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Whiplash Claims – How To Prove Whiplash And Claim Compensation

By Ian Morris | Updated June 12th, 2024

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Many who oppose the no win no fee personal injury claims process say that whiplash is a made up injury and abused by claimants looking for a quid or two. However, anyone who has sustained a whiplash injury knows the truth. Whiplash can cause serious pain, ongoing discomfort and prevent people living their life as usual. In some cases, people can suffer permanent injuries as a result. By seeking compensation with a whiplash claim, claimants can win a settlement to cover the pain and distress of their injuries, recover any losses (including lost wages) and access rehabilitation therapies.

Claims for whiplash compensation are usually an easy matter to resolve and can be settled within a short period, usually 3-6 months from the date a whiplash claim is started. But before you can win a settlement, you need to know if you actually have whiplash and a valid claim.

What is whiplash?

Most people think whiplash is simply a pain in the neck, yet it can be much more than that. Caused by the hyper extension of major and minor muscles, whiplash is a phrase used to cover injuries to the muscles and soft tissues around the spine, most commonly in the neck and shoulder region.

In minor cases, a person suffering whiplash is likely to have stiffness in the neck, a feeling of weakness and pain from simply supporting their head and perhaps discomfort when turning their head in one particular direction. These symptoms are painful and upsetting, but you should expect to recover within 4-8 weeks from the date of the accident.

In more severe cases, symptoms can last many months or indeed be permanent, and could also include pins and needles in the arms, a loss of sensation in the hands and fingers, severe headaches, loss of balance, lack of sleep, lower back and even leg pain. Of course, the more severe the symptoms, the greater the value of a settlement, should you be successful with a claim for personal injury compensation.

Most whiplash related injuries are caused in car accidents. However, whiplash can also be caused by slips on wet floors or tripping accidents. Indeed, any heavy impact that causes the muscles and ligaments of the upper spine and neck to be violently jolted from side to side, or back and forwards, is likely to cause a whiplash related injury.

How to make a whiplash compensation claim

The sooner you start your claim, the sooner we can help you make sure that you have the maximum chance of succeeding. We can run through an accident claim checklist, help you to make sure that you have reported the accident to the right people and give your whiplash compensation claim the best chance of succeeding.

No two accidents are the same and with this in mind, it is vital that you seek proper advice so that you know whether or not you have a viable claim. However, there are some basic pointers that can help you identify where you stand regarding the strength of a claim or otherwise:

Have you been involved in an accident that was not your fault?
Have you developed whiplash related symptoms – pain or stiffness in neck, shoulders or upper back?
Have you received medical treatment, seen a GP or been to A&E?
Has your doctor confirmed your injuries as whiplash?
Do you think that your whiplash related pain and discomfort will last more than a few days?

The above is nothing more than a basic guideline. Even if you answer no to some of these questions, you may still have a valid claim for whiplash injury compensation.

How to prove you have whiplash with medical evidence

As with all claims for personal injury compensation, whiplash claimants need to provide sufficient evidence to support their claim. In order to prove that you have suffered a whiplash injury, you will need to have a professional medical diagnosis made of the symptoms you are suffering with. This can be done by visiting an A&E department or by seeing your GP.

People injured in a car accident are often not sure what to do next after such a traumatic and upsetting event. Whiplash injuries can take a few hours or even a few days to become painful, so victims don’t always receive immediate treatment from a doctor or hospital. However, medical evidence will be needed to support a claim for compensation and prove to the defendant that you have suffered a whiplash injury, and it will also prove the severity of your injury.

It doesn’t matter if you have not already seen your doctor or been to hospital, you can still start your claim and we advise that you do just that – don’t delay your claim for too long as it could have a negative impact on the outcome.

How much compensation do you get for whiplash?

Every whiplash claim is different as a result of the injuries sustained, so it’s impossible to tell exactly how much compensation you could be entitled to without a medical assessment. In negotiating a settlement awarding whiplash compensation for your injuries, the following factors are taken into consideration.

How severe the whiplash injury is
Whether the injury prevents you from working
How much of an impact the injury has on your day to day activities
Whether ongoing treatment is necessary

These are the most important elements in assessing the value of your whiplash compensation claim, although there are many other factors to consider too. When the initial evidence has been collected your solicitor will be able to let you know the likely level of compensation you can expect for your injuries. Your settlement will not only cover your injuries, but expenses such as lost earnings, and car hire and repairs.

