Whiplash Injuries

03 Jul Whiplash Injuries

Whiplash is a type of soft tissue injury that affects ligaments, tendons and surrounding tissue.  Whiplash is also referred to as a neck strain or sprain.  Whiplash occurs when the head moves backward and forward suddenly and violently.  Whiplash injuries are very common in auto accident cases.  Both drivers and passengers are susceptible to this type of injury in a rear end collision or a head on collision.

People who sustain whiplash injuries may not notice symptoms immediately following an accident.  The symptoms of pain, stiffness and difficulty moving the neck without pain can take days to appear.  The Mayo Clinic lists the following symptoms of a whiplash injury:

• Neck Pain
• Stiffness in Neck
• Inability to Move Neck
• Dizziness
• Fatigue
• Headaches
• Pain in Shoulders
• Pain in Upper Back
• Depression
• Blurred Vision
• Anxiety/Feelings of Irritability
• Problems with Memory
• Trouble Sleeping
• Tinnitus

If you have been involved in an automobile accident and have any of the symptoms of whiplash listed above, you should seek medical attention as soon as reasonably possible.  Your doctor may be able to diagnose the injury by physical examination and by asking you questions.  In other cases, your doctor may order an x-ray or an MRI to discover whether your whiplash injury is connected or related to your motor vehicle accident.

The course of treatment that your doctor may prescribe for your whiplash injury will depend entirely upon the extent of your injury.  For some, treatment may be as easy as rest, ice and heat and over the counter medications.  For others, the treatment may involve prescription painkillers, muscle relaxants, numbing injections, and rehabilitative therapy.  Most whiplash injuries will fully heal over time.  According to Pain Research and Management, the average recovery time for a whiplash injury varies from seventeen (17) days to a hundred and twenty three (123) days.

If you have sustained a whiplash injury in the state of Kentucky, you may be able to recover compensation for all of your losses related to that injury.  Those losses may include:  medical expenses, future treatment costs, medical costs, lost wages related to the injury and pain and suffering.