The law for claiming compensation for whiplash injuries in road traffic accidents has changed.  As from 31 May 2021 the Civil Liability Act 2018 introduced fixed levels of compensation that will be awarded for a whiplash injury sustained in a road traffic accident.  

A whiplash injury is defined in the legislation as “a sprain, strain, tear, rupture or lesser damage of a muscle, tendon or ligament in the neck, back or shoulder or an injury of soft tissue associated with a muscle, tendon or ligament in the neck, back or shoulder.”  

The Civil Liability Act 2018 sets out a table of whiplash compensation claim amounts as follows:- 

Duration of Injury	Whiplash	Whiplash with Psychological Injury
Not more than 3 months	£240	£260
3 – 6 months	£495	£520
6 – 9 months	£840	£895
9 – 12 months	£1,320	£1,390
12 – 15 months	£2,040	£2,125
15 – 18 months	£3,005	£3,100
18 – 24 months	£4,215	£4,345

Additional Losses

In addition to compensation for the injury sustained you can claim for other types of losses known as special damages. Special damages is awarded to cover monetary losses such as loss of earnings or medical fees and out of pocket expenses that you have incurred or will incur in the future.  Typical examples of special damages include:-

• Damage to your vehicle 
• Insurance Excess
• Medical care including physiotherapy and rehabilitation cost
• Travel expenses including travel to appointments and parking
• Loss of earnings future and past
• Damage to possessions or property
• Prescription costs
• Household assistance or care you may require

Small Claims Limit  

The small claims limit for road traffic injury accident claims has changed. The small claims limit is important because normally you can recover your legal fees, or a significant contribution towards your legal fees, from the third party’s insurance company. However, in small claims track value cases the general costs recovery rule does not apply and you will not be able to recover your solicitors costs from the other side. The small claims limit for personal injury claims generally is currently set at £1,000, but under the new Law a new small claims limit of £5,000 will apply to road traffic accident claims only.  This means that the majority of road traffic accident whiplash claims will now fall below the small claims limit and many Claimants will no longer have the benefit of a contribution from the third party driver’s insurer towards their legal fees.  

Fees

We will continue to act for road traffic accident whiplash claims on a no win no fee basis (known as a Conditional Fee Agreement – or a CFA). Under a CFA you will be required to make a contribution towards your legal fees up to a maximum of 25% of the level of compensation awarded.  

Make an enquiry or fill in our contact form below for more information about making a claim.