When an accident happens, you may not feel the full effects right off. It can sometimes take several days before your body has calmed down enough to know that there is something wrong with it. Traumas to the neck and back areas usually rear their heads around this time. If you are unfortunate enough to be victim to such a sensation, then you probably know what whiplash feels like. Whiplash can be anywhere from minor to severe in effects. It can be a mild nuisance or absolutely crippling. You never know what you are going to get with this condition, just like you never know what you might get for a claim. Before you can get a good ballpark figure of the basics, you have to consider a variety of factors.Geographic location. Different countries, states, cities, or provinces have their own rules for how compensation for whiplash will be handled. What you get in one region may be either significantly more or less in another region. While this is not the biggest variable in determining the average whiplash payout, it does play a role.Severity of the injury. Some people affected by this condition are unable to work for significant periods of time and their overall ability to perform up to the levels of management is permanently affected. These cases receive more attention than circumstances such as mild injury. When you are past it in two to three, even six, weeks, you can't expect the same award as the more unfortunate victims.Effectiveness of counsel. It doesn't matter how much you deserve your payout. If you have hitched your star to the wagon of an inexperienced attorney, maximum claims could stay outside your reach. It's best to pay more attention to specialists than however long your attorney has been practicing law. Since legal issues are widely varied and encompass virtually any nook and cranny of society that you can think of, it is impossible to find someone who is a master of all trades. Settle on the ones who have been doing it for years.Fault. If you caused the accident that gave you whiplash, then it could definitely affect how much compensation that you see. Ask yourself how clean your hands are going in, so you will have a better idea of what to expect.Quality of life moving forward. Forget about legal and health costs. Even amount of work missed! These play a part in the maximum compensation for whiplash, but none more so than how your life will be moving forward. While an average claim can total around 2,500 pounds, you don't know what to expect until the factors below are without question. Then, you can plan for your claim and move on with the rest of your life.