Whiplash Claim

Associate
Joined
29 Jun 2006
Posts
2,458
Location
Manchester
Hi,

Just after some advice as to whether i should go forward with this claim or if i risk losing and having to pay someone else's solicitor fees.

Basically i was in my mates car in the back seat coming off the motorway, our vehicle was stationary in the queue behind many other cars and they crashed into the back of us.

The accident was 100% their fault, theres no question of this.

My neck hurt a lot that day and i suffered neck pain and stiffness for about a week, my lower back also ached. This in turn ruined the festival weekend i was on my way to, i had trouble sleeping and couldn't go to the front to watch bands because my neck was too stiff to be pushed about everywhere.

When i got back from the festival, 5 days later, i did not go to my GP as the pain was reduced and i thought it would go away with time.

The pain was fully gone in 2 weeks.

So should i claim for a ruined trip? Or/and injuries?
Any advice or previous experience with this type of situation welcome

Thanks

edit: my friend, the driver, is pursuing a claim for a ruined trip and his solicitors got in touch with me, they have sent me forms to fill in and said i may be required to see one of their local medical teams if i go ahead with the claim.
 
Last edited:
Associate
Joined
5 Mar 2009
Posts
12
If you have not had any medical treatment then forget it !

If you filled in the paperwork , no solicitor would continue the claim
 

fez

fez

Caporegime
Joined
22 Aug 2008
Posts
25,023
Location
Tunbridge Wells
Hatter_the_mad has a point. I played hockey the other week and someone hit the ball into my foot and it hurt to walk for about 2 weeks. Should I sue?

If you have been put out of action for a long time and lost a lot of money or you have permanent pain then maybe, but otherwise no way.
 
Associate
Joined
30 Apr 2009
Posts
688
If you had lost three weeks of £20/hr work as a result, and had medical documentation to prove it, then yes.

If you had a bit of a crappy weekend, and lost enjoyment of some music, then it's really not worth the bother.
 
Soldato
Joined
4 Sep 2005
Posts
6,803
Location
UK
Basically, because you didn't go and seek medical advice (immediately or shortly afterwards) you don't have a leg to stand on and I can't see any insurance company paying out without (medical) proof, so I would suggest forgetting about pursuing a claim and chalk it up too experience...
 
Soldato
Joined
4 Aug 2004
Posts
5,622
Location
Wigan
You were in a car accident and suffered neck pain and you didn't go and see a doctor :/
...and instead of laying up in bed and taking it easy - you (i presume) made the conscious decision to go camping, lie on the ground, in a presumably draughty environment, maybe a damp one and generally do everything a doc would advise against to prevent aggravating the injury.

Maybe if you'd missed the festival you would have a valid claim. But you are banking on "enjoyment" being quantifiable
 

mrk

mrk

Man of Honour
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
99,992
Location
South Coast
I slipped up on the stairs at work the other day and told my boss about it, he said I should have sued the building owners but I don't know...my knee still hurts if I apply pressure.

Basically they waxed the wood flooring in the morning, there was a sign at the front entrance to the stairs but not as you leave so anyone coming down the stairs won't see the sign and know that the floor below the stairs is slippery due to the bad placement of the sign.

To clarify,

Wood flooring was waxed

Sign placed at building entry point walkway

I walked up the stairs passing sign around the corner - fine

I had to go back down the stairs to the car and because it is habit and routine to just walk down the stairs and turn the corner I didn't click that teh floor was slippery due to not seeing any sign on my way down to remind myself and slipped when stepping around the immediate corner falling on my nicely firm arse.

One of the cleaning/house women runs out their little room proclaiming "I knew that would happen I knew that would happen!!" and another one of her colleagues walks out asking if I am ok. I said fine and limped on briskly as I was in a hurry. and the pain later went away but only just came back over teh past 2 days or so.

What say ye, ocuk? I don't like the whole making a claim thing in general but if this is properly the house building management's fault then I feel I should stand by my case?
 
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Caporegime
Joined
28 Jun 2007
Posts
52,813
Location
Tamworth, UK
There's no reason why you can't claim. You don't necessarily need to have sought medical advice although it helps.

In any event, if your claim is for a genuine two weeks worth of symptoms then a) you have every right to claim and b) the third party insurer is far more likely to accept that you were injured than if you claim an ongoing disability purely in an attempt to increase the settlement amount.
 
Associate
Joined
25 Jan 2009
Posts
1,398
Pffft nah my sister had someone ram the back of the car while she was in the passenger seat, she got whiplash and never claimed anything

But then again if you get something good out of it?? ;) haha
 
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