Your solicitor will gather all of the evidence necessary to obtain the maximum amount of whiplash compensation for you. Claiming can also allow you to access specialist rehabilitation therapies to help speed your recovery, all at the expense of the liable party.

Whiplash rehabilitation therapies

By the time people suffering from whiplash injuries contact us to start their claim for compensation, most have not had any rehabilitation therapy whatsoever, just the painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs initially prescribed to them. Many have been referred to their NHS physiotherapy provider, but with waiting lists often approaching 6 months, it can feel like it is not worth bothering.

By making a no win no fee claim for whiplash injury compensation, your solicitor can arrange a course of suitable rehabilitation therapies to help you recover more quickly from your symptoms. The costs for these therapies will be met by the insurers you’re claiming against, not deducted from your injury compensation settlement, and because they are privately funded access to the therapy will be fast. Appointments for treatments will be made at a provider local to you and at a time to suit you. Common types of whiplash rehabilitation therapy can include:

Physiotherapy
Osteopathy
Massage Therapy
Acupuncture
Personal training

See if you can make a whiplash claim

We understand that making a claim for whiplash compensation can be a daunting prospect. However, at Direct2Compensation we’ll explain the stages of our simple claims process and give you the confidence to proceed with your claim. Indeed, if you have any questions, you can contact us with no obligation. At Direct2Compensation we guarantee two things: Firstly, that we will never pressure you in to making a claim, and secondly, that should your claim fail, it won’t cost you a penny.

If you’re wondering about your situation, feel free to leave a question at the bottom of this article or call us on 01225 430285, or if you prefer, .

Lastly, if you are suffering from whiplash, the NHS website has some useful guidance available at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/whiplash/.

149 questions have been answered on this subject - ask us your question

Comments & Questions

Read on for questions and advice about claiming, plus whiplash claim examples...

Hi i was a back seat passenger behind the drivers seat in a hire car that was hired by my friend from Volkswagen Dealers and as my friend who hired the car was driving and stopped at The Red lights a car crashed into the drivers door and back door which made me violently go forward hitting my head on the back off the drivers seat headrest. Then straight after the impact 2 masked men jumped out of the car that crashed into us carrying Meat Cleavers and Machetes and started attacking the car trying to open the doors and violently swinging the weapons at the windows to break them. Then they managed to break the back windscreen just as my friend managed to drive away from them fearing for our lives. My friend contacted the police and they gave him a crime number and informed him they have the car registration plate number from cctv and also have witness statements. As a result I have suffered whiplash and also suffer from Anxiety and Panic attacks which started due to that horrific event. Can I claim compensation

Our Solicitors can help you to claim compensation in this incident.

Could I claim a whiplash injury if I was the only one hitting a object due to ice and snow?

If you lost control of a vehicle on snow and ice, it is unlikely that you would be able to establish negligence against the highways authorities and I do not foresee that you would succeed with such a claim.

Hi I was a passenger in a car accident where the other driver hit us head on after losing control in the snow, that driver was driving on a provisional licence alone. Would I still be able to claim for my lower back pain, neck and shoulder pain caused by this? I only reported pain in my leg at the scene of the injury but I was checked at A&E for this. The other pain has come on in the days following the accident.

It is very common that soft tissue injuries as a result of trauma – like a road traffic accident do not present symptoms immediately, but instead develop in the hours and days post accident. As such, our specialist Solicitors will have no problem including your back/neck and shoulder pain within a claim for personal injury compensation.

If a driver has received a compensation settlement, is it guaranteed that passengers will also succeed with their claimst if they have all the right details?

So long as the passengers can demonstrate that they were injured (medical evidence) and provide the details of the vehicles involved, date of accident and location, the passengers should also receive a compensation settlement.

We can help passengers to make a claim for compensation after a road traffic accident on a No Win No Fee basis.

