Bogus whiplash claimants should be shot

[Pohtaytoh]

Just that really, they are lower than the low scummers.

My DH runs his own business. Someone ran into the back of one of his employee's stationary van, which shunted forward and hit the guy in front of him. Front of car behind damaged, not much damage to rear or front of employee's van (sturdy make), no damage to back of van in front. Van guy got out and yelled abuse, was very threatening and generally an arsehole to employee. Now van in front has made a £10k whiplash claim against us! So now DH, at one of his busy periods, has to go through mounds of paperwork for this bullshit claim. I don't even know how the employee (and therefore DH's business) can be considered at fault. Hopefully it'll all come out in the wash but i'm pissed this guy could get some money from DHs insurance to settle the claim, which will mean our premiums go up.

I'm sure someone will tell me he could have gotten whiplash from the impact, and yet our employee in the middle come away unscathed, but the cynic in me tells me he is a lying chancing bastard.

Typo - 3 years after the accident I was ill health retired, apologies.

Thanks savemebarry he has been on the phone with the insurance company today. They have contacted the solictors and told them to contact them not us with regards to this case. We have sent all pictures and details of witnesses of the incident to the insurers. They are suspicious of the case due to the fact he is claiming his car is undriveable when pictures indicate no damage, which is in turn making them suspicious of his whiplash claim...

My aibu was about bogus claimants, although inspired by whats happening so in reading PPs responses i accept AIBU in assuming that this guy is lying. But i still think that those who are proven to submit bogus claims are pretty low. It is NOT a victimless crime (not that anyone here said it is, it's just those that do put in fraudulent crimes often seem to be of the opinion it is).

Sorry that was meant to be i AM being unreasonable!

I was in a low impact crash. I required physio and 6 years later I still suffer from terrible back pain.due to it. No damage to either car at all but I am still suffering the consequences

If your employees van was stationary how can they hold him responsible for whiplash? If this had happened for eg in a queue of traffic then your driver would be responsible because they would say it's his responsibility how close he is to the car in front etc but if he was parked up somewhere then surely they should claim off the car behind your driver that caused it? I would defo dispute liability.
I once had a v.minor accident with someone at my kids school - there was no damage on my car just a little mark that rubbed off, she had a little dint in the car door, we swapped numbers and I rang her when I got home said can we sort it out between ourselves I'll pay for damage etc, her husband said no she's already gone to the doctors she's hurt her back we're going through insurance I thought yeah bet you are you bastards she had four kids in the car ( who all skipped into school with her friend that had stopped to be nosy to help)
My insurance tried to offer her a settlement - which they tend to do saves them court costs etc - she refused and they took my insurance to the cleaners, when I renewed the following year I was disgusted to see that they had paid out £17,000 for that accident! I tried to help by providing as much evidence as I could to show that there was no real impact, my car was fine I was fine etc how could they all be injured? It's bullshit!

Sorry just to add I'm not saying that there aren't genuine cases my mum being one of them, she's got a whiplash/ neck injury that still bothers her now that she got before the days of whiplash claims!!

YABU albeit you should also have a claim against the person who shunted your employee surely, therefore leaving the insurers to duke it out (so to speak)? I would seek advice.

I had a very minor sporting accident a few years ago that I didn't even take note of at the time. Result was whiplash and I still have problems with the area even now - it has recurred to the point of needing anti-spasmodics and being unable to pick up my briefcase (when I am otherwise very fit). It's shit, but it can happen. I've had many more incidents (again not in the car) that should have been bad but weren't, so found it ironic that a minor incident was the one that's caused me trouble over the years.

Yabu and ridiculous

There are a lot of fraudulent claimants and induced accidents. Some insurers have intel showing particular individuals have submitted several claims on the same day involving different insurers in the same location (essentially a group of them kept driving round the same roundabout braking abruptly so that the following driver collided with them).

Unfortunately it is very easy to make a dodgy claim. For insurers it is also often easier to pay off a claim that is suspect, because the costs involved in proving it's not genuine can be 10x as much. And in most cases you can never prove it 100%.

What pisses me off is not just the claimants, because frankly people take the opportunity for a quick buck, it's human nature, it's the solicitors and doctors who collude in the making of fraudulent claims, and in some cases incite the making of those claims...they're the ones who should be shot.

Hello

I investigate this sort of thing for a living on behalf of insurance companies. They sound like they are keen to listen to the evidence you have.

If his employee was stationary and was pushed by a car from behind it should go to the car behind's insurer.

They will hopefully send out an investigator to get a statement from the driver, so they can ultimately defend it in county court if required.

Be warned tho, sometimes they will make a "without prejudice" payment (not admitting liability) to save the cost of court!

If you want to know anything specific or have any questions about what the insurer are doing, feel free to send me a pm.

Sorry this is happening, just to add I was rear ended about 2m ago, taken to hospital at the time. I've had continued pain since the accident and so finally put a claim in 6 weeks after the accident. I'm hoping I can get some physio - I've waited 'this long' because to be honest I had hoped it would ease off. It certainly doesn't mean I'm not genuine.

But I agree, there are some absolute chancers.

This attitude really really boils my piss. I've had 3 whiplash accidents. All caused considerable damage, and all were at low speeds.

