A look at how we've helped people claim compensation after receiving a whiplash injury

Car Accident Advice Line has assisted thousands of people to get back on the road after receiving a whiplash injury, helping them to win compensation and making the whole situation as hassle-free as possible.

Bob

56-year-old Bob Johnson is a self-employed courier driver who was born and brought up in Portsmouth. Now living in a small town halfway up the A3, Bob spends his days behind the wheel of his Transit van, ferrying various packages around London's commuter belt.

One Friday morning back in January 2005 Bob began his day like any other. Up at half past five, he had his breakfast, got into his van and headed off towards the M25. This is Bob's story of what happened that day...

I was travelling north up the A3, on my way to my first pick-up of the day. I had to collect some machine parts from a manufacturing company near Watford and drop them off at Heathrow Airport - a pretty standard job really.

The road was fairly quiet and I was cruising along nicely, listening to some breakfast show on the radio, when the traffic in front started to slow down. I think there must have been an accident ahead because the traffic started to jam up, so I touched my brakes and joined the queue.

Next thing I know there's an almighty smash and I'm thrown forwards with one hell of a jerk. Some pillock had gone straight into the back of me and if I hadn't have been wearing my seatbelt I don't know what sort of state I'd have ended up in.

When the smash happened I instinctively hit the brake with my right foot and I think that probably added to the massive jolt I felt. I guess it's lucky I did hit the brake though or else I'd have ended up with my van stuck in the car in front.

Not exactly chuffed with what had just happened, I jumped out of the van to check out the damage and that's when I first noticed the pain in my neck. It was agony, a pain like I'd never felt before.

So as well as having a van that looked like it had been hit up the back end by a giant sledgehammer, I had a massively painful neck too. Not really what I wanted at half past six on a Friday morning.

Anyway, the police were there in minutes, an ambulance carted me off to a nearby hospital and my van was taken away by a recovery truck. After an examination, the doctors told me that I was suffering from fairly serious whiplash. They gave me some drugs and sent me home with orders to take it easy and not to go back to work for at least two weeks.

They said I could still drive but should avoid bending and lifting in order to prevent aggravating my whiplash injury. With my job I'm always carrying and lifting and so there was no way I could work even if I wanted to.

Being self-employed I was worried about all the money I'd lose being off for a couple of weeks so I was glad when the wife told me that I might be able to make a compensation claim and recover my lost earnings.

So I looked into it. I logged on to the internet and came across Car Accident Advice Line. I found that not only could I make a claim for the money I was losing out on whilst being off work, but also get compensation for the pain and hassle my whiplash injury was causing.

On top of all that, I discovered that they'd get the repairs to my van arranged and would also give me a replacement vehicle whilst mine was off the road. There wasn't much point me having another van because I wouldn't be needing it for work so they said they'd be able to supply me with a regular car.

They told me all of this was completely free and wouldn't cost me a single penny; apparently all the fees and charges would be claimed back from the insurance company of the person that had gone into the back of me.

I figured there must be a catch but, as it turned out, there wasn't. The whole thing really was free and I didn't have to fork out anything from my own pocket.

The repairs to my van were carried out within a week - all arranged by Car Accident Advice Line - and, in the meantime, I was given a hire car - a nice shiny Passat that had a bit more kick to it than my chunky old van. They also arranged for me to go and see a medical expert and he confirmed my whiplash injury.

I was told that the driver of the other car had admitted liability for the road accident and so there was no need for a court case. In fact, with the exception of the appointment with the doc and filling in a few bits of paperwork that were needed to prove my lost earnings, I didn't really have to do anything apart from sit at home, watch Sky Sports and let my neck recover.

Two weeks later, with my van fixed up nicely and my neck slowly but surely on the mend, I went back to work. A few months down the line a cheque popped through the letterbox, made out to yours truly for £5,783.

Included within that there was around £4,000 for the pain and suffering the accident had caused as well as over £1,500 to compensate me for my lost earnings. Not bad at all when you consider that I didn't have to pay out a single penny to get that money. I'd definitely give Car Accident Advice Line a bell next time someone decides to drive into me.

Make a whiplash injury claim today

If you've suffered whiplash as the result of an accident that wasn't your fault, you could be in a position to make a personal injury compensation claim. Our solicitors work on a no win, no fee basis and, as Bob says, you won't be charged for anything.

So pick up the phone today and give Car Accident Advice Line a ring on 0808 143 43 42. We're waiting to help you and the whole service really is completely cost-free.