Hi i was sitting stationary in my car at a stop sign of the main road when a woman run in to the back of me causing alot of damage to my bumper,she took blame straight away and said sorry she wasn’t looking but i think she was on her phone as its impossible to see if the road is clear unless you stop at the road end where i was stopped, thinking i would be OK i went on about my day, a hour later i started getting abit tence at the back of my neck nothing big and a headache but thought i would be ok, later on i had to go to hospital for scans etc as my shoulder and left side of my neck was killing me and swollen and sore to touch that was around 7 hours after the accident, i have pulled muscles and nerves in my shoulder and neck as the doctor said but since it happened 4 days ago ive had ongoing headaches, pins and needles in my left arm and hand and coming home the next day from hospital my neck is far worse, very sore and stiff to thr point my child had to stay with family as i was unable to look after her, my doctors are aware off this as ive received more painkillers and naproxen tablets, i later found out that the women give me a false insurance name but she then contacted her insurance who want to settle by taking my car yo repair and £300 pound for my hassle as they put it on the phone, i made them aware thst i was in hospital and very sore as thry asked, but i don’t think my doctors have put me down for whiplash just pulled muscles and nerves, pins and needles and headaches etc. Her insurance has ring me 5 times from Saturday, what do i do, do i have a case?

Don’t have any further direct dealings with the 3rd party insurers – you need specialist expert representation from one of our Solicitors. We can help you make a No Win No Fee claim and our specialist expert personal injury Solicitors will ensure that your legal rights are upheld and that your injuries and losses are properly accounted for, so that your claim is settled properly and for the appropriate value.

I was stationary in a car when the van I front of me decided to reverse , he reversed into the front of my car , cracked my front bumper , later the next day I woke up with stiffness in my neck and back it was quite painful, I went to the hospital doctor examined me and said I’ve got soft tissue damage , she said it’s gonna get worse before it gets better, gonna take upto six weeks to recover, the driver got out the car and apologised he said I didn’t see you there, we exchanged details at the scene I was just wondering am I able to claim whiplash, thank you .

We can help you claim compensation for the pain and discomfort caused to you by the soft tissue injuries you have sustained in this recent incident. The way you describe the symptoms presenting 24 hours later and then worsening is typical of such injuries and as you correctly say, the common term for such injuries is ‘whiplash’.

Our No Win No Fee service is here to help you pursue a claim independently from your car insurers with a dedicated specialist personal injury Solicitor.

Was hit on side passenger by car going through red light on sat lunch time was in sever shock but during night couldn’t sleep with pain went to A&E who confirmed with sever whiplash the driver took full responsibility have contacted insurance however symptoms didn’t start till that night can you give me advise on what my next steps should be and should I contact insurance to tell them

You don’t have to use your insurers to make a claim for personal injury compensation as you can select your own preferred specialist and independent personal injury expert to run your claim on the same No Win No Fee basis. Whilst you would expect us to say this, we do receive a lot of contact from people looking for help after their own insurers legal provider made a mess of their personal injury claim.

The fact that your symptoms developed in the 24 hours after the accident is common for such injuries. Due to the way muscle spasms develop and with the added impact of shock and adrenaline, the majority of people with soft tissue injuries caused in a road traffic accident will notice them develop in the 24-48 hours post accident.

We have specialist Solicitors who can help you claim compensation for the pain and discomfort of your injuries, recover any other associated costs and also recover any loss of income if you are unable to work. Please call us on 01225430285 or you can easily start your claim for compensation on our website if you prefer.

Would my insurance still cover me if I was to drive while having whiplash?

Unless a Doctor has expressly told you otherwise, you are free to drive with an injury. Injuries such as whiplash, whilst painful do not generally prevent you from driving. Of course, if you are unable to drive safely, you should not do so, but essentially, yes, you can continue to drive – even with whiplash.

I was involved in a car incident. The 3rd party declared that it was their fault as they went into the back of me and they hadn’t paid attention to the road.

I started having pain and stuffiness in my neck and I was aching, so I rang 111 and they advised me that to contact my GP, so I contacted them and they confirmed that I had whiplash. The GP has given me painkillers and some gel for my neck & my back. I still have stiffness in my neck and back pains.

Can I claim whiplash for suffering and the pain it caused?

Yes, you certainly can make a claim and appear to have a valid and strong clam for compensation. As the 3rd party driver collided with the rear of your car, they are liable for any damage to the vehicle and for any injuries you have sustained.

