{"id":9125,"date":"2012-01-16T14:23:17","date_gmt":"2012-01-16T13:23:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theinjurylawyers.co.uk\/injury-lawyers-blog\/?p=9125"},"modified":"2015-07-31T12:23:07","modified_gmt":"2015-07-31T11:23:07","slug":"how-much-will-i-get-for-a-whiplash-claim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theinjurylawyers.co.uk\/injury-lawyers-blog\/2012\/01\/16\/how-much-will-i-get-for-a-whiplash-claim\/","title":{"rendered":"How much will I get for a Whiplash Claim?"},"content":{"rendered":"

OK \u2013 so you\u2019ve had a road accident, and you\u2019ve ended up with whiplash \u2013 that painful, stiff feeling, achy, sore-like injury that affects your neck, shoulders, and back<\/em> in most cases. You\u2019ve just joined the many millions before you that have suffered with the same injury, caused by the jolt to your head and neck area from an impact with another vehicle (or a harsh brake, or similar).<\/p>\n

Given just how much whiplash is in the news, you probably didn\u2019t even need a doctor to tell you that you\u2019ve got it. The accident you were in was not your fault, and you now want to know what you can do when it comes to claiming compensation for one of the most under-estimated injuries I\u2019ve personally ever heard of (and felt!); and one with a wrongfully bad air of press around it.<\/p>\n

Well \u2013 here are the answers…
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\nTo value a whiplash claim accurately<\/a> and fully, you actually need expert medical evidence from an independent medico-legal consultant<\/em><\/strong>. Once you have a report, you need a fully qualified specialist personal injury lawyer<\/a> to review the report and value your claim. Without this vital combination, you can only expect guesswork, estimates, and the poor attempts at under-qualified non-experts like those often found on the insurers side to try and give you an amount.<\/p>\n

Whilst its not ideal, I can give you my experience and knowledge to give you a rough estimate as to how much your claim could potentially be worth<\/em><\/strong>, based on statistics, averages, and the third vital thing often used in valuing claims that I didn\u2019t touch on before; the Judicial Studies Board Guidelines<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The Judicial Studies Board Guidelines (or \u201cJSB\u201d Guidelines\u201d) place injuries in to brackets for the purposes of valuing them with a medical report and your expert lawyer. So, I can give you those brackets for you to attempt to \u201cself-diagnose\u201d yourself; but like I say, you still need the medical report and an injury lawyer<\/em><\/strong> to know which bracket your injury fits in with, and how much precisely your claim is worth.<\/p>\n

Start Your Claim Now!<\/a><\/div>\n

For this example, here are the brackets for neck injuries according the JSB Guidelines:<\/p>\n

Minor Whiplash Injuries<\/h2>\n

These are generally worth between \u00a31,000.00 – \u00a35,000.00<\/em><\/strong> roughly. The majority of people suffering from a whiplash injury will fall within this category. The statistical average payout for a minor whiplash claim does fall smack bang in the middle at \u00a32,500.00.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Moderate Whiplash Injuries<\/h3>\n

The JSB Guidelines here state approximately \u00a35,000.00 to anywhere up to \u00a315,000.00<\/em><\/strong>. You have to have been suffering for a long time, and been in quite a lot of pain, to fall within this category.<\/p>\n

Many people will incorrectly self-diagnose themselves<\/em><\/strong> in this category as the safe middle ground, and many doctors will term your whiplash as \u201cmoderate\u201d or \u201cmoderately severe\u201d. This is separate to the brackets we use above \u2013 so don\u2019t take the definition given by your doctor as the right diagnosis<\/em><\/strong> for the brackets above.<\/p>\n

Severe Whiplash<\/h4>\n

For this, we are talking years of suffering, and a lot of pain! It\u2019s very rare to fall within this category, and your injuries could be compensated for a sum as great as \u00a380,000.00 or more!<\/em><\/strong> For this category, it\u2019s just too difficult to give you any in between brackets. You need the experts on your case for this \u2013 there\u2019s no doubt about it.<\/p>\n

Valuing YOUR Claim<\/h4>\n

To have a look at what your claim could be worth, use our calculator on any page within this blog or on our main site.<\/p>\n

Getting the MAXIMUM Compensation<\/h4>\n

To get the maximum amount of compensation, you need an independent, fully qualified personal injury lawyer to represent you<\/em><\/strong> for your case. Here\u2019s a breakdown of the requirements to make sure you attain this \u2013 think of it as a checklist to use when instructing your lawyers.<\/p>\n