Available 24/7
Free Consultation
Whiplash is one of the most common car accident injuries, yet it’s often misunderstood—especially by insurance companies responding to claim demands for medical expenses and lost wages. Whiplash can occur even in slow-speed accidents with little damage to the involved vehicles, Unsurance companies frequently claim that an accident victim cannot be seriously injured based on the minimal damage to their vehicle. Additionally, whiplash can take days to develop painful symptoms, often leading to delayed treatment.
Whiplash is an injury to the cervical spine in the neck. It occurs when a rapid back-and-forth motion snaps the neck like a whip. In car accidents, the force of a collision—particularly rear-end collisions—causes the motorist’s head and upper body to propel forward at the speed the car was moving before the collision, and then snap backward against the the seat. The force of the collision combined with the weight of the motorist’s head overextends the neck as it snaps back and forth, damaging the internal muscles, tendons, ligaments, and nerves inside the neck. It doesn’t take a strong impact to cause whiplash.
Immediately after an accident, most people experience a rush of adrenaline and stress hormones like cortisol. These hormones mask pain, which is the body’s way of protecting itself by allowing the injury victim to focus on removing themselves and loved ones from danger. However, during the hours after the car accident, adrenaline dissipates from the body and the accident victim may begin to feel pain from injuries that were not immediately noticeable after the crash.
When the internal structure of the neck and spine suffer a whiplash injury in an accident, the victim may feel slight tenderness in their neck and overlook it; however, as the hours pass and inflammation sets in, the swelling impacts the nerves in the neck, causing painful and distressing symptoms.
Within hours after an accident, the injury victim may begin to notice symptoms such as the following:
Because the nerves in the cervical spine are a conduit for messages back and forth from the brain, the consequences of whiplash can have a significant effect on mood, focus, and memory, as well as causing pain and loss of range of motion.
Fortunately, most whiplash injury victims fully recover when they receive prompt medical treatment including anti-inflammatory pain medications, steroid injections, ice therapy, and a cervical collar. Many also undergo physical therapy and make regular visits to a chiropractor. However, a 20-year study of whiplash injury victims revealed that a significant number of whiplash sufferers still experienced symptoms 20 years later, including neck and shoulder pain and stiffness, with degenerative changes noted in MRI images.
Because whiplash symptoms often take hours or even days to fully develop, many victims of this type of car accident injury delay medical treatment thinking they’ve escaped the accident without injury. Unfortunately, delaying a diagnosis and treatment of whiplash not only causes the condition to worsen due to the lack of immediate medical attention and mitigation measures such as cold therapy and a cervical collar, but it also gives auto insurance companies a reason to deny claims. They may indicate that the injury could have occurred elsewhere since the injury victim didn’t seek care after the accident. It’s always best to undergo a complete medical exam after a car accident, even if your symptoms are minor.