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Whiplash is a Serious Injury for Auto Accident Victims

Have you seen that Hollywood movie where the main character is involved in a minor crash? Everyone is ok, so he leaves the scene. Then our hero gets summoned to court. The other driver is wearing a neck brace and asking for thousands in damages.  He has whiplash.

This image is a Hollywood stereotype that occurs in dozens of films. But, the truth is that whiplash is a serious injury that can wreak havoc on your life.

When a car hits your vehicle in a Pennsylvania accident, it isn’t just the vehicle is jarred.  The force of the crash causes your head to be forcefully jerked backward and then forward.  As your neck moves beyond its normal range of motion, the muscles, tendons, ligaments, discs, and joints of the neck are injured.  Those injuries are collectively known as “Whiplash”

Whiplash is not a medical term. Medical terms for whiplash include:

• Neck strain
• Cervical strain
• Cervical sprain
• Hyperextension neck injury
• Acceleration flexion-extension neck injury
• Soft tissue cervical hyperextension injury

More than 200,000 Americans suffer whiplash injury each year making the condition the most common car crash injury and the most common cause of neck pain. One reason that whiplash has become a Hollywood joke is that there may be no symptoms immediately after the crash. Although whiplash pain can sometimes be felt right after an accident, it may take as long as a week for the first symptoms to appear. However, whiplash is a serious and painful injury.

One in four whiplash victims suffer chronic pain. Fifteen percent of whiplash victims still experience significant pain three years after the accident. Ten percent experience long term disability that prevents them from participating in and enjoying life activities.

Whiplash Injury Symptoms

• Headache
• Dizziness
• Nausea and vomiting
• Fatigue or difficulty sleeping
• Ear ringing
• Blurred vision
• Stiffness in the neck, shoulders, arms or jaws
• Difficulty moving the neck through its full range of motion
• Tenderness or pain in the side or back of the neck
• Neck pain
• Neck swelling
• Shoulder pain
• Low back pain
• Pain in one or both arms
• Pain that shoots  from the neck to the shoulders or arms
• Difficulty concentrating or remembering

Whiplash is easily diagnosed with a physical examination. However, since whiplash often occurs with serious injuries, your doctor may order additional tests such as x-rays, CT scans or MRI’s.

Whiplash Treatment

Treatment includes medication to reduce pain and swelling, massage, heat therapy, cold therapy, immobilization, bed rest, and physical therapy. Most people recover from a whiplash injury in about six weeks. Others will slowly improve, but may experience pain for years after the accident.

Obtaining Compensation for Whiplash

Whiplash is no joking matter.  If you are suffering from whiplash after a Pennsylvania car accident, you may be eligible for compensation for your medical treatment, lost wages, and other damages.  Although whiplash is the injury most often covered in car accident claims, insurance companies will do their best to minimize the amount they must pay you.  If you need help getting the compensation you deserve, contact Ostroff Injury Law at 484-351-0350.