Whiplash Claims - Reforms 2021

Low Value Personal Injury Whiplash Claims Are Changing in May 2021

The Government has announced that Claimant’s who have been involved in car accidents which result in whiplash injuries or minor psychological injuries with symptoms lasting up to 2 years will now be subject to bringing claims under £5,000 themselves as of May 2021 via a new online portal called the Online Claims Service. 

The new rules will form part of The Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021.

Whiplash Reforms Criteria

The changes that are coming into place will be significant but will only affect a certain type of claim which hit the following key criteria:

• The injury was suffered in a car accident (RTA)
• The type of injury suffered was a soft tissue/whiplash type injury with symptoms not lasting more than 2 years
• The Court will have discretion to increase awards by up to 20% in exceptional circumstances for Claimants but is not expected to be easily proven.

These changes mean that the small claims limit has changed for £1,000 to £5,000 which means a number of claimants will now need to bring these claims alone without the support of a solicitor.

Claimant’s will not be able to recover legal costs should they want to take legal advice on their claims if they fall into the new small claims criteria and will have to pay privately for advice should they want to do so.

Claimant’s may struggle to know whether their case will fall within the criteria set out above, especially in the early stages after an accident. As such they should always seek to speak to a solicitor such as ourselves to check which process, they may need to bring their claim under.

Contact Us at Dean Wilson

We always offer free initial consultations to all potential new clients so if you are unsure after you have had an accident and when the new rules come into force in May 2021 then please do not hesitate to call our personal injury team here at Dean Wilson on 01273 249200.