Lucy Trevelyan LLB
NCTJ-qualified journalist
A survey carried out on behalf of claims.co.uk by YouGov has shown that public perception of whiplash claims varies wildly depending on whether or not they know someone who has suffered a whiplash injury and made a claim. The research shows that people are 15 times more likely to view whiplash claims as honest or reasonable if they know someone who has previously made a claim for whiplash compensation.
These startling figures come soon after the government announced plans to change the way whiplash injury claims are dealt with, making it more difficult for people who have suffered such injuries to make a claim.
John Quail of claims.co.uk commented: “There has undoubtedly been a stigma surrounding ‘compensation culture’ and ‘ambulance chasers’ for a number of years, and the results of this survey show how this has influenced public perception of whiplash claims. The research makes clear that if you know someone who has made a claim – and have an understanding of the real life process – you can see claims for what they are; genuine redress for pain, suffering and hardship”.
The infographic illustrates how the people of Great Britain feel about whiplash claims:
The table below shows the raw data taken from the YouGov survey, in response to the question, ‘Do you know anyone that has ever claimed/ tried to claim financial compensation for receiving whiplash?’:
| Total | |
|---|---|
| Unweighted base | 2147 |
| Base: All GB adults | 2147 |
| Yes, I do | 37% |
| No, I don’t | 63% |
The table below shows the raw data taken from the YouGov survey, in response to the question, ‘You said you knew someone who has claimed/ tried to claim financial compensation for receiving whiplash. If you know more than one person who has done this, please think of the person who has claimed/ tried to claim most recently…
‘Which ONE, if any, of the following words would you use to describe this person’s claim?’
| Total | |
|---|---|
| Unweighted base | 775 |
| Base: All GB adults who know someone who claimed/ tried to claim compensation for whiplash | 790 |
| Fraudulent | 13% |
| Exaggerated | 28% |
| Honest | 34% |
| Reasonable | 21% |
| Don’t know | 4% |
| Prefer not to say | 1% |
The table below shows the raw data taken from the YouGov survey, in response to the question, ‘You said you don’t know someone who has claimed/ tried to claim financial compensation for receiving whiplash…
‘In general, which ONE, if any, of the following words do you think describes the majority of claims people make for receiving whiplash?’
| Total | |
|---|---|
| Unweighted base | 1372 |
| Base: All GB adults who don’t know someone who claimed/ tried to claim compensation for whiplash | 1357 |
| Fraudulent | 20% |
| Exaggerated | 44% |
| Honest | 2% |
| Reasonable | 6% |
| Don’t know | 25% |
| Prefer not to say | 2% |
The table below shows the raw data taken from the YouGov survey, in response to the question, ‘To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement?
‘People should feel safe and if someone else’s negligence has caused them to have an accident or be injured, they are entitled to financial compensation and should be able to claim’
| Total | |
|---|---|
| Unweighted base | 2147 |
| Base: All GB adults | 2147 |
| Strongly agree | 20% |
| Tend to agree | 52% |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 18% |
| Tend to disagree | 7% |
| Strongly disagree | 1% |
| Don’t know | 2% |
| Net: Agree | 72% |
| Net: Disagree | 8% |
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