feeling any sort of pain following a car accident you should make sure you seek medical attention. Although it may not feel painful initially, whiplash symptoms can develop over time and become very painful indeed.

If you need to pay for any medical treatment, including physiotherapy sessions, private appointments or even the expenses to get you too and from the doctors surgery, you may be entitled to make a compensation claim.

If you’ve taken time off work

Debilitating injuries can often leave the victim needing to take an extensive period of time off work. This then results in the loss of income - sick pay is generally far less than the average monthly earnings!

This is where whiplash claims are designed to help best; any loss of income that you incur can be recovered in personal injury compensation to help you get back on your feet and not lose out financially.

If you are struggling with other bills as a result

With loss of income often comes difficulties in paying important bills such as the mortgage/rent, utilities and even the weekly food shop. And let’s face it - borrowing money from loved ones can only go on for so long!

Claiming compensation for your whiplash injury can help recover the costs for these bills, meaning you haven’t lost financially in the long-run. Fortunately, the turnaround time on whiplash claims is also fairly quick, meaning it’s best to get in contact with a professional solicitor as soon as possible following your accident.

If it was not your fault

Most importantly of all - a whiplash claim should only be made if the accident was not your fault. The legal system may not look kindly if you caused the accident yourself, by braking hard or enticing a collision for example.

If the accident was genuinely not your fault then you have every right to contact a personal injury solicitor today to discuss what happened and see if you are entitled to receive any compensation.

About the author

Alex Potter is a retired solicitor who now blogs on all things law. He specialized in personal injury claims and has years of experience helping people with their whiplash claims and much more following a car accident.