As a personal injury attorney Dekalb County GA residents can count on can attest, if you’ve ever spoken with someone who has been rear ended, they have likely spoken of neck and back pain that may escalate or comes and goes. One of the most common injuries following a rear end accident is whiplash.
If you have ever seen an auto accident commercial, you’ve probably heard the term “whiplash” before, the likelihood increases if you have ever been in a rear-end car accident. Whiplash is a neck strain that occurs when an impact or blow, such as from a car accident, causes your head to jerk forward and then backward rapidly so that the force stretches or tears the muscles and tendons in your neck.
Typically, ice and rest can treat whiplash symptoms at home, and they resolve within a few weeks. You are entitled to compensation for whiplash injuries, but the amount and type of compensation will vary depending on your situation. Victims often cannot seek compensation in Florida courts for minor whiplash injuries, but such claims can still have value depending on how the injury directly affects you.
Often you will not start feeling the symptoms of whiplash until a few hours or even days after your accident, you should check for the symptoms as they are laid out later in this reading. Pain, stiffness, and tightness are likely signs following the accidents. If you experience pain upon moving your neck from side to side or back and forth and you have recently been involved in an accident, you may need to seek medical attention. The inability to look over each should, tenderness, and headaches at the base of your skull that radiate to your forehead, are also signs that you may have whiplash.
Because symptoms may dissipate during the following days or weeks, depending on your age, whiplash can have a lasting impact. While younger individuals have tendons that will heal and stretch back quickly, older individuals may not have the muscle strength to snap back from such injuries. This may create a permanent or semi-permanent disability if it prevents you from driving or performing your normal daily activities.
If you or someone you know has been involved in an auto accident, you may need to speak with a trained professional who can better advise you on the next step in the process. You should take the time to contact someone who will assist you with determining your rights and you choices, in the event you would like to file a claim and subsequent lawsuit. By contacting a trained professional, you will not have to translate the law, the attorney will do it for you.
Thanks to our friends and contributors from Andrew R. Lynch, P.C. for their insight into finding an attorney.