MOJ Whiplash Consultation - Part 1

MOJ Whiplash Consultation - Part 1

Author
Discussion

KungFuPanda

Original Poster:

4,324 posts

169 months

Thursday 23rd February 2017
quotequote all
Here it is:


https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploa...

Abridged version here:

https://blmpolicyblog.com/2017/02/23/implementing-...

12 month whip goes down from £3kish to be valued at £1190. Limit for PSLA for RTA's gets raised to £5k for the Small Claim's Track.

Have they gone too far?

Edited by KungFuPanda on Friday 24th February 00:14

InitialDave

11,853 posts

118 months

Thursday 23rd February 2017
quotequote all
Hmm.

My friend was (genuinely) hurt in a minor accident, and while I expect he will be fine in a couple of months, he's has to see a doctor/physio about it, and it's definitely "a real thing" (noticeably more awkward picking things up, for instance).

But under the posted guidelines, he'd only be able to claim for £225?

That seems a bit st given he's had to take time off work for aforementioned doctor visits etc.

anonymous-user

53 months

Friday 24th February 2017
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When I hear stories of people claiming for whiplash just to make money it fks me off big time. My mum and dad were at a roundabout in Bury St Edmunds when their car was hit at the back by someone coming too fast into the roundabout, the result was a wrote off car and my mum with a genuine case of whiplash, she never claimed like the money grabbers do but a few months after she was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, she was a non smoker and I reckon to this day that shunt triggered off the cancer.

Nickyboy

6,700 posts

233 months

Friday 24th February 2017
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Raygun said:
When I hear stories of people claiming for whiplash just to make money it fks me off big time. My mum and dad were at a roundabout in Bury St Edmunds when their car was hit at the back by someone coming too fast into the roundabout, the result was a wrote off car and my mum with a genuine case of whiplash, she never claimed like the money grabbers do but a few months after she was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, she was a non smoker and I reckon to this day that shunt triggered off the cancer.
I hate to say it but car accidents don't cause cancer

eybic

9,212 posts

173 months

Friday 24th February 2017
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Nickyboy said:
I hate to say it but car accidents don't cause cancer
But lots of people that have had a lot of stress seem to be diagnosed shortly after. Maybe coincidence but I know of a couple of people that had very stressful events and within a few months were diagnosed with Cancers.

TwigtheWonderkid

43,246 posts

149 months

Friday 24th February 2017
quotequote all
eybic said:
But lots of people that have had a lot of stress seem to be diagnosed shortly after. Maybe coincidence but I know of a couple of people that had very stressful events and within a few months were diagnosed with Cancers.
I think it's more likely that a visit to the doctor for whiplash or whatever can lead to investigations that discover pre existing cancer. I actually know someone whose minor injury (he broke his toe ) led to discovery of cancer which was then treated successfully. Had he not broken his toe, he would have been diagnosed much later and most likely died.

S11Steve

6,374 posts

183 months

Friday 24th February 2017
quotequote all
I see a few dozen claim forms a week for the fleet that I manage, and it never ceases to amaze me the BS that people put on their claim forms, and that "solicitors" are complicit in all of this.

The current favourite is "ongoing stress and anxiety whilst travelling in vehicles", and a load of legalese as to why the defendant is slightly more culpable than Hitler in the scheme of things.


Craigyp79

586 posts

182 months

Friday 24th February 2017
quotequote all
TwigtheWonderkid said:
eybic said:
But lots of people that have had a lot of stress seem to be diagnosed shortly after. Maybe coincidence but I know of a couple of people that had very stressful events and within a few months were diagnosed with Cancers.
I think it's more likely that a visit to the doctor for whiplash or whatever can lead to investigations that discover pre existing cancer. I actually know someone whose minor injury (he broke his toe ) led to discovery of cancer which was then treated successfully. Had he not broken his toe, he would have been diagnosed much later and most likely died.
Totally off topic but Bob Marley died of toe cancer...

TwigtheWonderkid

43,246 posts

149 months

Friday 24th February 2017
quotequote all
Craigyp79 said:
TwigtheWonderkid said:
eybic said:
But lots of people that have had a lot of stress seem to be diagnosed shortly after. Maybe coincidence but I know of a couple of people that had very stressful events and within a few months were diagnosed with Cancers.
I think it's more likely that a visit to the doctor for whiplash or whatever can lead to investigations that discover pre existing cancer. I actually know someone whose minor injury (he broke his toe ) led to discovery of cancer which was then treated successfully. Had he not broken his toe, he would have been diagnosed much later and most likely died.
Totally off topic but Bob Marley died of toe cancer...
Well he died of brain cancer, which was the end result of cancer in a toe he broke playing football. There's an urban myth that Danny Baker put in the offending tackle that broke the toe, and hence killed Bob Marley, but it isn't true.

