Whiplash Compensation Case Study
Rebecca
Rebecca suffered a whiplash injury to her neck when she was involved in a road traffic accident.
Within days she received letters from an "accident management company", and 2 firms of Solicitors, all claiming that they had been “appointed” to act for her. She had no idea where they had obtained her details from. She then received a telephone call from the insurance company of the driver who had caused the accident, offering to refer her to "independent solicitors" at no cost to her.
"That got me thinking" said Rebecca, "just how independent can they be if the people responsible for the accident are recommending them?"
The claim for the damage to Rebecca’s car was sorted out very quickly, and she was not initially going to make a claim for her injury. "The day after the accident I woke up and my neck and shoulders were very stiff. I thought it would go away after a day or two, but after a week it was worse than ever. I went to my doctor and she gave me some anti-inflammatory tablets. The tablets didn’t really do a lot. It’s very easy to dismiss "whiplash" until you’ve actually had it. Although I was still going to work, all I could think of by the end of the day was getting home and lying in a hot bath. I went back to the doctor, and was given some more tablets. I asked about physiotherapy but was told that there was a long wait and I’d probably be better by the time I got an appointment."
After several weeks, and feeling no better, a friend recommended us to Rebecca. Within days we were able to arrange for her to commence a course of private physiotherapy with a local physiotherapist, at no cost to her.
Following her course of treatment Rebecca said she felt "99% better". We then arranged for her to be assessed by an independent doctor who prepared a medical report. The doctor was satisfied that her symptoms were very unlikely to return, and we therefore proceeded to settle her claim. In addition to the cost of treatment and some other expenses, Rebecca received £2,000 for her injuries.