How Serious Is Whiplash After a Car Accident?

Your car is at a standstill at a red light, when suddenly, another vehicle smashes into your backside. The sound of the impact of metal on metal is deafening, and your car and your body inside of it lurch forward.

At first, the damage appears to begin and end with your car. You exchange information with the driver who hit you. A police officer arrives at the scene. They fill out a report, and you leave the scene of the accident.

The only thing is- your neck is starting to ache. You wake up the next morning, and it’s killing you.

Unfortunately, you suffered whiplash.

Whiplash is a common occurrence after a car accident. It’s an injury that can worsen over time and can cost you a lot of time and money in its treatment.

If you or a loved one suffer whiplash after an automobile accident, you should contact an experienced group of attorneys as soon as possible. Our California personal injury attorneys will help you get the compensation you are owed.

The Basics of Whiplash

Whiplash can occur in a number of different types of accidents. Rear-end or accidents to the side of the vehicle can cause whiplash. It can occur in both high and low-impact accidents, as the result of a high-speed or low-speed impact.

Whiplash injuries are hard to quantify, since not every patient will seek treatment for their whiplash. It’s, therefore, been estimated that over 800,000 whiplash injuries occur annually.

Whiplash is always an internal injury, never showing any outward, visible signs of injury or damage.

Symptoms of Whiplash After a Car Accident

The symptoms of whiplash occur differently in different people.

In low-level whiplash injuries, patients will complain of mild muscle strain. In time, sometimes as little as three weeks, the whiplash will resolve on its own.

If the whiplash is more severe, the pain will be worse and will last longer. Neck pain will occur and become worse with movement and strain. The neck will feel stiff and may become difficult to move.

Your range of motion, in general, might be limited. You will have trouble moving your neck, as well as a possible limit in your movement in your shoulders and upper arms. Whiplash causes general feelings of pain and is often accompanied by a headache. Dizziness, numbness, and tingling can also occur as a result of a whiplash injury.

Long-Term Effects of Whiplash After a Car Accident

A whiplash injury will commonly resolve on its own, without the need for any further treatment. Even in the case of a more advanced whiplash injury, the whiplash will respond positively to treatment and medication. The recovery for these kinds of injuries usually takes between a few weeks to a couple of months.

However, like any injury, whiplash injuries can be incredibly severe. Recovery from a severe whiplash injury can take much, much longer in this case. In some terrible cases, these types of whiplash injuries will never resolve.

Those who suffer severe whiplash may have to live with long-term pain in their neck, head, shoulders, back, jaw, and upper arms. Their range of motion may become permanently stunted, making everyday activities that once seemed simple to suddenly become difficult. If a whiplash injury is severe enough, there may even be neurological consequences.

Those suffering these severe cases of whiplash may find they have difficulties concentrating and sleeping. They may experience a constant ringing in the ears, problems with their vision, and issues with their memory. Numbness and tingling in the upper arms or shoulders can happen as well.

Some accidents are so severe that a concussion occurs, which can exacerbate the whiplash and make the recovery from the injury that much more difficult.

Getting Financial Compensation for Whiplash After a Car Accident

Whiplash injuries, like any injury someone might suffer, cost a person their time and their money, two commodities that most people aren’t overstuffed with.

Treatment costs can start to add up, especially if the whiplash injury is extensive and takes time and effort to recover from. Any medication that might be required will be expensive as well, adding financial burdens on top of new physical ones.

Any injury can result in wage losses as well. If your injury is severe enough, especially if your line of work involves physical activity, you may have to take time off of work to recover. Not every job will pay for these missed workdays, or will only cover a sliver of the time off that you need.

Any accident, especially the traumatic kinds that cause whiplash, can leave someone with lasting emotional baggage as well. Any accident can cause feelings of anxiety and depression due to the physical pain victims now feel and the new financial burdens they face.

Victims of whiplash may experience anxiety and feelings of post-traumatic stress after an accident, which may result in further treatment.

All of these long term effects caused by whiplash injuries are eligible for financial compensation. This is especially true when your whiplash was caused by an accident due to someone else’s negligence.

Your accident and injuries don’t need to be severe to seek compensation either. Minor or moderate whiplash injury victims are also eligible to seek compensation

Whiplash injuries are the type of injury to get worse over time. Getting treatment as soon as possible after such an accident will reduce the time necessary to recover from your accident. As well, getting immediate documentation of your accident will help your personal injury case, painting a clear picture of the injuries you sustained.

Get the Legal Guidance You Need in Los Angeles

After an automobile accident, you might be suffering on multiple fronts. You may have new financial burdens to handle, as well as the physical strain of injuries like whiplash.

If you or a loved one have suffered whiplash due to the negligence of another driver, contact Los Angeles’ Tawni Takagi at (310) 954-7248.

With years of experience handling cases just like yours, our Los Angeles automobile accident attorneys will get you the compensation you are seeking.