David McWilliam

Partner, Solicitor and Head of Personal Injury & Sports Law

DATE PUBLISHED: 21 Mar 2017 LAST UPDATED: 13 Apr 2022

£400 for a 2 hour train delay but only £225 for 3 months of pain?

The above statement is true if the Government’s proposals to radically change your entitlement to compensation if you are involved in a road traffic accident and injure your neck.

The press, insurers and the Government consider that a 2 hour train delay is worth more than a 3 month injury. That cannot be right and is unfair.

Fraudulent claims for whiplash should be stopped. Insurers should defend these cases and the fraudsters caught and punished. The reforms proposed in The Prisons and Courts Bill will not reduce fraud in any way. If anything, it will encourage fraudulent claims and just make it harder for those accident victims who suffer genuine injuries through no fault of their own, to claim compensation to include physiotherapy fees and loss of earnings.

Insures have stated that the reforms will result in reduced motor insurance premiums. In 2013, Claimant Lawyers fees for road traffic claims which includes whiplash, were reduced by 60%. The insurers promised then to pass on the savings to drivers. They failed to do that and they will fail to keep their promises this time.

The number of whiplash claims has fallen by 41% since 2011/12 yet motor insurance premiums continue to rise. The average premium has risen by 10% according to the ABI.

Why should injured motorists be used as scapegoats for the insurance industries commercial failings?

How can £225 for a 3 month injury be fair? It is just wrong and the insurers know it and cannot justify such derisory figures.

The good news is that these proposals are not due to come into force until October 2018.

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