Just because whiplash is one of the most common injuries associated with car accidents…
does not mean you’re meant to suffer unfairly because of the actions of someone else.
While medical care is what you need to ensure your injuries are fairly treated, there’s also much you can do to alleviate the sting of medical bills and receive money for your pain and suffering.
For starters…
a personal injury lawyer is exactly what you need if you’ve been involved in a car accident.
But let’s dive into what whiplash is and what you can expect after receiving the injury.
Then we’ll discuss how to receive fair compensation for your trauma.
What is Whiplash?
Mayo Clinic defines whiplash in the following manner:
Whiplash is a neck injury due to forceful, rapid back-and-forth movement of the neck…
like the cracking of a whip. Whiplash most often occurs during a rear-end auto accident, but the injury can also result from a sports accident, physical abuse or other trauma.
To put it simply, our necks aren’t made for sudden, jarring movement.
Doing so, most commonly during a rear-end collision, will cause trauma to that area of our body, which can cause prolonged pain in that area and may or may not need medical attention.
What Accidents Typically Cause Whiplash?
Any accident can cause whiplash, but three common accidents frequently result in bodily injury of the neck and back.
Each accident has its own damage, and no accident is the same, so it’s best to seek medical attention no matter how minor you may think the injuries you’ve sustained are.
Rear-End Collisions
The rear-end collision is the most common accident and it’s the accident that most often results in the injured party receiving whiplash.
Wikipedia defines the rear-end collision below:
A rear-end collision (often called simply rear-end or in the UK a shunt) occurs when a vehicle crashes into the one in front of it.
Common factors contributing to rear-end collisions include driver inattention or distraction, tailgating, panic stops, and reduced traction due to wet weather or worn pavement.
Intersection Collisions
Intersection collisions are far more dangerous than rear-end collisions because the point of impact is most often on a part of the vehicle that is not as well protected, such as the passenger side.
While intersection collisions can easily lead to a fatality if the receiving car is not equipped with side airbags.
However, minor collisions in intersections, like rear-end collisions, may end in whiplash due to the sudden movement caused by the collision.
Single-Vehicle Collisions
Although a single-vehicle may have an innocuous-sounding name, it is the most dangerous of the three most common collision types.
A single-vehicle collision is one in which only a single vehicle is involved.
Yet…
Much of the time, this refers to an accident where a vehicle has run itself off-road and, as a result, struck an immovable object like a tree or telephone pole.
While vehicle collisions are violent, modern cars are manufactured to crumple and absorb the kinetic energy created during an accident.
When a car strikes an inanimate object, that very same kinetic energy has nowhere to escape to, so it’s absorbed by the driver, leading to catastrophic injury.
If all you receive from a single-vehicle collision is whiplash, then you can count yourself lucky.
What Do I Do if I Fear I Have Whiplash?
If you think you have whiplash, then the first thing you should do is seek the consultation of a medical professional, be it your family doctor or a nearby emergency room.
You’ll need x-rays or even an MRI to ensure the injuries aren’t more severe.
Unfortunately, many of the symptoms of whiplash are shared by brain and spinal injuries, so do not assume what you have is a minor case of whiplash if you have the symptoms.
Symptoms of Whiplash
Symptoms of whiplash from a rear-end collision are typically felt a day or two after your accident.
Whiplash symptoms are often delayed as your body recovers from the shock of your accident.
It can take a while for the adrenaline to leave your body and, once it does, you should feel every ache and pain caused by your accident.
Filing a police report, advising your auto insurance of your accident, seeking medical attention, and pursuing the consultation of a personal injury lawyer are all things you should do immediately if you’ve been injured in an accident—you have no idea how injured you are, so delaying any of these four steps will have an adverse effect on your whiplash injury compensation.
Symptoms of whiplash include the following, via Mayo Clinic:
Neck pain and stiffness
Worsening of pain with neck movement
Loss of range of motion in the neck
- Headaches, most often starting at the base of the skull
- Tenderness or pain in the shoulder, upper back or arms
- Tingling or numbness in the arms
Fatigue
- Dizziness
- Blurred vision
Ringing in the ears (tinnitus)
- Sleep disturbances
- Irritability
- Difficulty concentrating
- Memory problems
- Depression
How Long After an Accident Can You Feel Whiplash?
The longer you delay medical attention, the longer your whiplash symptoms could last.
It’s best to seek the advice and receive medical attention from a doctor if you fear you’ve been injured at all by a car accident.
However, whiplash symptoms are only temporary and can be relieved through the use of over-the-counter pain medication such as ibuprofen as well as a regimen of exercises to rehabilitate your neck and back.
While whiplash symptoms should go away on their own, you still need to understand whiplash settlement guidelines by seeking the consultation of a personal injury lawyer.
Without doing so, you’ll have nothing to show for your pain and suffering.
How Can I Get Fairly Compensated for Whiplash?
Whiplash injury compensation in California can be lucrative if you’re able to navigate the litigate hoops and hurdles posed by the court system.
Without a personal injury lawyer to help you, you’ll never truly understand the intricacies of California’s whiplash payout scale.
While whiplash compensation calculators are great online tools, they pale in comparison to the expert knowledge of a lawyer well-versed in personal injury litigation.
Do This to Get the Most out of Your Whiplash Settlement
You’ve researched whiplash payout scales, you’ve tried your best to understand whiplash settlement calculators, but your head is more than likely still spinning from the intricacies of personal injury compensation.
Luckily, you don’t need to do all of this yourself.
At Fry Law Corporation, our Sacramento personal injury attorneys are here to help you with your compensation.
We even have a personal injury questionnaire to help you explain to us your needs so we can get started on your settlement as fast as possible.
Contact a Personal Injury Attorney ASAP
Contact us as soon as you can and don’t delay.
You may not think your injuries are serious, but we’ll do everything we can to get you the compensation we know you deserve.
Your symptoms may be delayed, so don’t fool yourself into a false sense of confidence that you didn’t get hurt after your car accident.
