Whiplash is a type of neck injury commonly experienced in car accidents. An injury to the neck can lead to significant medical costs and can impact your earning ability in the long term. When you’re involved in an accident that leads to whiplash, it’s important to be aware of the potential long-term outcomes.
Understanding the treatment and recovery process for a whiplash injury is an important first step in assessing what the future holds. If you’re concerned about how a whiplash injury will impact your finances, your best option is to speak with a whiplash injury lawyer in Las Vegas, NV, about recovering personal injury compensation.
Understanding Whiplash
Whiplash occurs when the neck is quickly snapped back and forth in an accident. This injury gets its name because the movement of the neck resembles a snapping whip.
The neck is a complex part of the body. Technically, “neck” is an informal word used to describe the part of the spinal column that extends from the base of the skull down to the shoulders.
When this part of the spine is snapped back and forth in an accident, it can seriously damage the following:
- Bones
- Nerves
- Muscles
- Ligaments
- Spinal discs
There’s a common misconception that whiplash simply involves some neck soreness after a car accident. Unfortunately, this misconception often causes people to hesitate to get the medical attention they need. In reality, whiplash is a type of spinal injury that can have a long-term impact on someone’s health.
It’s important to recognize that whiplash can also have a negative impact on your quality of life. If you’ve been in an accident and suspect you may have suffered whiplash, you should seek medical attention as soon as possible.
Common Causes Of Whiplash Injuries
Whiplash is most commonly associated with motor vehicle accidents. Even if the collision occurs at a slower speed, there’s still a high chance of the neck being snapped back and forth when the vehicle hits another vehicle or a stationary object.
However, whiplash injuries are not exclusive to motor vehicle accidents. Any accident that causes the neck to jerk back and forth suddenly can result in a whiplash injury. As a result, you can experience whiplash even if you aren’t involved in a car crash.
Some of the most common types of accidents associated with whiplash injuries include:
- Car accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Truck accidents
- Bus accidents
- Forklift accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Amusement park accidents
- Sports accidents
- Falls
You should never assume that you didn’t suffer whiplash just because you weren’t involved in a car accident.
Even if your case of whiplash involves minor pain, you should also never assume that this injury will resolve on its own. If you’ve been involved in any type of accident that has caused your neck to jolt and left you with symptoms of whiplash, it’s best to see a doctor right away.
Signs And Symptoms Of Whiplash
Unfortunately, it can be easy to overlook the symptoms of whiplash, especially when the pain is minor in the immediate aftermath of the accident. In some cases, whiplash might lead to immediately obvious symptoms. In other cases, it might only result in minor symptoms, or symptoms may take hours, days, or weeks to appear.
If you’ve been involved in an accident that resulted in trauma to the neck, common signs and symptoms of whiplash to watch for include:
- Pain
- Reduced range of motion
- Loss of strength
- Numbness
- Tingling
- Bruising
- Discoloration
- Swelling
- Headache
- Vision changes
- Ringing in the ears
- Jaw pain
It’s important to recognize that whiplash is a type of spinal injury. In addition to symptoms in your neck area, you may also experience discomfort in other areas of the body, particularly the upper and lower back, arms, and legs. Pain or unusual sensations after an accident are warning signs that you may have experienced a neck injury.
Whiplash Diagnosis And Treatment
Whiplash is typically diagnosed through a combination of physical exam and imaging. First, a doctor will check your neck for physical signs of injury.
If your doctor suspects you’ve suffered whiplash, they may recommend additional imaging tests to identify the severity of the neck injury.
Imaging tests that can help with diagnosing whiplash include:
- X-ray
- MRI
- CT scan
- Neurological testing
The exact treatment methods that a doctor will recommend after a whiplash diagnosis depend heavily on the severity and type of the injury. For example, a minor case of whiplash may simply involve strained muscles in the neck. In this case, a doctor will typically recommend ice, rest, and over-the-counter pain medications.
In more serious cases, whiplash might involve damage to the nerves or bones in the neck region of the spine. This much more serious injury will likely require physical therapy and may even warrant surgery.
Whiplash Injury Compensation
Whiplash can take a serious toll on your long-term quality of life. Even when a whiplash injury is minor, you’ll likely be left with medical bills and lost wages if you can’t work during the recovery period.
If a whiplash injury is more serious or a patient suffers complications that lead to lingering symptoms, the injury can have a profound impact on your family’s finances.
When whiplash leaves you struggling financially and unable to return to work, a whiplash injury attorney may be able to help you recover personal injury compensation for issues like:
- Medical bills
- Ambulance bills
- Prescription medications
- Surgery costs
- Specialist costs
- Physical therapy costs
- Lost wages and benefits
- Pain and suffering damages
When someone else’s negligence leaves you suffering from a whiplash injury, you shouldn’t have to pay the price. It’s always worth learning about your options for recovering compensation by speaking with a lawyer.
Speak With Our Las Vegas Whiplash Injury Lawyers Now
Whiplash can take a serious toll on your physical health and your long-term earning ability. These negative impacts can be even more devastating when the accident was not your fault. When you find your health or finances suffering after an injury that causes whiplash in Las Vegas, you have options.
The personal injury attorneys at De Castroverde Accident & Injury Lawyers are experienced with whiplash injury cases and have a long track record of successfully helping injured clients recover the compensation they need. We’re a family-run law firm serving Las Vegas since 1989, and we’ve recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation for our clients.
Don’t wait to get help. We will join the fight to get you the compensation you need after your whiplash injury. Call De Castroverde Accident & Injury Lawyers today at (702) 222-9999 to schedule your free consultation with an experienced whiplash injury lawyer in Las Vegas, Nevada.