Making Car Accident Claims For Whiplash | 100% No Win No Fee Expert | UK Solicitors For Compensation Claims Compare

Making Car Accident Claims For Whiplash

In this guide, we will explain the eligibility criteria that must be met to make car accident claims for whiplash injuries. Road users owe a duty of care to ensure they navigate the roads safely. Should another road user breach this duty of care, resulting in a car accident in which you sustain whiplash injuries, you may be eligible to claim personal injury compensation due to negligence.

As we move through this guide, we will discuss the changes implemented on the 31st of May 2021, which affected the process of claiming for certain whiplash injuries after a traffic accident. Additionally, we will explore the time limits that must be adhered to when starting a case, how compensation could be calculated for successful road traffic accident claims and the ways in which a No Win No Fee solicitor may benefit you.

Please speak to a member of our team about making your whiplash car accident claim. They are available 24/7. Therefore, they can provide both free and confidential legal advice at a time that best suits you.

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Car Accident Claims For Whiplash – How They’re Made
Find Out If You’re Eligible To Claim For Road Traffic Accident Claims
Whiplash Claims After A Car Accident – Example Settlements
How Long After A Car Crash Can You Claim Whiplash?
Making Car Accident Claims For Whiplash With A No Win No Fee Lawyer
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Car Accident Claims For Whiplash – How They’re Made

Whiplash is a type of neck injury that can happen due to a sudden movement of the head. This can often occur following a traffic accident.

The process of making certain car accident claims for whiplash injuries changed from the 31st of May 2021, when the Whiplash Reform Programme was introduced. These changes affect how adult drivers and passengers bring forward a claim for whiplash and soft tissue injuries that are valued at £5,000 or less. Cases meeting these conditions must now be made via the government’s Official Injury Claims portal.

The valuation of your whiplash injuries will be considered in line with the tariff of set amounts laid out in the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021. Should you have additional injuries that take the total value over £5,000, you will not make your claim through the government portal; you will proceed to bring forward your claim in the traditional way. Although your whiplash injuries will still be valued via the tariff, any other injuries will be valued via the traditional method.

It is also important to clarify that these whiplash reforms are not applicable to pedestrians, cyclists or motorbike riders.

Speak to a member of our team to learn how changes to the whiplash compensation claims process may affect your case.

Find Out If You’re Eligible To Claim For Road Traffic Accident Claims

Road users owe a duty of care to one another to navigate the roads safely and prevent injury. The Road Traffic Act 1988 explains this duty of care. Additionally, The Highway Code provides a broad range of guidance and rules for road users, some of which are backed by laws.

A road user could breach their duty of care in the following ways:

Driving at a speed that exceeds the legal limit
Operating a car under the influence of alcohol or drugs
Ignoring traffic lights or signage on the roads

The eligibility criteria that must be met to make car accident claims for whiplash injuries are as follows:

A road user owed you a duty of care.
They breached their duty of care, causing an accident.
This resulted in you sustaining physical and/or psychological injuries.

Please speak to a member of our team to find out whether you could have an eligible claim.

Whiplash Claims After A Car Accident – Example Settlements

Compensation can be awarded for successful car accident claims for whiplash injuries under up to two heads. Firstly, you could receive an award under general damages, which accounts for any mental harm sustained and any physical pain and suffering caused by your injuries. This also considers how your injuries have affected or will affect your quality of life.

Legal professionals can use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), updated for 2022, to help them value the general damages head of claim. In the table below, the first two entries are dictated by the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021. These figures are set in law. In the rest of the table, the compensation brackets are taken from the JCG and are merely guidance for legal professionals.

Type of Injury	Severity	Details	Guideline Compensation Amounts
Whiplash Injuries	One or more whiplash injuries in conjunction with one or more minor psychological injuries	The duration of the injury will exceed 18 months but will not last longer than 24 months.	£4,345
Whiplash Injuries	One or more whiplash injuries in conjunction with one or more minor psychological injuries	The duration of the injury will exceed 15 months but will not last longer than 18 months.	£3,100
Neck Injury	(a)(i) Severe	Injuries of this severity can result in permanent spastic quadriparesis or be associated with paraplegia that is incomplete.	In the region of £148,330
Neck Injury	(a)(iii) Severe	Severe damage to the soft tissue or ruptured tendons.	£45,470 to £55,990
Neck Injury	(b)(ii) Moderate	The person may have soft tissue or wrenching-type injuries and severe disc lesion that leads to cervical spondylosis and further problems.	£13,740 to £24,990
Neck Injury	(b)(iii) Moderate	Injuries within this bracket may have accelerated or exacerbated a pre-existing condition of typically less than 5 years. Also, this bracket can cover moderate soft tissue injuries with a fairly protracted period of recovery.	£7,890 to £13,740

Special Damages

In addition to a payment under general damages, you could also be eligible to receive a special damages payout. This compensates for past and future financial losses incurred as a result of your injuries. This may include expenses, such as travel costs, home adaptations and loss of earnings. To prove these losses in a claim, you could provide evidence, such as:

Receipts
Invoices
Payslips
Back records
Travel tickets

Don’t hesitate to contact a team member if you would like advice on the amount of compensation you could be eligible to receive. They can evaluate car accident claims for whiplash and provide an estimated compensation figure.

How Long After A Car Crash Can You Claim Whiplash?

Time limits apply to bringing forward a personal injury claim for whiplash following a car accident. The Limitation Act 1980 states that a claim should be started within three years from the following dates:

The date of the accident in which you were injured.
The date of knowledge. This is when you learned of negligence.

However, there are certain exceptions to these time limits. Firstly, exceptions can be made when the injured person is under the age of 18. Secondly, exceptions can be made in cases where the injured person lacks the mental capacity to make a compensation claim. In either of these cases, the court could appoint a litigation friend to make a claim on the injured person’s behalf.

To learn more about how these exceptions could impact your case, speak to one of our advisors. They can offer more insight into the time limits applicable to car accident claims for whiplash.

Making Car Accident Claims For Whiplash With A No Win No Fee Lawyer

You could choose to use the services of a legal professional when making a personal injury claim. These services can include helping you to compile evidence and providing legal advice throughout the claims process.

A solicitor may offer to work on your claim under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This is a type of No Win No Fee agreement, and means you generally don’t pay for your solicitor’s services at the following times of your claim:

Upfront
During the ongoing course of your claim
In the case your claim is unsuccessful

Alternatively, in the case your claim is successful, your No Win No Fee solicitor could take a small, previously agreed-upon percentage of the compensation called a success fee. The legislation covering CFAs caps the amount that a solicitor can take. Therefore, you will not be overcharged.

Please contact our team for a free evaluation of car accident claims for whiplash injuries. If they find that you could have valid grounds to make a personal injury claim, they may put you in correspondence with one of our No Win No Fee solicitors.