Whiplash Injury Claims – Sadly the question we get asked the most is “how much is my whiplash injury claim worth?” When what people should be asking is “what is the best way to pursue a whiplash injury claim?”
Most neck injuries occur during a car accident which generally means the involvement of two insurers – yours and the third party’s. Your insurer will generally push for you to use their chosen solicitors firm, with whom they have a prior arrangement, to claim for any injuries. The amount therefore becomes part of a total settlement agreement between the two insurers.
If you are happy to use the solicitors firm that your insurer has sent you to, make sure you understand the process and that they explain clearly what their aims and objectives are in relation to your injuries case – not just an overall summary of the accident and total settlement procedure.
You should receive general damages which relates to the amount of pain and suffering that you have experienced as a result of the accident. This will be obtained through the medical records of the professionals you visited about your neck injuries and through your own description of the pain and how it has affected your life. Although psychological disorders rarely result from any neck injury caused in a car accident – continuing trauma and depression can sometimes be added as factors.
For special damages, you total up the actual financial loss of the pain and suffering. Loss of earnings from being off work and future loss of earnings from work you may not be able to to are claimed for here. Paying for someone to look after you or to do work or perform functions that you would have performed yourself can also be included.
In either case, the courts will have final say on the amount awarded should neither side be able to agree on a valuation of the general and special damages. This rarely happens as whiplash is a common injury and there is plenty of documented cases and example settlement figures to gather a suitable and agreeable average that both sides are unlikely able to argue against or for in court.
