Whiplash compensation
Discussion
Hi guys,
One of my best mate's from uni (no not me) has recently been recovering from a whiplash injury. He had an accident in february 06 and finished his course of treatment (with a full sign off from the doctor in march 07). He had approx 9 months of treatment. The sustained injury was evidently diagnosed as a moderate-to-high whiplash injury including pain to the shoulders, neck and lower back.
The problem is after more than 1 years worth of pain & suffering, he has been offered what i consider to be a really low sum of money. I won't divulge the amount until i've had some responses to ensure i get a good measure of the value. His solicitors have told him it's a good offer and he should take it, but throughout the whole process this particular solicitor has been pushing him to see if he has recovered and it just feels like they were trying to get their payment asap. The guy in question is currently very hard up so is thinking it may work out better for him to accept rather than delay things.
Could anyone tell me what they think the standard payout (excluding expenses) should be for this type/ length of injury.
Any honest solicitor types (a contradiction in terms, i know
) out there that might be able to point me in the direction of a website that might list average pay out's?
One of my best mate's from uni (no not me) has recently been recovering from a whiplash injury. He had an accident in february 06 and finished his course of treatment (with a full sign off from the doctor in march 07). He had approx 9 months of treatment. The sustained injury was evidently diagnosed as a moderate-to-high whiplash injury including pain to the shoulders, neck and lower back.
The problem is after more than 1 years worth of pain & suffering, he has been offered what i consider to be a really low sum of money. I won't divulge the amount until i've had some responses to ensure i get a good measure of the value. His solicitors have told him it's a good offer and he should take it, but throughout the whole process this particular solicitor has been pushing him to see if he has recovered and it just feels like they were trying to get their payment asap. The guy in question is currently very hard up so is thinking it may work out better for him to accept rather than delay things.
Could anyone tell me what they think the standard payout (excluding expenses) should be for this type/ length of injury.
Any honest solicitor types (a contradiction in terms, i know
) out there that might be able to point me in the direction of a website that might list average pay out's?I had a bad car crash which included whiplash,internal injurys,concussion and a few other things.I can not remember the exact amount i got paid out but it was around £2.600 if i remember correctly.This was deemed a good payout by solicitor by the way.Without you saying how much he has been offered its hard to comment really.
RaksP said:
TheCarpetCleaner said:
I thought compensation was there to cover any costs incurred, is your mate looking to profit from this?
surely everyone puts a different cost on their time, that is why it is hard to come to a settlement which is fair for both parties!Lets say for example you were self employed and your business was zero when you couldnt work and you lost £50k, and at the weekend you played cricket at say county reserve league level and you were out of work for 6 months and not playing for two seasons, then this is a completely different scenario to if you were a student who technically had very little out of pocket cost with the same injury.
JustinP1 said:
RaksP said:
TheCarpetCleaner said:
I thought compensation was there to cover any costs incurred, is your mate looking to profit from this?
surely everyone puts a different cost on their time, that is why it is hard to come to a settlement which is fair for both parties!Lets say for example you were self employed and your business was zero when you couldnt work and you lost £50k, and at the weekend you played cricket at say county reserve league level and you were out of work for 6 months and not playing for two seasons, then this is a completely different scenario to if you were a student who technically had very little out of pocket cost with the same injury.
JustinP1 said:
RaksP said:
TheCarpetCleaner said:
I thought compensation was there to cover any costs incurred, is your mate looking to profit from this?
surely everyone puts a different cost on their time, that is why it is hard to come to a settlement which is fair for both parties!Lets say for example you were self employed and your business was zero when you couldnt work and you lost £50k, and at the weekend you played cricket at say county reserve league level and you were out of work for 6 months and not playing for two seasons, then this is a completely different scenario to if you were a student who technically had very little out of pocket cost with the same injury.
TPS said:
JustinP1 said:
RaksP said:
TheCarpetCleaner said:
I thought compensation was there to cover any costs incurred, is your mate looking to profit from this?
surely everyone puts a different cost on their time, that is why it is hard to come to a settlement which is fair for both parties!Lets say for example you were self employed and your business was zero when you couldnt work and you lost £50k, and at the weekend you played cricket at say county reserve league level and you were out of work for 6 months and not playing for two seasons, then this is a completely different scenario to if you were a student who technically had very little out of pocket cost with the same injury.
Never had to claim so didnt really know.Knew someone that overplayed a whiplash incident (funny it didnt seem to affect her when out clubbing) and she got some large sum of money. I am from the "brush yourself off and carry on" school of thought so it seemed like she was getting money for nothing which has tainted me toward this "compensation culture" thing
If its deserved however, then thats what the system is there for I guess.
