Can I Claim Whiplash Injury Compensation If My Spouse Was The Person Responsible For The Accident?

If you have been involved in a road traffic accident that was caused through no fault of your own, and have sustained injuries as a result of the accident then you deserve to be compensated. However, if you were a passenger in a vehicle being driven by your spouse and the accident was caused wholly or partly as a result of a negligent act or omission by your spouse then you may be wondering whether you can and should make a claim against your spouse and how, if at all, your spouse’s insurance premiums will be effected by you making a claim. This article seeks to answer some of these questions.

In most road traffic accidents that result in whiplash injury the injured party does not know the driver who caused the accident. In these instances, the drivers of the vehicles involved in the collision will exchange insurance details at the scene of the accident and are likely to have no more contact. The exception, of course, is where passengers are injured and the collision has been caused by the driver of the vehicle in which they were travelling. The driver could be a friend, a relative, a parent or a spouse.

Whilst it may seem morally incorrect to make a claim against your spouse, if you have sustained a whiplash injury then, as well as deserving to be compensated for the pain and suffering you have sustained, you will also be able to claim for any losses you have sustained as a result of the accident (i.e. loss of earnings, loss of overtime, painkillers and the cost of any treatment required).

Presuming your spouse has a policy of motor insurance in place, which they are required by law to have, then you will be able to make a claim which will be paid out by the insurance company. The policy is in place to protect your spouse in instances such as this – i.e. where injuries have been sustained as a result of an accident caused by his or her negligent driving – regardless of the relationship between the driver and the injured party.

It is possible that your spouse’s insurance premiums will be affected as a result of making a claim, however, this will depend on the individual insurance company and your spouse’s insurance claim history. However, if you are concerned about the financial impact of making a claim on you as a couple (i.e. you are worried about the potential increase in premiums) then do bear in mind that if you don’t make a claim but require, for example, a course of private physiotherapy to aid your recovery or need to take some unpaid off work due to your injuries, you will not be able to recoup these losses. This could, therefore, result in a greater financial loss than that of incurring increased insurance premiums.

If you have sustained a whiplash injury through no fault of your own, regardless of your relationship to the person responsible for the accident, you deserve to be compensated not only for the pain and suffering you have sustained but also for any out of pocket expenses you may incur as a direct result of the accident.

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