Are You A Whiplash Patient? Read On!
There has been much in the press of late about people making whiplash claims, and you may have wondered whether you may be entitled to pursue a claim for compensation. As whiplash is among the most often experienced injuries – in particular by those involved in road accidents – it is likely that you have suffered at some point in the recent past, and this may entitle you to make a claim. Whiplash affects patients in various ways according to the severity of the injury. In some people the symptoms can last many months, in others just a few days. So what is whiplash, and how do we recognise the symptoms to look for?
Whiplash is an injury in the neck region that is caused by the stressing of the spine in that area. In simple terms, a sudden distortion of the neck’s actual shape can rip the essential tissue that exists among the vertebrae, and this results in the injury we call whiplash. If you imagine a passenger in a moving vehicle that is hit behind or, in another scenario, runs into another. The passenger, whose head is unrestrained, will experience a sudden force that throws the head backwards and forwards while the rest of the body remains relatively still. This movement stretches the spine in the neck and pulls it out of shape, tearing the tissue between the vertebrae and, in some cases, damaging muscles and other ligaments and tendons.
While whiplash claims are most common in relation to car accidents, whiplash is not only an injury that is caused by force from behind or in front. Indeed, it can be cause by side impacts – such as a car hitting the one in which the victim is passenger side on – or by people failing from ladders, on stairs, from a bicycle or a horse; any incident, in fact, that creates that brief deformation of the spine.
It is vital to know that the symptoms of whiplash could not show up until long after the incident. Many people experience symptoms within a few hours, yet for others it could take days. This results in some cases that are not correctly diagnosed, and can be problematic to the patient. Symptoms, generally, include pain and loss of movement in the neck and the shoulders – plus in many cases in the arms and back. Extra symptoms might include prolonged headaches and dizziness, extreme tiredness, noises in the ears – typically ringing or buzzing – and further minor symptoms that can also indicate whiplash.
Those who suffer a whiplash injury often find that the resulting symptoms preclude them from working. Loss of movement renders many people unable to do their job correctly, and pain is something that can be hard to live with. This is why there are routines in place to help those that choose to pursue a claim for compensation. The first step in approaching any form of whiplash claims is to be certain that you have an accurate medical diagnosis. This will help your claim greatly when everything gets underway. The next step is to secure the help of a solicitor who deals in personal injury claims, for there is no substitute for this experience of the law when it comes to chasing what can be a tricky and sometimes complex compensation claim
Tags: car accident injury, claim for whiplash, whiplash claims, whiplash compensation
Leave a Comment