Lawyers have welcomed a cross-party inquiry into whiplash claims, as news emerged that whiplash claims have fallen again in the last year.
“The Transport Committee inquiry finally presents a real chance to challenge hackneyed and groundless propaganda about whiplash-related injuries which has been promulgated by the insurance industry for far too long,” said Matthew Stockwell, president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers.
“And it comes as a Freedom of Information request shows that whiplash claims in Britain fell again last year by nearly 60,000, bringing them to around the same level as in 2008/2009,” he added.
“Considering the congested state of the UK’s roads, the impact of improvements in car design and the compulsory use of seatbelts, it is no great mystery that there are significantly more whiplash injuries than catastrophic injuries and deaths from car accidents, and this is surely something we should welcome,” said Mr Stockwell.
“This debate has been mired in myth and hyperbole for far too long,” he went on. “Whiplash injuries are real, they are painful, and independent research has found that around one in five sufferers have symptoms lasting more than a year. That’s the reality. The fact that the Transport Committee is now taking a hard look at some of the myths is extremely welcome.”
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