The purpose of Whiplash Compensation for pain and suffering following an accident is to try and put you back in the same position you were in before the accident.
But how is this possible when you are talking about an injury claim? How can an amount of compensation make you better, take away your pain and make you feel as if nothing happened? Sadly, it can't but this is the only measure or yardstick that can be used to try and make the situation better; i.
e.
financial compensation.
The compensation award is more straightforward when you are talking about your losses and expenses rather than your physical injuries.
For instance if your car needs bumper and other bodywork repairs, it is easy to put you back in the position you were in before the accident by recovering the cost of the repairs.
The two different types of awards are called General Damages (the compensation for your pain and suffering) and Special Damages (the compensation for your losses and expenses).
I will look at each in turn, tell you how they are calculated, and outline the main types and amounts of General Damages compensation payments.
Damages Damages is the legal term used to describe the compensation, so for damages just read compensation.
General Damages This is the compensation award that you will receive for your pain and suffering.
Your sore neck, headaches, shoulder pains, giddiness and dizziness, and the impact that has on your day to day living.
For instance, if you have a newborn baby and you suddenly cannot pick up or look after your baby, this will lead to an increased element to your award.
Again, you would much rather not have had the pain so that you could hold your newborn baby, but all the court can do is to let you have an additional sum of compensation to recognise your suffering.
With any claim for compensation your solicitor will have to obtain evidence that he can show to the other side and to the court (although the majority of all whiplash claims are settled without the need for a final court hearing).
The evidence he will obtain to support your claim for General Damages will be a witness statement from yourself and your family detailing the effects of the injury, and also a medical report.
This will be from a GP or an Orthopaedic Surgeon.
They will carry out a full medical examination and assess the extent of your injury, recommend any treatment and provide you with a prognosis which is their opinion of how long your pain will last.
Once your whiplash solicitor has this evidence, he will be able to estimate how much General Damages compensation you will receive.
He will refer to previously decided cases, and also a book called The Judicial Studies Guidelines For The Assessment of General Damages.
This book splits the compensation awards for Whiplash into the following brackets:
So what about your losses and expenses? Special Damages It is much easier to assess your claim for Special Damages because they relate to actual and measurable losses.
You will be asked to provide receipts and invoices for any expenses or losses sustained.
The most common ones are detailed below.
Car Repairs.
The most obvious one, and an important one for you because if you do not prove that the accident was not your fault your insurance company will have to pay for the repairs and this will impact on your no claims bonus.
You do not want to have to pay higher insurance premiums for somebody else crashing into your car.
The invoice from the garage will confirm the costs of repairs.
Storage Of Your Car.
If the garage had to store your car whilst they were waiting for the other driver's insurance company to approve the repairs, these charges will form a part of your Special Damages claim.
Car Hire.
If your car was off the road for a number of days and you needed to travel for work or personal reasons, it is reasonable for you to hire a car.
However, you must hire a similar car to your own.
You will not be able to recover the costs of a Ferrari car hire if you usually drive a Ford Focus.
Lost Earnings.
If you lost money from your salary packet as a result of time away from work, you will be able to claim this back too.
Your wage slips will confirm the extent of your losses.
Even if your employer kept paying you if you were away from work they might have a clause in their contract that makes you claim the money they paid to you back.
You will therefore need to include this as part of your claim.
Treatment.
Whether you received private physiotherapy or chiropractic treatment you can reclaim the cost of treatment.
Often the other driver's insurance company will pay for this at the time of the treatment to save you from incurring the expense.
Travel expenses.
This can include travel to treatment or to the garage to collect your car, and is assessed by mileage or receipts from bus or train companies.
Damaged Items.
If any of your items were damaged in the accident, personal possessions such as ipods or sunglasses, you can reclaim their costs (you will need the purchase receipts).
Medication.
This can include pain killers, prescriptions or neck braces.
Any other expenses that have been reasonably incurred can also be reclaimed as part of your Special Damages Claim Summary.
Your claim for Whiplash Compensation includes a claim for General Damages and Special Damages.
Now that you have read this article you will have a good basic understanding of how your claim will be assessed by your solicitor.
