It is becoming increasingly common these days, for insurers of a third party (negligent driver) to telephone or otherwise contact an injured person, with an offer of settlement at an early stage.

If your injury really was very trivial, then settlement at that stage may be appropriate, but beware!

Once you have settled your claim, it is finalised. You cannot bring a further claim later.

Therefore if, for example, the insurers have telephoned you out of the blue and offered £1500.00 (or whatever figure) to settle your claim, and you have ongoing problems, it would probably be unwise to accept that offer. Wait and see how your injury progresses.

In truth, most whiplash type injuries heal up very quickly, and the offer may actually prove to be reasonable. In many other cases however, the injury lasts for many months, sometimes even years. Indeed, on occasions, the full effect of the injury is not known until weeks or months after the accident. Consequently, taking a quick settlement of a small sum at an early stage may not actually be in your best interest.

Remember, insurers are not making you an offer to settle your claim out of the goodness of their hearts. What they are trying to do is to buy off a potentially much larger claim, if the injury proves to be more serious.

Generally speaking, our advice is that if you receive an offer out of the blue, do not accept it. At least, not without seeking specialist advice.