7 Reasons To Claim Compensation For A Whiplash Accident

This guide is designed to provide you with 7 major points you must consider before deciding whether to make a claim.

1. Your Car Insurance Premium.

If you are involved in a car accident and your vehicle suffers damage that damage has to be repaired. If you decide not to make a claim then the car repairs will either have to be paid for by you or your insurance company. If your insurance company pays, your no claims bonus will be affected which will cost you by way of additional insurance premiums in the future. If you are able to successfully claim compensation from the driver of the other vehicle your no claims bonus will not be affected.

2. Your Car Repairs.

You can suffer a whiplash injury even during a low speed impact. If this has happened to you and you are not sure whether to claim for your injury, you need to also consider your car repairs. You may think that the damage to your car is only trivial and you do not think it is worth claiming compensation for. However, if you later come to sell the vehicle any damage will affect the price you can command for the vehicle and it may prevent you from selling the car.

3. Your Treatment.

If you have suffered a whiplash injury and are still in pain you need to consider what treatment is available for you. Whilst you might be able to obtain treatment on the NHS, unfortunately there are often long waiting lists and the treatment provided will be the minimum possible. However, if you are making a whiplash compensation claim you can arrange private medical treatment and recover the costs of this treatment from the other driver's insurance company.

4. Your Time Off Work.

If your injury prevents you from working as usual you may lose some of your earnings, possibly including bonuses and overtime. If you make a claim for compensation your lost earnings will also be reclaimed ensuring that you are not out of pocket.

5. Your Losses & Expenses.

You may also incur other expenses such as travel costs to treatment, damaged items in the collision and medication costs. If you make a whiplash accident claim all of these costs will also be reclaimed for you.

6. Your Whiplash Accident Compensation.

In addition to your expenses, any whiplash claim will also include a claim for your pain and suffering. Whiplash can be quite debilitating and can last for sometime, impacting on your day to day living, limiting your activities and of course causing you considerable pain. Even a mild whiplash lasting for a few weeks will cause you daily problems and will attract a compensation award in the region of £2,000. This is only the amount of whiplash compensation for your pain and suffering, all of the other expenses mentioned above are payable separately and in addition to this amount.

7. Closure.

Sometimes being involved in an accident can make you apprehensive about travelling, both as a passenger and as a driver. One of the ways of being able to finally move on and forget the accident details is to make a whiplash claim. Clients often tell us that once their claim is concluded they can then put the whole incident in the past.