If you were correctly driving along, or you were sitting stationary in your vehicle, when rather annoyingly some other driver rams you up the backside, I have some good news and some bad news for you.
I’ll start with the bad – to get it over and done with – in the next few days (or even hours) you will probably start feeling pain, soreness, stiffness, and / or aches in your neck, shoulders, and back. This is called whiplash – and it’s an absolute pain to live with (I know – I’ve currently got it as well thanks to my local bus service!).
The common symptoms of whiplash are:
- Pain, stiffness, soreness, aches, and discomfort in the neck, back, and shoulder area (sometimes radiating down in to other areas)
- Reduced, or loss of mobility in the affected areas
- Pins and needles in the arms and other areas
- Headaches – sometimes even dizziness, sickness, and vertigo.
It often feels like you’ve slept awkwardly, or you’ve strained your neck and back. In essence, you have strained the muscles in your neck and back. Whiplash is caused by the muscles, tendons, and ligaments in your neck and back being stretched beyond their normal range of movement from the force of the collision thrusting you forward. It’s a rather complicated injury to live with, and it affects different people in different ways.
So – bad news done with. What’s the good news?
The good news is: You have a Claim for Compensation!
If the accident was not your fault, you can make a successful claim for compensation for your injuries, financial losses (lost earnings, treatment costs, travel fares), and get access to private medical care.
You have a claim! And as the other driver hit you in the back, you have a very straightforward claim!
But wait! There’s more bad news; and more good news as well… I will of course traditionally start with the bad news:
As soon as you have your accident, you will probably be inundated with calls left right and centre from insurers, claims management companies, and solicitors all offering you their services. My simple advice is – ignore them all! If they’re aware of your accident, it’s because of the insurers (unless you’ve made an enquiry with someone directly).
Insurers
Ignore them. Do not allow the insurers for the driver at fault to offer you any money or services. You are dealing with the people who owe you money – they will try and under settle your claim. If they offer you a figure right from the outset, you are putting your claim and your health in danger by accepting it. These offers are pulled from thin air – the only way to value a case is with independent medical evidence and a fully qualified injury lawyer on your claim.
If you accept their offer, you can’t go back. If you’re still suffering in a few months time, it’s likely you’ll have under settled your claim, and you won’t be able to get access to private medical care or any more compensation. I’m afraid it’s a case of “hard luck” if you’ve fallen prey to the insurers already…
Never let your own insurers refer your claim over to a solicitor either (normally through Legal Expense Insurance, or Motor Legal Protection). Your claim is basically sold on for a fee – your insurers are paid for providing your details to a solicitor. Your own insurers are making money from your claim for nothing. But that’s not the worst part…
The solicitor that buys your case will waste up to £800 on paying for your claim. This figure is not recoverable from the other side – in fact; we solicitors get fixed fees for road accident claims. So… where does this cash come from?
One of two places:
- Your settlement figure – perhaps a percentage reduction, or a fee you have to pay up front or at the end of the claim.
- Your service levels – your solicitor has wasted potentially 2/3rds of their budget on buying your case. That doesn’t leave them a lot to arrange your medical report, arrange your private treatment, research your claims value thoroughly, fight tooth and nail for the best payout for you, explore every avenue of losses to get you more compensation, keep you updated regularly, and go the extra mile for your claim, does it?
So – avoid insurers: get your own independent personal injury lawyer. Which brings me on to my next point:
Claims Management Companies
These chaps are not lawyers. They’re agents that will ‘provide you with legal advice’ and then refer your claim over to a lawyer. But – they’re certainly not a charity. They don’t pass our details over to solicitors for free. They are of course, a business! So passing your details over to a lawyer will cost the lawyer some money.
As with the insurers, this only comes from one of two places:
- Your settlement figure
- Your service levels.
So – What’s that good news I mentioned ages ago?
The GOOD News
You’re in no way obligated to go with the insurers or with their solicitors. You actually have complete freedom of choice to select any lawyer you like. It’s totally up to you! So, avoid the middlemen taking cuts from you claim, and go direct to a fully qualified personal injury lawyer.
BUT – There’s MORE GOOD News!
With a quality firm of personal injury lawyers like us, you enjoy:
- 100% Compensation – no deductions, no hidden charges. You’re money goes direct to you, and all costs are recovered from the other side. With a Genuine No Win No Fee, you actually can’t be charged for a successful claim as fees are restricted to whatever is recovered from the insurers. So – you don’t need legal expense insurance, or legal protection – it doesn’t cost you a penny to claim anyway!
- High Service Levels – none of your lawyers’ money has been wasted on buying your case. Your lawyer has more money to spend on your claim – that’s more money to fight tooth and nail for the maximum payout, more money to afford better medical evidence and treatment, more money to keep you updated every 2 weeks or so, and more money to keep you happy!
- A two way relationship – there are no middlemen involved taking cuts from your claim. It’s you and your lawyer; fighting for your compensation payout.
So – you definitely have a claim for compensation – you just now need to choose your lawyer. As long as you follow my advice above, you should get a great outcome for your claim. Make sure you read all the paperwork fully, and check hat service levels solicitors have to offer you.
Remember: once you accept amounts from insurers, or select their case-buying solicitors, you pretty much can’t turn back.
Don’t become one of the countless people I speak to on a daily basis who feel cheated out of their claim when they accept compensation direct from insurers, or those with claims dragging on and on, and advice to accept a low offer from an insurer referred solicitor.
