Ministers have held a summit in London on motoring insurance, and the government is now expected to unveil steps aimed at “weeding out” false whiplash compensation and similar claims.
Proposals are set to be unveiled later this summer, and to go out to consultation. They include the possibility of introducing independent medical panels who have no direct links to injury claimants. Whiplash injury claims are currently assessed by doctors who work for medical reporting organisations.
Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke has also said that the proposals could make it “quicker, cheaper and easier for valid injury claims to be handled through the small claims court.”
Insurance companies are also considering including warnings in their insurance policies, to let policyholders know that any wrongful whiplash injury claim will be challenged.
The plans are apparently supported by 90% in the UK, according to one price comparison website. The survey found that just over a quarter of the 4,000 who took part in the poll supported the measures because of the potential for false whiplash claims to increase the cost of insurance premiums.
Why You Should Still Claim for Whiplash Injuries
If you’ve been in an accident and experienced these injuries, you’ll know how serious whiplash can be. It occurs when the body is thrust forward, often when a car goes into the back of another vehicle. Contrary to what you may have thought, an accident doesn’t need to be very high impact for whiplash to occur.
Symptoms may manifest themselves a few weeks after the accident, rather than immediately. Your neck may swell up, you may experience headaches, or reduced neck mobility. Other potential symptoms can include blurred vision and lower back pain.
While symptoms often clear up quickly, there are those who experience neck pain for the rest of their lives.
If the accident was through no fault of your own – whether you were the driver or just travelling in the car – you can, and should, make a claim for compensation.
You may not realise that you can even make such a claim if you were a passenger in a bus or taxi, as long as you were traveling in the vehicle which was not at fault in the accident.
For genuine claimants, it is not about pandering to a “compensation culture” or being out for what they can get, but about being reimbursed for costs arising from their injuries, which can range from having to take time off work to physiotherapy fees.
How PHC Law Can Help
At PHC Law, we’re personal injury lawyers with over 30 years’ experience in our field. We have both the ability and the expertise to recover the full amount of compensation for your whiplash injuries, money which you deserve and which is rightfully yours.
Based in Preston, we offer our clients the best possible guidance and legal advice. We’re straightforward, open and approachable. Learn more today about how we could lessen the impact of having been involved in an accident.