The worse one meant I was off sick for 3 weeks, vomiting, severe neck, back and hand pain and sustained pain down one leg and foot. At its peak, i felt like i was just bathed in pain all over. I still suffer from it now

ive been in the middle of this before and im sure its the person at the back who caused the accident that will be at fault and not your partners business.

does he have legal cover on his insurance? i think i would be speaking to a solicitor about this one.

my premiums went up after the accident i had but i assume mh insurance compant paid the driver in front out then reclaimed it from the person at the back who actually caused the accident.

dont know if its different but we were all stationery at traffic lights.

fwiw my dp is currently in the middle of a claim. someone rear ended us. he is dead against claiming and was adamant he wouldnt, until he really started suffering with his shoulder. he has since had physio and a steroid injection and is still suffering 4 months on. i think sometimes your position at impact can have a big affect on these things.

It's amazing fairgrounds still have dodgems. Thousands of people must be coming off them in agony. Yet they all seem to be laughing and joking. Very odd.

Hmmm actually come to think of it think I hurt my neck on a waltzer once, think it was 1988, where there's Blaim there's a claim

*blame

I agree that there are bogus claims but whiplash can be a funny thing.

I was in a car sitting at a red light when we were rear ended by a van doing 20-30 mph. I thought I was fine until I tried to get up the next morning OMG the pain. My job involves a lot of moving and handling and the next few days I.maxed out on otc painkillers trying to keep going. I gave up and went toy GP a few days later for stronger painkillers.

I didn't put in a claim for 10k so please don't flame me.

That's quite a powerful impact though Annie no wonder you were in pain, and pain like that can have a big effect on your everyday life and you deserve to be compensated for your loss,
It's a shame there's no way for companies to identify the genuine cases they just pay out to all, it's just a revolving door for the insurance companies though what they pay out for one they are claiming for another and then there's all the people in the middle, repair centres, car hire, doctors all making plenty out of it and our insurance premiums going up and up.

YABU He could have a pre existing condition that made more vulnerable to whiplash than your employee, I know I'd be in a hell of a lot of trouble if I was in a crash.

I think it's worth checking the law. My Dad was in a multi car pile up once, he stopped in time but got shoved into the car in front and had to pay for the front of his car and the back of the one in front but he'd only just stopped. If your employee was properly stopped with the handbrake on it may be a different matter.

1 - Bumping has been banned on the majority of dodgems for precisely this reason
2 - car vs dodgem isn't a great comparison due to the vastly different size/weight. A minor bump in a bus or a lorry causes more damage than a minor bump in a car. A minor bump in a car causes more damage than a huge bump on dodgems would do.
3 - you aren't restrained on dodgems, so your whole body moves as opposed to just your head and neck
4 - on a dodgem you are expecting that you may be hit so your body prepares for that

I have just lived through this - I was the 'piggy in the middle.' I did put in a claim because I was so angry about what happened to me - the guy who wrote my car off and nearly killed my dog and left me with awful on -going pain and walking like an old woman and unable to have sex without painkillers becausehe couldn't be bothered stopping tried to avoid liability for the car he shunted me into. OP your insurers should be bumping this straight back to the guy behind. Please don't waste time and energy being angry at the whiplash sufferer. He may not be bogus. But in any case this should not be your problem. I agree the process can be very stressful and upsetting.

I'm not sure they're as bogus as people think. I have claimed for whiplash-my doctor told me I had it. I wasn't in specific pain. However the insurance company sent me to a Dr. It's in their favour because if they get it settled quickly and cheaply it stops more expensive claims later.

I didn't have a pay out as such, I had physio. The therapist told me that the problem with back and necks are that wear and tear will build up over your lifetime if not fixed there and then, and will result in serious injury later in life- ie your back just "going" One day.
He said a car accident where you are thrown forward always causes damage. Early intervention with a physio or a couple of grand to go away saves the insurance companies dealing with more serious problems. Theyre compensating you for the damage the accident caused you, even if it's not a specific injury right now.

That said- it's the driver at the backs problem, nothing for your DH to get het up about really.

I got whiplash sneezing once. Had to wear a neck brace for a week and spent most of the week in bed because my neck wouldn't actually support my head without me being in agony!

Properly fake claimants should be shot. But it's hard to tell if it's fake or not.

I will hold my hands up and say I made a fake claim once. Purely because the driver of the van involved denied they were there. I had a witness and we had a number plate and £1000s of pounds worth of damage to my car. I was mm away from being killed and they drove off. The witness was hysterical as she thought I'd been killed.

My insurance company weren't interested in sorting it and I was out of pocket by £300 for excess. Funnily enough when I mentioned a slight ache a personal injury solicitor got involved. I did have a very slight ache but if the other driver had been honest it wouldn't have been enough for me to mention.

Personal injury solicitor sued and we had a court date. Driver admitted liability the week before court. I got my excess back and 3k compensation. I only wanted my excess back to be honest. It wasn't worth the insurance company sorting it for the cost of a repair but I guess a personal injury claim is more so then it is worth it for them. Totally wrong.

YABU

Who are you to say this is a fasle claim?

I was inviolved in a small collision last November and am still suffering the effects

YANBU - the claim should be made against the idiot causing the crash, not the middle man (employee) - it's what happened when I was injured in a crash and exactly how it should be only if the injury if bona fide