Whiplash Injury Claims
Whiplash is the name given to the injury that occurs when the neck and head experience a sudden, sharp motion, damaging the soft tissues in the neck and spine. Often this involves a harsh or unexpected jerk causing the body to move forward and the head to be thrown back and then almost immediately forward. The most common cause of whiplash is involvement in a road traffic accident.
Whiplash symptoms can include pain or stiffness to the neck, shoulders, arms and back, headaches, dizziness, nausea and pins and needles in the arms and legs. These symptoms usually develop over the first few days following the accident. and they can last from several days to a few weeks. Symptoms do not arise immediately because they are caused by the inflammation of the damaged tissue.
If you suffer a whiplash injury as a result of a road traffic accident or any other type of accident, you may be able to make a claim for personal injury compensation for whiplash injuries. These are often difficult to diagnose and we would advise that you seek medical treatment for your injury as soon after the accident as possible. The amount of personal injury compensation awarded for a whiplash injury depends on the severity of the injury and how long it takes you to recover.
Minor soft tissue and whiplash injuries where the symptoms are moderate and full recovery takes place within about 2 years of the accident tend to produce compensation awards of between £2,500 and £4,500. If full recovery occurs within a couple of weeks to 12 months following the accident then the compensation is likely to be somewhere between £750 and £2,500.
Obviously if the injuries are far more erious than this and involve damage to the neck or back such as disc lesion or cervical spondylosis resulting in limitation of movement and vulnerability to further injury, then the compensation award is likely to rise, with up to £15,000 being awarded for moderately serious claims. Substantially greater sums are awarded for even more severe injury.
It should be remembered that these figures represent compensation awarded for the injury itself or what solicitors call ‘pain, suffering and loss of amenity’. In addition to this, compensation can be claimed for financial losses arising from the accident such as loss of earnings, care, medical costs and travelling expenses. In fact any expense that is incurred as a result of the accident that wouldn’t otherwise have arisen.
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Or email us at lee.dawkins@sleeblackwell.co.uk
