Loss Of Earnings Due To Whiplash

If you have suffered from a whiplash injury you may firstly only be aware of the physical impact that the injury has on your life. You may be suffering from neck and back pain – as well as other symptoms – and may feel tired and anxious about what to do next. If your injury is anything more than a very mild injury you may require time off work to recover and this is where you may start to become concerned about the possibility of losing earnings as a result of your injuries. This articles looks at how a whiplash injury is actually caused, what you would be able to claim as part of a whiplash injury compensation claim and whether this would include loss of earnings.

A whiplash injury is caused during the course of a road accident, usually – but not always – as a result of one vehicle being struck in the rear by another vehicle. The impact of the collision causes the head and neck of the driver or passenger to be suddenly and forcefully thrown back and forth causing the muscles and ligaments in the neck to be stretched beyond their normal range of movement. As a result, the driver or passenger sustains a whiplash injury which can vary in severity depending on factors such as the speed at which the collision occurred.

When you instruct a specialist whiplash injury solicitor to pursue a claim for compensation on your behalf your claim will be split into two parts – general damages and special damages. Your general damages claim relates to your pain and suffering, i.e. the actual injury you have sustained. The value of this part of your claim will usually be calculated using medical evidence. Your solicitor will arrange for you to be seen by an independent medical expert who will assess your injuries and prepare a report detailing his findings. He will then use the report to compare your case with previously settled cases where the Claimant suffered similar injuries to your own and took a similar amount of time to recover. He will also refer to a book called the Judicial Studies Board guidelines to value your general damages claim.

Your special damages claims relates to any out of pocket expenses you have incurred as a direct result of the accident. This includes loss of earnings and also other items such as travelling expenses to medical appointments, treatment costs and loss of overtime. If you do not receive sick pay from your employer while you are off sick you will of course wish to claim your lost earnings back from the other party. Your solicitor will ask you for documentary evidence in support of your lost earnings claim, namely pay slips for a 3 to 6 month period leading up to the accident. Your solicitor will then use this evidence to calculate your loss of earnings claim and will take into account any regular overtime that you have also lost out on. When your solicitor has gathered together all of the evidence relating to your special damages claim he will put all the information into a document called a ‘Schedule of Special Damages’ and will send it, together with a copy of the medical report, to the other party’s legal representative and invite settlement proposals.

To conclude, a whiplash injury can have much more of an impact on your life than you might think and it is important that you choose an experienced, specialist whiplash injury solicitor to pursue a claim for compensation on your behalf.

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Can We Help You With A Whiplash Accident Claim?

If you ask us to help you with your Whiplash Claim, you will receive all of your compensation and you will pay nothing whether you win or lose your claim. We have helped the clients of both the Co-Op and RAC and have handled thousands of Whiplash Claims over the last few years. We use our specialist experience to benefit you by making a fast and professional claim for compensation for you.

To find out if we can help you please call us on 0808 178 9002 or complete our Online Enquiry Form and we will be in touch with you soon.

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