Whiplash Compensation Claims in the UK

According to an online article by the BBC ("Warning over whiplash epidemic"), the Association of British Insurers say that its members receive almost 1,200 whiplash claims every day, worth almost a staggering £2bn a year. This is an increase of approximately 25% over the past 5 years. Apparently, these types of injuries are a huge burden on NHS resources and costing them almost £8m a year.

The AA has suggested that these drivers could reduce the risk of whiplash injuries by ensuring that the head restraints in their cars are adjusted to the appropriate height. In fact, the top of the head restraint should be almost level with the top of the driver's head, but very few drivers or passengers make these adjustments before setting off on their journey.

There are many other ways in which whiplash injuries can be avoided and the most obvious way is to keep a safe distance from the car in front and to brake 'early' and 'lightly'. Very few drivers are aware that you must keep at least 2 seconds from the vehicle ahead. Under rule 126 of the Highway Code, you must "allow at least a two-second gap between you and the vehicle in front" and "use a fixed point to help measure a two-second gap". By following this simple rule, motorists can avoid inflicting whiplash on themselves and others, and substantially reduce the number of claims.

The director of AA Insurance, Simon Douglas, has stated that "the cost of whiplash claims equates to about £66 for every UK car insurance policy, or about 14 per cent of the average Shoparound car insurance premium. This is more than twice the cost of claims for accidents with uninsured drivers". This suggests that we are all suffering as a result of whiplash claims, which can be avoided to a large extent. He also stated that "over the past year, the average quoted Shoparound premium for a comprehensive car insurance policy increased by 8.7 per cent and whiplash injury will become an increasingly important factor in future premium increases".

It is a well known fact that many of these whiplash claims are often fraudulent and many claimants exaggerate their injuries to obtain maximum compensation. However, this is having a detrimental effect on our insurance premiums and unfortunately many motorists are suffering as a result.

Ramrattan S.Bhambra is a trainee Solicitor working with Winston Solicitors based in Leeds uk. For more information about Winston Solicitors visit www.theclaimsconnection.co.uk/