A woman who was involved in a car accident has had her damages award quadrupled after her case was taken up by solicitors.

The woman, 38, was driving a company van at the time of the accident. A motorist travelling in the opposite direction lost control of his car and hit the side of her vehicle. She suffered whiplash injuries to her neck and shoulder in the crash.

After the accident, she was unable to go to work for two months. She found it difficult to carry out the day-to-day tasks required to look after her 10-year-old daughter and underwent nine months of private physiotherapy.

Immediately after the accident, the woman was contacted by the other motorist’s insurance company and offered £800 in compensation for the injuries she had sustained. Instead of accepting the offer, however, she took legal advice and, after negotiations, the insurance company increased its offer of compensation to £3,500.

Insurance companies naturally want to pay out as little as possible for claims and will sometimes therefore make low offers of compensation.