The minimum payout for a whiplash claim is usually around £1,000. However, the whiplash claims average payout is actually closer to £2,500. If you’re suffering from whiplash for a minimum of four weeks, your claim will be worth between £1,000 – £5,000 and the way a law firm will calculate your estimated payout will be based on:
- When and where the accident happened;
- How it happened;
- How badly you were injured;
- The length of recovery time from the injury;
- Your prognosis for the future;
- The acceleration of any pre-existing conditions.
Minor whiplash is generally defined as an injury to the neck which does not cause the victim crippling pain and does not need significant recovery time.
Recovery times for whiplash
2 – 4 weeks is usually the recovery period for minor whiplash injuries, however moderate whiplash injuries have a 5 – 16 week recovery time and severe whiplash injuries have a 16 – 30 week recovery time. Whiplash injuries which will result in long-term suffering have the highest payout because recovery time plays a critical role in the amount of compensation awarded.
If you are the victim of whiplash, it’s highly recommended that you consult a law firm to discuss your case and to help you make a claim for compensation.
Can I make a claim?
You can make a claim for whiplash compensation no matter how minor your whiplash is and no matter when and where the accident happened.
Obviously, if you are not suffering badly from whiplash and do not need a significant amount of time off work to recover, your case is not going to be as strong as somebody who is suffering and has had to take time off work. This translates to a payout on the lower side of the average.
However, the only symptoms of whiplash are pain, and so it’s incredibly difficult for a medical assessment to conclude that your whiplash is any lesser or worse than somebody else’s. So no matter how minor your whiplash is, if you are suffering it is your right to make a claim for compensation and you may get a payout of between £1,000 – £5,000.
To discuss your whiplash claim with the professionals, give the AAH 24/7 Helpline a call on 0800 689 0500 or from your mobile on 0333 500 0993.