If you suffered from whiplash in an accident and you were not to blame, you should earn compensation to help with your medical bills.
Whiplash might seem like a small injury but make no mistake: common does not equal small. Whiplash is one of the most common motor vehicle accident injuries. It happens when a driver must break suddenly, usually preceding an impact. As stated by robertslawfirm.net, the professional personal injury attorney, if you have whiplash due to someone else slamming on those brakes, you can claim money back to cover the cost of your medical bills and any lost income. Interested? Let us discuss it in more detail.
How Common is a Whiplash Injury?
Whiplash is scarier than you think. It is an intense neck sprain or strain that can kill you if it is intense enough. Scientists believe that most plane collision victims die instantly due to whiplash and that 43% of people who suffer whiplash will have lifelong symptoms. There are over 3 million cases of whiplash in America every year. Even though it is common, it is debilitating.
How Much Compensation can I Get for a Whiplash Injury?
Whiplash counts as a back and neck injury in the eyes of the law. The severity of the problem therefore impacts the compensation you can claim. Minor neck and back injuries can produce any amount from $2,000 up to $10,000, although reports of $100,000 payments do exist. The compensation for whiplash injuries varies depending on what you do after your accident. Here are our tips for getting the maximum amount owed.
How to Maximize Your Compensation for a Whiplash Injury
Now that we know how much you could get, let us talk about how to maximize that figure. There are things you can do and things you should not do which affect this.
Immediately after the accident, make sure you speak to the police and give them your statement. This creates a paper trail of what happened for the insurers later. Make sure you are safe then call emergency services. Visit the ER to ensure a medical record of your injuries. Be sure to attend any follow up appointments, too. If you can, take pictures or videos of the scene of the accident and talk to witnesses to get their contact details.
If you cannot do all of this for yourself because you end up incapacitated, hiring a lawyer is sound advice. They will do the legwork and represent your interests in any legal proceedings while you recover.
Let us go through the dos and the don’ts of maximizing your compensation claim.
Do:
• Get witness information
• Record the scene of the accident
• Speak to police
• Go to the ER
• Attend all your appointments
• Keep receipts for costs
• Include travel expenses
• Keep a journal detailing your recovery
Do not:
• Post about your accident on social media
• Speak to the insurance company without a lawyer’s advice
• Take the first offer
• Forget to include your loss of earnings
Stick to this advice and you should get the maximum pay out you deserve for your trouble.