Claims companies paying doctors for whiplash diagnosis

Business Correspondent/Personal Finance Editor

Saturday 22 September 2012

Doctors are being offered payments by claims firms to confirm patients' alleged whiplash injuries in motor shunts, a leading car insurer revealed this week.

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SIMON BAIN

Motor insurance fraud is estimated to add £50 to every premium, and an army of personal injury (PI) "specialists" advertising online with names such as "whiplash claims" and "whiplash.com" generate 11,000 alleged whiplash injury claims every week.

Now a study by Axa has revealed that doctors are "under pressure to be part of the £2 billion PI payout, not just through increasing numbers of whiplash patients taking up surgery time but with 7% actually being offered money to refer patients with whiplash injuries".An overwhelming 88% of doctors surveyed across the UK said they felt Government should introduce new measures to control whiplash claims for motorists. More than 20% said they had seen a substantial increase in whiplash patients over the past five years, while a further 40% had seen a moderate increase in this period. Over the past year alone 11% had seen substantial increases and 31% moderate increases. The doctors surveyed believe that on average, 37% of patients who come to them with whiplash as a result of a car accident are fraudulent, while one-third of doctors believe that more than half of patients are trying it on. Over half (58%) of the doctors involved in the study signed off 50% or less of patients as having a genuine whiplash injury, rejecting at least half of the alleged injuries."One of the biggest problems faced by doctors is the accuracy of whiplash diagnosis; only 7% believe it is very easy to accurately diagnose," says the insurer. "To improve this situation, 78% agree that there should be a more rigorous approach to assessing injuries, while access to more detailed guidelines around whiplash-type injuries was desired by 71% of doctors surveyed." Three in five doctors spent less than 10 minutes assessing a whiplash injury, it found.Axa said: "Overall, doctors have a very negative view of the increase in patients pursuing financial compensation for whiplash injuries. "Only 4% believe that it is a positive thing that the UK is now much more equipped to compensate people injured in an accident, while 45% believe it has a negative effect on society. "However, they were broadly unaware of the actual financial cost to the UK with 77% underestimating the £2bn price tag."Axa was the first insurer to drop referral fees for PI claims and led the campaign that contributed to the Government banning these fees across the industry.Sarah Vaughan, motor director at AXA insurance, said: "We are determined to put a stop to the totally unnecessary levels of compensation payments being made for whiplash in the UK. "Our study clearly shows that the medical profession is under real pressure in this area and crying out for more guidance and support to help them deal with a rapidly growing number of whiplash patients."

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Claims companies paying doctors for whiplash diagnosis

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