Hi,

I was recently involved in a low speed, collision at a roundabout where I had been rear ended. Naively, I took no details from the person who hit me and now have confirmed whiplash. Do I have a case?

To make a claim, you will need to be able to identify the 3rd party vehicle (registration number). If you have that, you can make a claim. As you appear to have not taken the details, it is unlikely that you can now make a claim. The 3rd party hasn’t fled the scene as you have opted against taking their details, therefore this would probably not be a claim you could pursue via the Motor Insurers Bureau scheme for untraced drivers.

Hi
I had a minor car accident a week ago.
I am now suffering with whiplash and in pain. However I thought I was being nice and didn’t go through insurance which was very silly I realise now. Is there any way I can claim?
Thank you

As long as you have the vehicle registration for your car and that of the liable 3rd party, our specialist Solicitors can make a No Win No Fee claim for the physical injuries that you have sustained and any associated costs or losses you may incur. If you have evidence of damage to your car (photographs of the dents/scratches), that will also provide helpful evidence to support your claim.

I already have lower back pain due to miscarriage, my GP sent me to gynacologist for internal scan which was clear. I had whiplash after few weeks, that effect my lower, middle back and neck. As I already had lower back issue can i still make claim.

Yes, you can claim for the whiplash injuries and also for the way that the whiplash would have worsened your lower back pain or made the symptoms last longer. Our specialist Solicitors would ensure that you were seen by an appropriate medical expert to review both the pre-existing back pain and the ‘new’ injuries in order that a detailed report could be obtained to support your claim.

Hi there. Yesterday, I was driving on a main road at 45 mph , I was just about to pass by a T junction when the car sitting on it decided to pull out, crashing against my passenger´s side. I ended up at the other side of the road, and I was lucky that the oncoming vehicles reacted quickly avoiding crashing against mine. I did not feel any pain until this morning and after explaining my symptoms to the doctor over the phone, he scheduled an appointment for tomorrow morning and explained that it sounds like a case of whiplash.
Now, my profession is purely physical and since I’m self-employed I won’t have income cover for the days that I’m off work due to an injury, which was caused in an accident that was admittedly the other driver’s fault.
I am hoping for this pain to go away asap, but even then I’d be confronted with the fact that I don’t have a vehicle to go to work (which is essential) and won’t have any until it gets repaired, which judging by the look of it, it could take quite a while. His insurance company will be charged to repair or replace my vehicle when the time comes, but I will still miss my income the days I miss work.
I’m not too sure on how to proceed, I’m hoping to get some word of advice here.

Thank you

Our Solicitors can work for you on a No Win No Fee basis to recover compensation for the physical injuries and pain caused to you and also recover any loss of income and other incurred costs caused by the negligent actions of the 3rd party driver.

Please call us on 01225430285 to get further help and start your claim. Alternatively, you can get things moving online via our ‘start a claim‘ service if you prefer.

I was driving into work when a car that was being chased by the police hit me twice from behind and on the side at approximately 50mph I suffered a neck injury which is still painful after 6 months the car was not insured, do I have a claim?

If the vehicle that collided with you was uninsured or untraced, you could pursue a claim via the MIB scheme – something our Solicitors can help you with on a No Win No Fee basis.

Unfortunately, you cannot make any claim against the Police as they were acting legitimately in their attempts to aprehend the driver of the vehicle that caused you to sustain injuries.

If you would like to find out more about a potential claim and see whether we can help, please use our start a claim service to take this further.

I was travelling along the road in a 20mph zone when the three cats in front of me all braked hard and stopped. I did the same but the car behind me didn’t manage to stop in time and shunted me from behind.
I have had headaches, neck ache back ache and shoulder pains since. This was nearly 3 weeks ago.
I phoned the doctors surgery who arranged an appointment with the physiotherapist who has given me some exercises to do and has confirmed it is whiplash.
Do I have a case to claim compensation?

You do have a right to claim compensation for the injuries you have sustained and for whiplash compensation. We can help you with claiming compensation.

