Your questions answered……

Question: I had a car accident a couple of years ago and suffered a whiplash injury to my neck. I settled my claim for £1,500 and thought at the time that this seemed a reasonable amount. I have recently however spoken to a friend who told me that he received almost double the amount that I did despite recovering from his whiplash sooner. Does this mean that I should have received more for my claim?

Answer: Further information would be needed to advise you as to what would have been a reasonable settlement value for your claim. The mere fact however that your friend’s claim settled for a higher amount does not indicate that your claim should have been settled at a higher level.

It is not possible to make a simple like for like comparison in personal injury claims as each claim will be valued and settled on its own individual and specific circumstances.

The most likely explanation for the differing amounts of compensation is that your friend may have suffered more in the way of losses and expenses. A personal injury claim is made up of both compensation for the injuries suffered (known as general damages) and compensation for financial losses and expenses (known as special damages). Each aspect of the claim will be valued and calculated individually however people will tend to talk in terms of the overall figure that they receive in compensation. Thus it is possible that your friend received a lower amount for the injury element of his claim but received a higher sum in total because his financial losses and expenses resulting from the accident were greater than yours. For example, both you and your friend may have had time off work following the accident but if you were paid in full and your friend merely received statutory sick pay this would explain a difference in the compensation payments as your friend could include in his claim his loss of pay.

There are other possible reasons for the difference including that the insurance company dealing with your friend’s claim may have been generous in the amount that they offered in settlement of his claim.


If you have a question for our legal advice team you can submit it by email: enquiries@comercrawley.co.uk or in writing to: Chancery House, Victoria Road, Diss, Norfolk IP22 4HZ.