Treatment Network boss Jonathan Cook told delegates that offering whiplash claimants immediate medical triage when they first phoned in their claim prompted 15% of callers to “spontaneously recover” from their injuries.

He said, of the rest, 40% would recover within a month if given telephone-based advice from a physiotherapist. The remaining 60% would need hands-on medical treatment. Cook’s comments came during a debate on whiplash claims.

Steven Weddle, a barrister at Hardwicke Chambers, rubbished Jack Straw’s claims that whiplash was an imaginary injury, pointing to work to prevent whiplash among pilots 100 years ago. It was first named whiplash in 1928, he said.

But Weddle admitted he only dealt with severe cases and not the thousands of claims that have plagued insurers. He said when he saw that a solicitor had sought a medical report as early as three months after an accident he felt that was too early and was “cost-building”.

Others felt that early medical reports might prevent fraud. Claims farmers were blamed for chasing up potential claimants months later, often after they have “recovered”.

Karl Helgesen, motor claims director with Zurich, said: “Insurers should have seen a reduction in the number of claims as well as severity, but actually numbers are going up.”

There was widespread agreement over the need for a clear medical diagnosis of whiplash accepted by all insurers and the courts. The Department of Transport’s head of road safety, Paul O’Sullivan, said: “Unless you have a medical diagnosis it’s also difficult to prove fraud.”

But Weddle said problems could still exist if it remains cheaper for an insurer to settle early with an offer of £1500 when an investigation is going to cost at least £4000.

Original Artilcle 16th February 2012: Post Online