Whiplash is a very common injury in car accident cases. The injury often arises when someone’s head is whipped back and forth very fast and hard. An auto collision provides the perfect conditions for whiplash injuries. Often, whiplash is not very serious, and injured drivers and passengers tend to recover in a few days or weeks. However, this is not always the case. Many drivers deal with long-term pain and complications, and their cases might warrant greater damages.
As mentioned, whiplash often arises in car accidents due to the sudden and forceful impact of the collision. The effects of whiplash tend to vary. Many injured victims experience pain in their heads, neck, and shoulders. Some experience pain down their back, too. In more serious cases, victims might deal with vision problems, dizziness, numbness, memory problems, and other complications. Often, whiplash is not a major cause for concern. While the condition is painful, it often does not come with significant medical complications. Many victims recover quickly with minimal treatment. However, some people have far more serious cases of whiplash. Some people never fully recover and live with chronic pain for the remainder of their lives.
What is Whiplash and How is it Caused?
Whiplash is an injury involving the head, neck, shoulders, and possibly your back. The extent of the injury varies from person to person. Whiplash may be caused when someone’s head is very forcefully and quickly whipped back and forth. This is a common injury in car accidents, where the force from a sudden collision creates the perfect conditions for whiplash. An Atlanta car accident lawyer can estimate the extent of your damages and compensation based on the extent of the injury and how it affects your life.
Generally, whiplash may be a painful injury, but it is often considered less serious in the grand scheme of possible car accident injuries. Often, people suffering from whiplash recover in a few days or weeks with minimal medical intervention. Many people treat their whiplash with ice, a neck brace, and pain medication. However, not all whiplash injuries are so minor.
Many people who experience whiplash live with severe and painful medical complications. Symptoms might be a lot more than just neck pain. People might experience shoulder pain, back pain, headaches, numbness in their arms, vision problems, memory problems, and more. For some injured victims, the injury never fully recovers. Many people live with chronic pain from whiplash for many years or forever.
The Effects of Whiplash on Injury Victims
As mentioned above, many people with whiplash injuries experience some degree of pain and various other symptoms. Generally, the more pain you are in, the more symptoms you experience, the more serious your situation might be. It is important to have regular meetings with a doctor to monitor your condition and report any changes to your doctor and your attorney.
Pain is perhaps the most common symptom of whiplash. Many people experience some degree of pain until their injury recovers. The pain can be downright debilitating in some cases, preventing people from going about their normal tasks and chores. For some, the pain is so intense they can barely move and require strong pain medicine to manage their condition.
For some, the pain is not limited to the neck. Pain might radiate throughout your head, neck, shoulders, and back. In other cases, people experience numbness in their arms or hands. This might be an indication of something more serious, like nerve damage.
In some cases, whiplash victims experience more frightening symptoms. You could deal with blurred vision, irritability, memory problems, and more. When dealing with these symptoms on top of intense pain, your case might be quite serious.
How Long Does Whiplash Last?
The seriousness of whiplash injuries is often measured in the time it takes to recover. It is pretty common for whiplash injuries to recover in only a few days or weeks with little to no complications. If that is the case, your injuries might not be considered very serious. However, if it takes you much longer to recover, or if you never fully recover, your case might be far more severe, and your damages and compensation should reflect this severity.
Although somewhat less typical, some victims of whiplash live with symptoms like chronic pain for years. Not only is this physically painful, but it can be financially costly. People living with whiplash for this long often encounter high medical bills. Many more find it hard to work and earn a living to pay those medical bills. In that case, the situation can become dire for injured plaintiffs.
What to Do if You Suffer Whiplash After an Accident
If you were recently in an accident and believe you suffered whiplash, see a doctor immediately if you have not yet done so. Your doctor can perform X-rays and other scans or tests to determine if you have whiplash and just how serious it really is.
You should also contact an attorney. If your whiplash case is more serious, significant damages and compensation might be at stake.