Personal Injuries - Neck and Whiplash Injury Claim

The most common personal injury following a car crash is whiplash. This is caused by the sudden impact of the crash, which can cause the neck to be thrown backwards and forwards.

One of the first steps to making a whiplash claim is to seek medical treatment. It is important to ensure that you have not sustained a serious injury during the accident. A trip to your GP or local accident and emergency department will take care of this and prescribe the necessary and appropriate treatment that you may need.

The symptoms of whiplash do not necessarily occur straight away, it might take weeks or even months for the symptoms to develop.

If you have suffered a whiplash injury that was caused by someone else's negligence, you may be entitled to make a claim for whiplash compensation if the injury has occurred within the last three years.

You need to speak to a personal injury solicitor. Personal injury solicitors know personal injury law and are more likely to recover the maximum compensation that you deserve.

If your whiplash injury has been caused by a car accident, you may be entitled to also receive compensation for the reasons shown below.

Compensation for vehicle damage

It is likely that the vehicle you were driving at the time of the accident will have been damaged or written off. You are entitled to the cost of repair to your vehicle. If your vehicle was beyond repair (write-off) – you are entitled to claim the sum of money that your vehicle was worth, given its age, mileage and condition, so that you can buy another one.

Cost of hire vehicle

While your vehicle is being repaired, you may claim the expenses of your hire vehicle.

Loss of use of vehicle

If you decide not to hire a vehicle while yours is being repaired, you are entitled to claim a sum of money known as 'loss of use of vehicle', which is calculated on a daily rate.

Financial loss

If the symptoms of your injury have caused you pain and suffering that have caused you to take time off work and you have been signed off by your GP, you may be entitled to receive compensation for any financial loss that you have suffered.

Medical expenses

If you have had to pay out of your own pocket for any medical treatment or physiotherapy, you may be entitled to receive compensation for this.

Every solicitor will need to prepare your whiplash claim and will need as much evidence as possible to prove liability against the third party you are holding liable for your injury. Therefore, they will need to obtain as much evidence as possible. The most important evidence that is needed relates to your medical condition.

Your solicitor will require and need to obtain the following information:

• Your medical history
• Your medical history will need to be obtained to ensure that you have not suffered any previous neck, shoulder or back problems.
• You will be required to complete a form of medical authority which will allow your solicitor to contact your GP and obtain copies of your medical notes. If you have attended Accident & Emergency, they will also want to get in touch with the hospital to obtain the medical notes of your visit.

Once these have been received, your solicitor will review them to ensure that the evidence supports your claim for pain and suffering. They do not do this to question your evidence; they do it to support your claim for the compensation that you may be entitled to receive.

Your solicitor will also instruct a medical expert to carry out a medical assessment. This could be carried out by a GP or an orthopaedic surgeon.

Once you have attended the medical examination, your doctor will prepare a report. This will be received by your solicitor and will be reviewed to support your claim for compensation.

Other evidence to support your injuries

In a minor case, your solicitor will also want to know the details of:

• Any independent eyewitnesses who were at the scene of the accident.
• They will need a description of the accident circumstances, including the date and time of the accident and the road and weather conditions.

Any photographic evidence you can provide that shows the damage to your vehicle will also be a contributing factor to supporting evidence against your claim.

In more severe circumstances, your solicitor may want to obtain statements from any family members or friends. This will be important to detail the impact the accident has had on your day-to-day lifestyle.

It is important that you keep any receipts or wage slips (if you have suffered from any loss of earnings) so that your solicitor can prepare a full and detailed account of your losses. The document that they will prepare for this is called a 'Schedule Of Special Damages'.

Make sure that you provide your solicitor with as much documentation as you possibly can, including:

• Any receipts for your car repairs.
• Car hire receipts (if you've needed a replacement car).
• Any receipts for any form of medication and/or treatment receipts for any physiotherapy you may have had.

The length of time it takes to recover compensation for your whiplash injury depends on how long it takes to gather the evidence for your claim.

There are also other variables that need to be considered. For instance, how long it takes for you to return your documents once they have been posted to you. The faster you return them, the quicker you may receive your compensation payout for your claim.