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Whiplash: An injury you might discover later

On Behalf of | Dec 13, 2018 | Injuries

Imagine you were involved in a severe fender-bender. A speeding driver struck you from behind and crumpled the back of your car while you were waiting at a red light. Although your car was totaled, you escaped the incident without injury. At least, you thought you didn’t have any injuries, and that’s what you told police officers.

The problem is, a day after the accident you started to feel intense pain from your skull, down your neck and into your upper back. Every time you turned your head, you experienced shooting pains and you had a pounding headache that wouldn’t go away. You even felt a little dizzy and your head was too cloudy to concentrate on work.

After a trip to the doctor, you discovered that you had a severe case of whiplash. The treatment was lots of rest, time away from work and six weeks of physical therapy.

Some injuries take time to develop after a car crash

Certain injuries — especially those that apply to the neck and back — may take several days to surface as pain in the body after a serious auto collision. Victims of car accidents who begin to develop pain like this should go to the doctor immediately to receive the treatment they need. Going to the doctor will also allow the victim to document the injuries, which could later help support a claim for damages in a traffic-related injury claim.

In the case of a serious neck or back injury, a patient may need to spend time away from work and could incur a variety of expenses. For example, a whiplash patient may require several weeks of rest away from work, which represents lost income. The victim may also need various forms of rehabilitative therapy, like chiropractic physiotherapy and other treatments. If another party is to blame for the collision, this at-fault party may be financially liable to pay for these expenses.

Whiplash victims: Learn more about your legal options

Whiplash victims may want to investigate whether they have the right to pursue a personal injury claim. With a strategic and intelligent approach to such a claim, crash victims may be able to bypass the most time-consuming aspects of litigation to obtain a swift and favorable financial settlement.