When it comes to injuries that have come from an accident that was not your fault whiplash is right up there with the most common. In short, whiplash occurs if you suffer a sudden jolt to your neck area that causes damage to the many ligaments, muscles and tendons that are in your neck and back.
The most common accident to result in a whiplash injury is a car crash, but any kind of accident that causes your head to be violently taken outside of its normal range of movement can cause it. Trips, falls, assaults and sporting accidents can all lead to whiplash and any neck pain needs to be checked out by a medical professional, and their reports will be vital if you pursue an accident claim through having a whiplash injury.
Symptoms
One of the main problems with whiplash is that the main symptoms may not display themselves until several days after the accident. That niggling ache can suddenly become agonising and you could find that your neck and the surrounding areas are inflamed and swollen. Other symptoms include severe pain and restriction of movement, fierce headaches and, in serious cases, nausea and dizziness and parts of the body suffering from temporary paralysis. While most whiplash sufferers recover in days or weeks, the most serious cases can leave the victim suffering for several months, or even years.
How Much Compensation Will I Get?
How long is a piece of string? That is not means to be flippant but how much you will get is very much dependent on the severity of your whiplash. Reputable helplines such as have a 30 second test to give you an idea of your pay-out and the following is just a rough guideline. As far as compensation claims are concerned there are two main categories;
General Damages
This is the compensation awarded for the pain and the suffering you have experienced.
Special Damages
This refers to those real costs that have occurred do to your accident and includes among others car repair, loss of earnings, the cost of medication and travel expenses to receive treatment such as physiotherapy.
The amount of compensation you could receive under the general damages category is dependent upon how long it took you to recover from the injury as well as its severity.
Minor Injuries
This covers the likes of soft tissue damage which have moderate symptoms and the average pay-out is anywhere between £750-£2500 if you make a full recovery within 1 year and between £2500-£4250 if your recovery takes more than 1 year but less than 2.
Moderate Injuries
This covers the more severe whiplash injuries that carry a longer period of recovery and leave the sufferer at risk of vulnerability in the future. The average pay-out for this category is between £4250-£7750.
Severe Injuries
This is the category for the most severe level of whiplash injuries which can result in movement limitation, recurring pain and stiffness, the chance of surgery being needed in the future and the trauma caused by the injury. The average compensation awarded for a severe injury is £7750-£16,400.
