By Richie Billing. Last Updated 22nd November 2023. This guide will explore how to claim for whiplash injuries as a passenger. If you’ve been involved in a car accident even though you weren’t driving, you may have questions about whether you’re eligible to make a personal injury claim. If so, this guide could help.
Can I claim for whiplash injuries as a passenger?
Being involved in a car crash can be a serious incident and could cause injuries. We will explore how a road traffic accident involving a car could occur and the injuries that could be sustained as a result.
Additionally, we will look at the duty of care you are owed as a passenger, what this duty entails and how it could be breached.
Read on to learn more about the steps you can take if you’re injured as a passenger and how a personal injury solicitor could help you seek compensation, if you’re eligible.
Alternatively, you can contact our team. To reach an adviser, you can:
- Call on 0800 408 7825
- Contact us using the live chat feature below
- Fill in our online contact form with your query
Select A Section
- Can I Claim For Whiplash As A Passenger?
- How To Prove A Claim For Whiplash As A Passenger
- What Could You Claim For Whiplash Injuries As A Passenger?
- How To Claim For Whiplash Injuries As A Passenger
Can I Claim For Whiplash As A Passenger?
If you’ve suffered whiplash as a passenger in a road traffic accident, you may be wondering whether you could make a claim for whiplash compensation. In order to have an eligible personal injury claim, you must be able to meet the following eligibility criteria:
- Another road user owed you a duty of care.
- This duty was breached.
- Due to this breach, you suffered an injury, such as whiplash.
All road users owe each other a duty of care. They must take reasonable actions to prevent causing harm to one another while on the roads. Additionally, they must follow the rules and regulations set out for them by the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Highway Code. If a road user were to breach this duty, and this caused you to become injured, you could be able to make a personal injury claim.
Time Limit For Whiplash As A Passenger Claims
There is also a time limit for starting whiplash claims, which is typically three years from the date of the accident that caused the injury. This time limit is set out under the Limitation Act 1980. However, there are certain instances when this time limit is frozen.
To learn what these instances are, or to learn more about how to claim for whiplash as a passenger, you can contact our advisors.
How Do The New Whiplash Claim Rules Affect Passengers?
Due to the Whiplash Reform Programme the way in which claims for injuries sustained in low value road traffic accidents are handled has changed. The changes mean that passengers and drivers over the age of 18 who have sustained injuries valued at £5,000 or less, will need to make their claim via the Government Official Injury Claim portal.
In some cases, your compensation will depend on the tariffs found in Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021. In some cases, your claim may not be subject to the whiplash reforms, meaning you don’t need to claim via the portal. However, there may be instances where the tariff still applies even if you don’t claim through the portal.
To find out more about how the reforms will affect you when you claim for whiplash injury compensation, get in touch. An adviser can discuss the whiplash claim rules in more detail.
How To Prove A Claim For Whiplash As A Passenger
To claim whiplash compensation, you will need to gather evidence that confirms your injury and establishes who was liable for the accident. Evidence for whiplash claims may include:
- Your medical records with details of your injury and the treatment you’ve received for it.
- Photographs and video footage of the road traffic accident that caused your injury, such as CCTV or dashcam footage.
- The contact details of any witnesses who can provide a statement about the accident that caused your injury.
If a solicitor is supporting your claim, then they can assist with gathering evidence to build your case. For more advice on how to claim for whiplash as a passenger, get in touch with our advisors for free today.
What Could You Claim For Whiplash Injuries As A Passenger?
As mentioned, if your claim is subject to the whiplash reforms, you will need to seek compensation via the Government Official Injury Claim portal. In doing so, your whiplash injuries will be valued in line with the tariff set out in Regulation 2 of the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021. We have included a table with these figures below.
Alternatively, if your claim is not subject to the whiplash reforms, you will not claim through the portal. Instead, your claim would proceed via the Ministry of Justice portal.
The settlement you’re awarded following a successful personal injury claim may include general damages and special damages.
Special damages seek to compensate for the financial losses caused by your injuries. For example, you may have taken time off work and lost out on income as a result. You could claim back the lost income under special damages provided you have evidence, such as payslips.
General damages seek to compensate for the way your injuries have impacted your quality of life, including the pain and suffering you have been caused. This head of claim can be valued by solicitors with help from the Judicial College Guidelines. The guidelines contain compensation brackets that relate to different injuries. We have used these figures to create the table below. Please only use them as a guide because other factors can influence the payout you receive. Also note that the first entry in this table is an estimate figure that is not based on the Judicial College Guidelines.
| Duration of the Injury | Reward for one or more whiplash injuries | Reward for one or more whiplash injuries and one or more minor psychological injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 3 months | £240 | £260 |
| Over 3 months, but not more than 6 months | £495 | £520 |
| Over 6 months, but not more than 9 months | £840 | £895 |
| Over 9 months, but not more than 12 months | £1,320 | £1,390 |
| Over 12 months, but not more than 15 months | £2,040 | £2,125 |
| Over 15 months, but not more than 18 months | £3,005 | £3,100 |
| Over 18 months, but not more than 24 months | £4,215 | £4,345 |
For more information on the compensation you could receive following a successful claim for whiplash injuries as a passenger, get in touch on the number above.
How To Claim For Whiplash Injuries As A Passenger
If you still have questions about making a claim, you can get in touch with our advisers. They can listen to your circumstances and may put you in touch with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel.
A solicitor from our panel could represent you on a No Win No Fee basis by providing you with a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This means that you won’t have to pay for their services if your claim fails.
Instead, you pay for their services through a small success fee taken from your compensation, if your claim wins This amount is subject to a legal cap.
To learn more about how to claim for whiplash injuries as a passenger, you can:
- Call us on 0800 408 7825
- Contact us using the live chat feature below
- Fill in our online contact form with your query
Related Road Traffic Accident Claim Guides
Below, we have provided some additional resources:
- A guide on claiming for lower back pain after a car accident
- £15,000 compensation payout for a dislocated shoulder
- £55,000 compensation payout for a fracture kneecap
- GOV – Statutory Sick Pay
- GOV – Road Accidents And Safety Statistics
- NHS – First Aid
We hope this guide on how to claim for whiplash injuries as a passenger has helped. However, if you have any other questions, get in touch on the number above.
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