A coalition of insurers and GPs have recently called for new governmental guidelines on the diagnosis of whiplash and other associated disorders in order to combat the personal injury compensation culture that has been growing in the UK.
The plea for action included a consensus document being developed at the coalition conference, which takes place in London today. Following the conference, the document will be submitted to the government and published.
Constructed by stakeholders and senior professors, the document is based on the most up to date guidelines and research by insurers and clinicians who have come to the conclusion that the current personal injury claims system is in need of improvement due to its susceptibility to fraud and abuse. GPs and insurers have many concerns in common, according to research studies that were commissioned in the lead up to the London seminar.
More than 47 per cent of GPs who habitually provide personal injury medical reports were found to believe that the system in its present state is geared towards encouraging whiplash diagnoses that lead to maximum financial gain. The research also discovered that 88 per cent of GPs do not believe that every claim needs to be labelled as whiplash, instead recommending the implementation of a new injury grading system, as three out of every four medical professionals reported that they felt the system in its current state is too susceptible to fraud.
Musculoskeletal expert, Dr Nick Kendall, who chaired the seminar, remarked that there is clearly something amiss with the current system, as there are reports of fewer road crashes and improved road safety, yet more than 1,600 whiplash claims are made on a daily basis.