A lot of people who have been in a car accident will consider putting in a whiplash claim. In fact, these types of claims are no so common (and so hard to prove or disprove) that some insurance companies automatically offer compensation to car crash victims simply to avoid long lawsuits. Yet, despite these offers for compensation, whiplash claims continue to be very common in courts.
Because of this, whiplash claims have received a bad name as being fraudulent cases. They often are very real, however. Unfortunately, because of this bad name, it is becoming increasingly difficult to actually be successful in court, particularly if you have turned down a compensation offer from the insurance company. As a result, if you do feel you have a whiplash compensation claim to make, you should first contact a Long Beach car accident attorney service to see whether you have a case to be made at all.
So what are the pros and cons of going for a whiplash claim?
The Disadvantages
- It can take a very long time before the matter is resolved, meaning you could have to wait a while before you get compensation, if you get it at all.
- Whiplash cases can be very stressful, as your integrity will be questioned in court.
- There is a chance that you don’t win, in which case you won’t get any compensation at all.
Most insurance companies, as stated, will give you an offer for compensation when you have been in an accident. Accepting this compensation, however, means that you cannot put further claims in. As such, you will have to balance whether it is likely that you will get more if you do go to court, while being realistic about the fact that you could lose everything.
The Advantages
- You could receive far more compensation than what the insurance company offers you.
- You can receive closure about your case.
If you receive a very low offer from your insurance company, then it may be worth speaking to an attorney about getting some advice. If they feel that you could in fact receive far more by going to court, then turning the offer down may be more suitable. However, you do have to make sure that you trust your attorney, because they will win whether you do or not as they will always get paid.
The biggest benefit of taking it to court, however, is that there will be no unanswered questions left. You will know for sure that you did all you could to get compensation for your injuries and that any award you do receive is fair and just. However, you will also have to be able to accept it if you don’t receive any compensation at all.
The top and bottom of it is that, if you have been hurt in a car accident, you may have grounds to make a claim. However, you need to seek sound legal advice before you decide whether or not to proceed with that.