This is a common question I hear on a daily basis from the new clients whose cases we accept – and not just for whiplash, but for any injury suffered through the fault of another person or party.
But how much are you entitled to claim for a whiplash injury? Well, the only way to properly value your injury is with a specialist solicitor on board, and a medical report compiled by an expert. But we can give you a few guides as to what you may be looking at:
Minor, Moderate, or Severe?
It’s difficult to assess which of the three main categories your whiplash injury fits in to without proper medical evidence; particularly at the early stages of the claim. Which category you fit in to is entirely dependent on a number of factors, such as:
- How long you are suffering for
- The severity of your suffering
- The impact your suffering has had on your life
- Whether your injury has exacerbated a previous injury
Once your specialist solicitor has assessed your medical report and done their homework with a bit of case law (other similar cases in the past), they will combine their expertise with the JSB (Judicial Studies Board) Guidelines which give an indication of what the compensation amount should be worth.
According to the JSB Guidelines:
- Minor Whiplash injuries are worth between around £1,000 and £5,000.
- Moderate Whiplash injuries are worth anything between £5,000 to £15,000.
- Severe Whiplash injuries – are worth more than £15,000.
On average, most minor whiplash cases do statistically settle for around £2,500. A minor whiplash is generally the most common category – so this statistic gives you a general idea of what you could be looking at.
There are many other things to take in to account – you are entitled to compensation for the pain, suffering, and inconvenience of your injury, and you are entitled to recover any losses you have incurred. Common recoverable losses are:
- Lost Earnings: if you have two weeks off work due to your injuries, we will claim two weeks’ worth of earnings back for you if you do not get any pay! If you get SSP, then we can recover an amount equating to what you should normally earn.
- Medical Expenses: if you have had to pay for any medical treatment, we can claim that back for you too. In fact, a good lawyer will provide you with a private medical care plan from the outset of your case – with no fees to pay. Everything is recovered back from the other side, and if the claim is lost, the fees are covered under insurance – meaning you pay nothing.
- Care & Assistance: If any of your friends or family have had to look after you, or assist you with daily tasks: such as cooking, cleaning, bathing, shopping, etc, you can claim back a fee for this as well – even when you aren’t paying anyone for the assistance.
How Do I Get The Maximum Compensation I Am Entitled To?
There is only one way to guarantee that you get the maximum you are legally entitled to get; instruct an independent firm of specialist injury lawyers. Here is a list of things you need to ensure you get, and make sure you avoid:
Your Injury Lawyer should:
- Operate on a Genuine No Win No Fee basis – meaning you get 100% of the compensation you are entitled to get, and there are never any fees whatsoever. Your lawyers legal fees should be limited to whatever they recover us well – meaning they cannot charge you. If the claim is lost – there are no fees at all.
- Be completely Independent – never let an insurance company (even your own) or a claims company refer your claim on to a law firm. All they actually do is sell the details on for a referral fee that the solicitor will spend straight form their budge for running your claim. This leaves you with a lawyer with less money to spend on your claim. That’s less money to fight harder for your settlement, less money to update you regularly, etc.
- Offer you private medical care (if necessary) at no costs to you from the outset of the case. The fees are recovered back from the other side at no cost to you – if your claim is not successful, you should still not have to pay for the treatment.
For further advice, please don’t hesitate to get I touch or use our online calculator (on the right hand side) to give you an idea as to how much you could be entitled to claim for.