But how is this possible when you are talking about an injury claim? How can an amount of compensation make you better, take away your pain and make you feel as if nothing happened? Sadly, it can't but this is the only measure or yardstick that can be used to try and make the situation better; i.
e.
financial compensation.
The compensation award is more straightforward when you are talking about your losses and expenses rather than your physical injuries.
For instance if your car needs bumper and other bodywork repairs, it is easy to put you back in the position you were in before the accident by recovering the cost of the repairs.
The two different types of awards are called General Damages (the compensation for your pain and suffering) and Special Damages (the compensation for your losses and expenses).
I will look at each in turn, tell you how they are calculated, and outline the main types and amounts of General Damages compensation payments.
Damages Damages is the legal term used to describe the compensation, so for damages just read compensation.
General Damages This is the compensation award that you will receive for your pain and suffering.
Your sore neck, headaches, shoulder pains, giddiness and dizziness, and the impact that has on your day to day living.
For instance, if you have a newborn baby and you suddenly cannot pick up or look after your baby, this will lead to an increased element to your award.
Again, you would much rather not have had the pain so that you could hold your newborn baby, but all the court can do is to let you have an additional sum of compensation to recognise your suffering.
With any claim for compensation your solicitor will have to obtain evidence that he can show to the other side and to the court (although the majority of all whiplash claims are settled without the need for a final court hearing).
The evidence he will obtain to support your claim for General Damages will be a witness statement from yourself and your family detailing the effects of the injury, and also a medical report.
This will be from a GP or an Orthopaedic Surgeon.
They will carry out a full medical examination and assess the extent of your injury, recommend any treatment and provide you with a prognosis which is their opinion of how long your pain will last.
Once your whiplash solicitor has this evidence, he will be able to estimate how much General Damages compensation you will receive.
He will refer to previously decided cases, and also a book called The Judicial Studies Guidelines For The Assessment of General Damages.
This book splits the compensation awards for Whiplash into the following brackets:
- £750 to £2500 for recovery within 1 year
- £2400 to £4250 for recovery within 2 years
- £4250 to £7750 for a slow recovery of more than a minor whiplash injury
- £7750 to £13750 for permanent whiplash symptoms
So what about your losses and expenses? Special Damages It is much easier to assess your claim for Special Damages because they relate to actual and measurable losses.
You will be asked to provide receipts and invoices for any expenses or losses sustained.
The most common ones are detailed below.
Car Repairs.
The most obvious one, and an important one for you because if you do not prove that the accident was not your fault your insurance company will have to pay for the repairs and this will impact on your no claims bonus.
You do not want to have to pay higher insurance premiums for somebody else crashing into your car.
The invoice from the garage will confirm the costs of repairs.
Storage Of Your Car.
If the garage had to store your car whilst they were waiting for the other driver's insurance company to approve the repairs, these charges will form a part of your Special Damages claim.
Car Hire.
If your car was off the road for a number of days and you needed to travel for work or personal reasons, it is reasonable for you to hire a car.
However, you must hire a similar car to your own.
You will not be able to recover the costs of a Ferrari car hire if you usually drive a Ford Focus.
Lost Earnings.
If you lost money from your salary packet as a result of time away from work, you will be able to claim this back too.
Your wage slips will confirm the extent of your losses.
Even if your employer kept paying you if you were away from work they might have a clause in their contract that makes you claim the money they paid to you back.
You will therefore need to include this as part of your claim.
Treatment.
Whether you received private physiotherapy or chiropractic treatment you can reclaim the cost of treatment.
Often the other driver's insurance company will pay for this at the time of the treatment to save you from incurring the expense.
Travel expenses.
This can include travel to treatment or to the garage to collect your car, and is assessed by mileage or receipts from bus or train companies.
Damaged Items.
If any of your items were damaged in the accident, personal possessions such as ipods or sunglasses, you can reclaim their costs (you will need the purchase receipts).
Medication.
This can include pain killers, prescriptions or neck braces.
Any other expenses that have been reasonably incurred can also be reclaimed as part of your Special Damages Claim Summary.
Your claim for Whiplash Compensation includes a claim for General Damages and Special Damages.
Now that you have read this article you will have a good basic understanding of how your claim will be assessed by your solicitor.
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