Whiplash - One of our many satisfied customers tells their story

Every day, hundreds of people all across the UK suffer from whiplash injuries as the result of car accidents, resulting in pain, discomfort, lost earnings and general inconvenience.

Here at Car Accident Advice Line we know how much of a stressful time it can be, and that's why we're here to lend a hand. We've assisted thousands of people over the years to make personal injury claims after receiving whiplash, and here is just one of their stories.

Lucy Watson is a 24-year-old beauty therapist from the East End of London and uses her car to drive the three mile journey to work and back. One Monday morning in the summer of 2004 she was patiently waiting at traffic lights in her Renault Clio when a van hit her from the rear. Lucy told us what happened.

Although the van was only travelling at around 10mph, the force of the impact sent my car careering forwards and I was fortunate not to hit the pedestrians on the pelican crossing in front of me. Completely unprepared for the accident, I instinctively hit the brakes and the car jerked to a halt.

By the time the car stopped moving, apparently the damage had already been done. I found out afterwards that the instant the car started to move forwards because of the rear impact, my head snapped backwards, over-stretching the ligaments in my neck. The doctor told me that by slamming my foot on the brake and causing the car to come to a sudden stop, my head flew forwards so far that my chin hit my chest. This damaged the nerves in my neck and they say I was lucky not to cause serious damage to my spine.

I didn't really notice any pain in my neck to begin with; I was more worried and upset about the damage to my car and the possible insurance costs. Despite some quite hefty damage to the rear bumper, the car was still driveable and so, after swapping insurance details, I got back behind the wheel and continued my journey to work.

It was only an hour or so later, when the adrenaline wore off, that I noticed how much my neck was hurting. There was a dull ache at the top of my spine and I also had a thumping headache. I didn't feel well enough to stay at work so I went home, took a couple of painkillers and went to bed.

I woke up the next morning and the pain hadn't gone away and so I went to see my GP. After a quick examination he diagnosed a whiplash injury, prescribed some painkillers and advised me to rest for a week.

I was angry that I would lose out on a whole week's wages through no fault of my own, so I logged on to the internet and searched for someone to help me make a compensation claim. I came across Car Accident Advice Line and realised they were the people for me.

I filled out an online claim form and within the hour received a phone call back from a friendly advisor who took all the details of my accident and the whiplash injury I was suffering from. Later that day one of Car Accident Advice Line's personal injury solicitors got in touch and agreed to take my case on.

He explained that I wouldn't have to pay a penny towards my compensation claim and that if I did win, I would receive 100% of the money awarded. He asked me to keep an injury diary that would show how quickly I was recovering and the impact the whiplash was having on my day-to-day life. After that I he said I'd have to visit an independent medical expert who could confirm my whiplash injury, and so a date for a future appointment was set.

Leaving my case confidently in the hands of Car Accident Advice Line's solicitor, I spent the rest of the week recuperating before going back to work feeling much better. Just over six months later, I received a phone call telling me that my compensation claim had been successful and a cheque arrived through the post the next day.

I received more than £3,000, including nearly £500 for my lost earnings and just over £2,500 for the pain and inconvenience caused by the whiplash injury. In addition to helping me to get compensation, Car Accident Advice Line also arranged the repairs to my Clio, charging the cost of the damage to the insurance company of the van that caused the road accident.

So now my car is as good as new, I didn't lose out on any of my much-needed wages because of the crash, and with my whiplash injury completely healed, all I have to remind me of the whole incident is a bank account that's more than £2,500 better off.

We can help you too

Car Accident Advice Line can also help you if you've suffered a whiplash injury as the result of a non-fault car accident, so just pick up the phone and call us today on 0808 143 43 42. And remember, it won't cost you a thing and you really can keep 100% of any compensation awarded.