Hi guys, thanks for all the advice. My friend is definitely not money chasing, he sees his injury as one of those things that happens and any compensation a bonus! He has been through all the treatment etc and has been declared as recovered now, at no point did he suggest he was more injured than he was, quite the opposite in fact.
He works from home for his own business (arranging and booking bands and comedy acts for venue's) so he did not submit a loss of earnings, as he only took 1 week off work. His medical expenses and out of pocket expenses (excess etc) came to a total of £600. He has been offered a settlement figure of £1000. So £400 for his injuries, which i think is ridiculous since he has been suffering for over a year in total. His solicitor will get £2000 in costs from the insurance company in addition to this. I still think his solicitor should not be recommending he take the offer and should push for a fairer settlement.
He works from home for his own business (arranging and booking bands and comedy acts for venue's) so he did not submit a loss of earnings, as he only took 1 week off work. His medical expenses and out of pocket expenses (excess etc) came to a total of £600. He has been offered a settlement figure of £1000. So £400 for his injuries, which i think is ridiculous since he has been suffering for over a year in total. His solicitor will get £2000 in costs from the insurance company in addition to this. I still think his solicitor should not be recommending he take the offer and should push for a fairer settlement.
RaksP said:
TheCarpetCleaner said:
I thought compensation was there to cover any costs incurred, is your mate looking to profit from this?
surely everyone puts a different cost on their time, that is why it is hard to come to a settlement which is fair for both parties!eltax91 said:
He has been offered a settlement figure of £1000. So £400 for his injuries, which i think is ridiculous since he has been suffering for over a year in total. His solicitor will get £2000 in costs from the insurance company in addition to this.
£2k costs?!? Sounds like the solicitor's been taking the proverbial here...And agreed that's appallingly low.
Sounds like a bit of a piss take, especially when there are cases like this
http://tinyurl.com/2t7ocg
Commuter claims £1.5m after slipping on 'killer' petal outside florist
http://tinyurl.com/2t7ocg
Commuter claims £1.5m after slipping on 'killer' petal outside florist
TheCarpetCleaner said:
I thought compensation was there to cover any costs incurred, is your mate looking to profit from this?
Not quite. Personnel injury claims are made through the law of tort in civil action. However, 99% of claims are settled outside of the courtroom often on the court steps.The claim is to compensate the harm this can be a culmination of loss of earnings, pain & discomfort, special damage, medical fees, transportation etc etc.
This type of injury with lesser effect of harm often produce settlements of 3 to 4 K usually within a short period of time which is why the ambulance chasers are on the scene at hospitals
Here you go, from JSB 8th edition - and i wont even charge you this time
Report is for the neck, but as that is the most serious thats where you look.
(c) Minor
Minor soft tissue and whiplash injuries and the like where symptoms are moderate:
(i) and a full recovery takes place within about two years;
£2,550 to £4,575
(ii) with a full recovery between a few weeks and a year.
£750 to £2,550
Searching a few reports it seems that the average figure for minor and recovery within a year is 13-1400. £400 is low.
Report is for the neck, but as that is the most serious thats where you look.
(c) Minor
Minor soft tissue and whiplash injuries and the like where symptoms are moderate:
(i) and a full recovery takes place within about two years;
£2,550 to £4,575
(ii) with a full recovery between a few weeks and a year.
£750 to £2,550
Searching a few reports it seems that the average figure for minor and recovery within a year is 13-1400. £400 is low.
Got caught in the middle of a five car pile up on the M1 almost 12 years ago and the wife suffered whiplash injuries. She was off work for 13 weeks and still suffers a bit of pain every now and again.
The first offer we were made about 6 months after the accident was about £1,200, but because she hadn't recovered at that time she turned it down.
The claim was eventually settled nearly 3 years after the accident and she got about £4,500.
The first offer we were made about 6 months after the accident was about £1,200, but because she hadn't recovered at that time she turned it down.
The claim was eventually settled nearly 3 years after the accident and she got about £4,500.
I was involved in a collision that was not my fault the vehicle was stolen, I got paid out eventually by the M I B about 2yrs later after lots of legal fighting and trips to specialists.
The end result was i got £3600 as driver and my colleague who was passenger got slightly more he got £5200. That was everything loss of earnings etc.
Stefluc
The end result was i got £3600 as driver and my colleague who was passenger got slightly more he got £5200. That was everything loss of earnings etc.
Stefluc
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