Whiplash is one of the most common bodily injuries sustained in a rear-end collision, and just hearing the word often conjures up images of an injured victim wearing a brace around his or her neck while hobbling into a courtroom. Dramatic imagery aside, whiplash is very common after being rear-ended or having your neck jolted in a harsh manner. While most whiplash injuries are not severe and resolve quickly with proper treatment and rest, underestimating the extent of a whiplash injury often prevents those who need medical attention from seeking it.
What Is Whiplash?
When your head is whipped back and forth because of external impact, whiplash can result. Whiplash can affect several different body parts, including the spine, cervical discs (these are the discs in your neck), joints, ligaments, tendons, or muscles. It is difficult in many cases to prove the exact nature and extent of your injuries that result from whiplash. This is especially true when the injury does not set in right away, and even more true when the victim does not seek medical care right away. Insurance companies often try to exploit this issue regarding proving whiplash claims by offering lower settlement amounts than they should, and sometimes by denying claims entirely.
What Are the Physical Effects of Whiplash?
People who are suffering from whiplash may feel weakness or numbness, or even tingling, in their arms, legs, or other parts of their body. Whiplash can also cause dizziness, especially with cervical spine injuries. More serious whiplash injuries can seem minor at first but can be debilitating, and sometimes even require surgery. Spinal and cervical injuries are the most serious whiplash-related injuries.
How Is Whiplash Treated?
There can be many treatments for whiplash, including massage therapy, physical therapy, and chiropractic care. The less serious cases often require only rest and some ice, and a period of keeping the neck immobilized. The more serious the whiplash, the longer it can take for your pain to resolve. Pain medication, epidural injections, nerve block injections, and other types of pain blockers are also used to fight more serious cases of whiplash, and in the most severe cases, surgery can also be used as a treatment.
How Long Does Whiplash Last?
There is no bright-line answer for the duration of a whiplash injury. It will depend on the severity of the injury. If you do experience any numbness, tingling, or weakness in any part of your body, you are likely suffering from nerve damage. These injuries are far more serious and require an extended period of recovery.
What Is the Extent of Whiplash Injuries in the United States?
Because of the prevalence of whiplash and because often people do not seek medical attention until it worsens significantly, costs related to the diagnosis and treatment of whiplash in the United States are almost $4 billion annually. This includes medical costs, disability, lost wages, lost productivity, and costs related to filing lawsuits based on whiplash injuries.
Many whiplash injuries are not serious and do resolve with time, although more than 40 percent of those injured in automobile accidents do suffer posttraumatic, chronic pain. Sometimes whiplash injuries are more serious, however, and can cause serious or even permanent damage to the spine. Because there is no way of knowing the nature and extent of a whiplash injury right after an accident, it is important that if you have been in a rear-end collision to seek immediate medical attention, whether you feel like you need it or not.
Let a Virginia Injury Attorney Help
If you have suffered whiplash or any other injury caused by the negligent or reckless behavior of another driver, contact a Virginia Beach car accident attorney to discuss what your legal options may be. Victims can be compensated for medical expenses, lost income from being unable to work, pain and suffering, and emotional anguish.
If they are left with long-term and permanent disability, they may also be entitled to financial compensation for the losses this disability has caused, including loss of future income if they are unable to work or return to their profession, future medical expenses, and the overall negative impact the injury has had on their quality of life.
Our personal injury attorneys have successfully represented many clients who were forced to deal with painful injuries and long recoveries due to another person’s negligence.
Contact our office today to schedule a free case evaluation.
RELATED CONTENT
- Chronic Whiplash Injury in a Virginia Car Accident Claim
- Whiplash Pain from a Car Crash
- When Whiplash Leaves Permanent Damage
For over twenty years, Mr. Sharp's law practice has focused on serious personal injury claims, including traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury claims. He also handles nursing home neglect cases and medical malpractice claims. Mr. Sharp has counseled numerous clients about the complexities concerning litigation of both pediatric and adult brain injury. Mr. Sharp has been awarded the AV Preeminent ranking by Martindale, the highly respected and widely utilized directory of lawyers throughout the world. AV Preeminent status is awarded only to those lawyers who achieve the highest level of success within the legal field and is a testament to the fact that a lawyer's peers and Judges rank him at the highest level of professional excellence. He has also been recognized as a "Best Lawyer" by U.S. News for personal injury, an accolade awarded to only a small fraction of lawyers. Mr. Sharp has also been recognized by Super Lawyers as one of the top personal injury lawyers in Virginia. This recognition is awarded only to those lawyers who have achieved the highest level of success and have been recognized by their peers as demonstrating the highest level of professional excellence.
Comments for this article are closed.