What are the Long-Term Effects of Whiplash?

Lever & Ecker, PLLC November 3, 2017 Car Accidents

Whiplash is often a result of a car or truck accident and can vary from mild to severe depending on the circumstances of the accident. If a whiplash injury goes undiagnosed and untreated, the victim may suffer from serious pain and consequences down the road. Whiplash has a delayed onset, meaning that people who experience it may not notice their symptoms until days or weeks after the initial injury.

If you believe that you have suffered whiplash in your car or truck accident, it is in your best interest to take the appropriate steps to reduce your recovery time. Steps such as:

  • Seeing your doctor as soon as possible after your accident and getting diagnosed.
  • Learn everything you can about whiplash and how it is going to affect your life in the short and long-term future.
  • Learn about ways to treat whiplash.
  • Contact David B. Lever so he can help you determine whether or not you are eligible for compensation for your injury.

What is Whiplash?

Known as a “soft-tissue” injury, whiplash is a neck injury caused by a forceful jerk to the head. Whiplash usually happens in car accidents when a car gets rear-ended. While car accidents often cause whiplash, it can be caused by any sudden movement of the head or neck. The most common causes of whiplash include:

The sudden movement of your head snapping back and forward can cause mild to severe damage. This violent movement can damage tendons, ligaments, and muscles throughout your neck and upper back. When the force is great enough, the discs between your neck and bones can be torn causing you extreme pain and discomfort.

What Effects Can Whiplash Have on the Body?

Whiplash is often understated. The truth is, whiplash is the most common injury suffered by car accident victims. Although symptoms may take a bit of time to set in, a person can feel the lasting effects of whiplash for days, weeks, months, and years after an accident. Usually, serious incidents of whiplash can leave their victims with symptoms for years. Symptoms in these cases often involve not being able to move the head or neck without discomfort. The same applies to less serious instances of whiplash; however, the symptoms do not last nearly as long.

Whiplash that lasts past a period of 6 months is considered “chronic whiplash.” This can be treated with over-the-counter and prescribed painkillers, muscle relaxers, and physical therapy. There are some alternative ways of treating whiplash that include treatments such as:

  • Acupuncture
  • Chiropractic sessions
  • Massages
  • Electronic nerve treatments

In unfortunate cases, the symptoms that accompany chronic whiplash may never go away. These symptoms include:

  • Pain and the feeling of stiffness in the neck or shoulders
  • Back pain (upper and lower)
  • Mild to severe headaches
  • Pain in the jaw
  • Instances of blurred vision
  • Mild to severe sensations of being dizzy
  • Memory and concentration loss
  • Ringing in ears
  • Trouble sleeping
  • Constant irritability
  • Anxiety
  • Weakness in arms and legs

In some severe cases of whiplash, victims can develop osteoarthritis and spinal stenosis over time. This is often the case if there is a more serious underlying issue other than whiplash such as a fracture.

Compensation for Whiplash Injuries

If you have been medically diagnosed with whiplash from an accident, it is imperative that you not delay in pursuing a claim for compensation. Your whiplash injury may require extensive medical care such as x-rays, MRI’s and other tests that are conducted by your doctor. Some of these tests are very expensive and may not be covered by your insurance company. In addition to these tests, you may require rehabilitation through physical therapy and expensive prescription medications.

If you happen to incur medical bills from your whiplash, you are entitled by law to pursue compensation for them with the help of an experienced personal injury lawyer. At Lever & Ecker, PLLC, we recommend that you move swiftly after your whiplash injury occurs to avoid long-term effects from affecting your life forever. If you get medical help and advice right away, you can minimize the damage a whiplash injury will cause you long term.

White Plains Personal Injury Lawyers

If you happen to sustain a whiplash injury in a car, truck, motorcycle, or any other accident, call Lever & Ecker, PLLC right away. David Lever will take your whiplash injury seriously and do whatever it takes to get you the compensation you deserve. David Lever has specialized in helping personal injury victims throughout Westchester County for the better part of 20 years and would love to be of assistance to you in your case. Contact us now.

 

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