anonymous-user

53 months

Friday 24th February 2017
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Craigyp79 said:
Totally off topic but Bob Marley died of toe cancer...
Skin cancer, the worse possible place to get it, he refused the treatment because he was a Rastafarian, my father had it in the same place, he had his toe removed and he was fine although he passed away a good few years later due to heart trouble, my father never as far as I can remember wore a pair of sandals or exposed his feet to the sun in his life.

anonymous-user

53 months

Friday 24th February 2017
quotequote all
Nickyboy said:
I hate to say it but car accidents don't cause cancer
That jolt to this day I reckon triggered it, not saying it would happen to every elderly person(mum was 75) but if you've unfortunately got it in the system.
Just my opinion

Durzel

12,232 posts

167 months

Friday 24th February 2017
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S11Steve said:
I see a few dozen claim forms a week for the fleet that I manage, and it never ceases to amaze me the BS that people put on their claim forms, and that "solicitors" are complicit in all of this.
Doctors too.

Don't know how you're supposed to effectively regulate a system where the symptoms of whiplash are largely unproveable, and easily faked.

Aretnap

1,643 posts

150 months

Friday 24th February 2017
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InitialDave said:
My friend was (genuinely) hurt in a minor accident, and while I expect he will be fine in a couple of months, he's has to see a doctor/physio about it, and it's definitely "a real thing" (noticeably more awkward picking things up, for instance).

But under the posted guidelines, he'd only be able to claim for £225?

That seems a bit st given he's had to take time off work for aforementioned doctor visits etc.
The £225 would just be "general damages" to cover his pain, suffering and loss of amenity (ie the fact that his injury makes everyday life a bit awkward). The idea is that this payment is the same for everyone - because a given injury is just as painful to everyone.

He could claim specific damages for other losses on top of that - such as loss of earnings and the cost of physio. Those losses will depend on his own circumstances - for example someone in a physical job would probably need more time off than someone in an office job, and the earnings lost would depend on how much he earns.

I do tend to agree that £225 seems a bit low given how painful (genuine) whiplash can be. But it's not the maximum that he could ever claim.

BMWBen

4,899 posts

200 months

Friday 24th February 2017
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Raygun said:
Nickyboy said:
I hate to say it but car accidents don't cause cancer
That jolt to this day I reckon triggered it, not saying it would happen to every elderly person(mum was 75) but *if you've unfortunately got it in the system*.
Just my opinion
Then surely it has nothing to do with the car crash and it was always just a matter of time? I understand the desire to find a "cause" or something to blame because it's a horrible thing to happen, but by reducing the whole thing down to this you're really doing a disservice to both the complexity of the disease and the understanding of it that we *do* have.

anonymous-user

53 months

Friday 24th February 2017
quotequote all
[quote=BMWBen]

Then surely it has nothing to do with the car crash and it was always just a matter of time?
[/quote
Sooner rather than later once the shunt took place, I'm just refering to mum's case not anyone else,I mention my father's skin cancer above with no idea how he ever got it,
I'm not blaming anyone by the way.

bad company

18,483 posts

265 months

Friday 24th February 2017
quotequote all
Nickyboy said:
Raygun said:
When I hear stories of people claiming for whiplash just to make money it fks me off big time. My mum and dad were at a roundabout in Bury St Edmunds when their car was hit at the back by someone coming too fast into the roundabout, the result was a wrote off car and my mum with a genuine case of whiplash, she never claimed like the money grabbers do but a few months after she was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, she was a non smoker and I reckon to this day that shunt triggered off the cancer.
I hate to say it but car accidents don't cause cancer
Shock can trigger all sorts of bad stuff.

anonymous-user

53 months

Friday 24th February 2017
quotequote all
Durzel said:
Don't know how you're supposed to effectively regulate a system where the symptoms of whiplash are largely unproveable, and easily faked.
You raise the small claims limit for RTA injuries to £5000...

TwigtheWonderkid

43,246 posts

149 months

Friday 24th February 2017
quotequote all
bad company said:
Shock can trigger all sorts of bad stuff.
Is there any actual scientific / medical evidence for shock triggering cancer, other than apocryphal stories? I'm not aware of any, but I'm no oncologist.

pork911

7,086 posts

182 months

Saturday 25th February 2017
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Does nothing for fraud or exaggeration, does attack injuries deemed minor if RTA related but not so for the same injuries elsewhere. Ah well, at least the £40 premium savings will be passed on wink

bad company

18,483 posts

265 months

Saturday 25th February 2017
quotequote all
TwigtheWonderkid said:
bad company said:
Shock can trigger all sorts of bad stuff.
Is there any actual scientific / medical evidence for shock triggering cancer, other than apocryphal stories? I'm not aware of any, but I'm no oncologist.
This is from the 'Daily Wail' so may not be great science, food for thought tho:-

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2400784/...