When people suffer from whiplash after car accidents, they may have concerns over whether or not their injuries are serious enough to serve as the basis for personal injury claims. After all, some superficial injuries don't always lead to claims for damages, especially if they do not limit the activities of the victims or don't incur medical expenses.
Whiplash is often made misunderstood because some people don't realize the term refers to a broad range of soft-tissue injuries. If you recently received whiplash in a car accident, it is always important to seek a full medical evaluation. Following your examination, you may have the information you need to begin building a personal injury claim to address your losses.
What does whiplash do?
Depending on the specifics of the accident, you may experience a number of different symptoms. Some may emerge within hours, or after you go to sleep and wake up again. Other symptoms might manifest after several days. Whiplash symptoms might include
- Difficulty concentrating
- Memory problems
- Headaches
- Prolonged dizziness
- Severe back or neck pain
- Stiffness or soreness in many muscle groups, e.g., in the torso, neck, and back
Depending on the severity of the injuries, the pain you experience may debilitate you, especially if that pain is in your neck or back. In any case, victims cannot move their heads or necks without experiencing shooting pain and tension.
Treating whiplash
Some whiplash injuries require fairly basic treatment that you might receive from a general practitioner, while others may require treatment from a medical specialist or a non-traditional medical care provider like a chiropractor.
Treatments for the various types of whiplash may range from occupational therapy to recover range of motion or massage therapy to release musculature tension. Sometimes, head and neck braces or muscle relaxants may be prescribed. Each of these remedies is case-specific, and in some instances, the treatments that may help one victim may actually exacerbate another victim's injuries. Be mindful to only treat your whiplash injuries with the guidance of a qualified medical professional.
Protecting your right to compensation
Whiplash injuries are not life-threatening like many other injuries one might receive in a car accident. But they can certainly erode an accident victim's quality of life. The misery that whiplash can inflict is often enough to bring lasting difficulty and agony for months at a time.
Always protect yourself and the ones you love with a strong legal strategy, ensuring that your rights and priorities stay secure while you work to recover from your injury and resolve your accident claim fairly.