Opinion: why whiplash stigma is devastating for real victims

Insurers would have us believe injury payments are doled out like free newspapers at a station. But one woman's story shines a light on the difficulties faced by genuine claimants.

Thirteen months ago, Sophie* from Nottingham was preparing to buy her weekly groceries from a shopping centre on a Saturday morning with her husband and two children.

As she was in the car park she was hit by a man who was speeding, flipped over the bonnet and landed in a pool of dirt. 

An ambulance didn’t arrive for half an hour, but she was advised not to move from the filthy water in case she caused herself further injury.

A crowd gathered. She was mortified.

The driver who hit her admitted fault and bought her flowers to apologise a few days later.

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Unable to work

She was eventually diagnosed with three breaks in her foot (that will leave her with a permanent limp) and anxiety as a result of the collision.

At the time, she was self-employed and in too much pain to work for three months.

If this happened to me, I’d certainly expect to be compensated by the other driver’s insurance company and I’d expect this money to come through pretty quickly to help with my expenses while I couldn’t work.

Apparently, I’d be very naive...

The difficulty finding information

“I didn’t know anything about how the law works. I’ve never sued anyone or being sued," Sophie tells me.

"I didn't really know where to start looking for advice.

“I looked up personal injury claims on the internet and all I could find were articles about how dodgy whiplash payouts were pushing up other people’s car insurance costs unfairly.

"I’m sure this is true in some cases, but I wasn’t trying to rip anyone off. I just wanted compensation for my injuries and the money I lost."

According to Sophie, one of the most frustrating issues was the perception people can put in an injury complaint and will immediately receive a payment, even if they are not legitimately hurt.

"There is definitely a stigma. People looked at me like I was some kind of chancer after fast money.

"The difficulty in finding adequate advice also made it difficult to choose the right solicitor and I started to worry I’d end up with some ambulance chaser.

“In the end, I do think I made the wrong choice, but it was hard to find unbiased information."

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The perils of getting the wrong advice

Sophie eventually allowed her husband to find a solicitor and still regrets the decision.

"He just looked on Google and clicked the first link he found. The firm was useless. At the time, I was in pain and just let him deal with it.

"They changed solicitors on me several times and I never knew if the person I was dealing with would be in the office when I rang. They rarely returned my calls."

Sophie felt she didn't want to make a fuss since she wouldn't have the resources to sue a law firm if problems eventually escalated that far.

Early on in the process, she was offered £4,000 as compensation.

She refused, but admits she was tempted to accept when dealing with financial pressures and a long-term relationship ending.

"I didn't know what to do. I was ringing the solicitors constantly and getting fobbed off.

“There were times when I was so stressed I just wanted to forget the whole thing," she says.

It seems her decision was correct.

Almost a year later, she was told her claim was actually worth significantly more. 

She was finally awarded a little over £21,000 to include her possible future disability, damage to her property and mental health distress.

While this is a significant sum of money, she was already £4,000 in debt after having to borrow from family members to cover her costs during the time she was unable to work.

She concluded: "I am so frustrated the legal team were so unresponsive whenever I tried to contact them.

"It felt as though my rage was just ignored."

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The impact of whiplash culture

Although Sophie did not suffer from whiplash, she feels there's a misconception all personal injury claims are part of the fraudulent claim culture, which causes distress for genuine victims.

A year after Sophie had her accident, there was a change in the legislation surrounding accident victims with royal assent being granted for the Civil Liabilities Act, which is designed to address the excesses of the UK's compensation culture.

According to predictions from the AA, the new rules could mean the average driver could save up to £35 for car insurance per year. Great news for drivers.

When the rule changes were announced, Janet Conner, the AA's director of insurance, said:

"The car insurance industry is extremely competitive – and if savings are made in costs, they will be passed on to customers. 

“Those firms that don’t pass the savings on will lose business. 

“This news should be greeted by drivers as a victory for common sense and put an end to the insidious cold-call claims industry.”

All excellent points. But what about those who have legitimately suffered injuries? 

If Sophie’s experience is anything to go by, making a genuine claim was massively challenging even before the tough new rules came in.

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Where to get help if you need it

If you are the victim of an accident, there are a number of organisations that should be able to help.

Citizens Advice

Gov.uk

Brake

*Name changed to protect the person's identity

What do you think? Are genuine claimants really maligned or do we need even sterner rules in place? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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