What is your fee if I put in a claim. I was hit by a car from behind that had rolled down the bank and as I was waiting to get out of the junction it has rolled down quite a way and hit me from behind with some force. I’m now in pain in my neck top of shoulders and down right arm. Going to get an appointment with the doctor tomorrow

Our No Win No Fee service guarantees that you’ll never pay any costs should your claim fail. However, if you do succeed with a claim, you will face a deduction from any agreed settlement – this is your contribution to the costs of the claim, with the balance of the cost paid by the 3rd party. The deduction is capped at a maximum of 25% of the total awarded damages.

We can certainly help you proceed with your claim and have specialist expert Solicitors who can ensure that your claim is handled professionally and help you get the compensation you deserve. Please call us on 01225430285 for further help. Alternatively, you can ask us to call you if you prefer.

I have extreme whiplash due to a car crash, no other vehicles involved and car skidded on water into a crash barrier. No personal injury cover on my insurance and they’ve declined my claim.

I was on the motorway driving at 70mph where I hit a puddle (a known area of the motorway that gathers a considerable amount of water due to lack of drains – people have died there). The car skidded out of control and went into the crash barrier at 70mph. Police and paramedics arrived to make sure no bones were broken. The next day I am in agony and can’t move my neck or arms, I visit my GP who sends me for an X-ray on my neck and back to ensure nothing is broken. I have extreme whip lash and concussion. My car is a write off so I am getting compensated for that, I tried to claim whiplash but my insurance didn’t have personal injury cover. The value of my car is almost half of what I was going to sell it for next month. A huge reduction. Any advice?

As no other vehicle was involved, the only way you could avoid being held as the ‘liable’ party would be to prove that the authorities had allowed the road to be unduly hazardous when wet. You would have to demonstrate that that they were aware of the number (and severity) of road traffic accidents at the site in question and had failed to do anything about it.

If reports had been made of drainage issues and no action was taken, it may be possible to demonstrate that the liable party were the highways authority.

Hi I was involved in a car accident in on 6th November 2019. I was on a duel carriage way travelling at around 60 mph when I had to brake for slowing traffic in front of me, the next thing I knew I was hit hard from behind and shunted forward then almost immediately I was struck again. Once I was out of my car I realised i had been hit from behind by a small van and then a VW golf had hit the van and shunted the van into my car again. I was a little shook up and the police were called at which point they established the van driver and golf driver had been travelling to close and therefore the accident was their fault. The following day I felt a little stiff but thought things would settle, however things got worse and I ended up with pins and needles in my fingers on my left hand and my left shoulder was sore. I spoke to my GP who said I had whiplash and sent me for X-rays. I was also sent to a physiotherapist and had a few sessions with him. This was ongoing until they had to stop treatment but told me to continue the exercises they had given me. Would I qualify for a claim or have I left it to late ?

You have not left it too late and we can certainly help you make a claim for the injuries you have sustained as well as any incurred costs or lost income caused by the accident.

You have 3 years from the date of the accident in which you can make a claim, so plenty of time remains available. However, we would recommend that you contact us as soon as possible so that we can get this matter started for you and have our Solicitors work on your claim.

I injured myself accidentally in the house and have delayed concussion and whiplash. The whiplash is impacting my daily life and not subsiding so far. I am due to return to work after being off due to lock down. I don’t know that I can return with these medical issues. How do I claim for loss of earning if I can’t work. Who would I be claiming from in this circumstance as the accident happened at my in-laws home.

Thanks

Any claim would be made against whichever parties negligence caused your injuries. You mention being at the home of your in-laws, but how were you injured? What were you doing and what happened? In order to be able to advise further as to whether a claim for personal injury compensation is viable, we need to know more about the actual accident and injuries. We could then advise as to whom the claim would be against.

My car lost power whilst driving on a roundabout causing me to mount the roundabout and spin out. Earlier that day, my car went through a service and the garage recommended a new battery which was booked in for the following week. I wasn’t made aware that the car could have been dangerous to drive in any way but when breakdown recovery arrived, they jump started my car and stated that the battery had died causing all power steering and electrics to shut down. This was yesterday and the pain in my neck and shoulder blades is getting worse. I’m requesting a gp appointment on Monday but I wanted to know if this would he a viable claim.

There is a potential claim, but whether or not it would be possible to pursue this matter is not as yet clear. Once you have seen your GP, please email some further information to me about the garage, what happened and what your GP has said and we will then get our specialist Solicitors to discuss this and consider whether or not we can pursue this for you.