Whiplash is a serious car accident injury. Our experienced Greenville car accident lawyer at Bobby Jones Law explains what your claim may be worth.

What Is Whiplash?

Whiplash is soft-tissue damage to the neck, head, and shoulders. It results from extraordinary body strain.

The neck muscles, tendons, and ligaments are pulled and jostled from the sudden jolting and forced deceleration of a traumatic event, such as a car accident. The resulting soft tissue injury is whiplash.

How Whiplash Happens in a Car Accident

In a car accident, moving vehicles quickly come to rest. The body absorbs the force. In addition to this deceleration injury, the blunt force trauma of being struck by a vehicle can also throw the neck back and forth.

When these forces place greater strain on the soft tissues of the neck than the body can withstand, they damage the muscles, tendons, and ligaments, resulting in injury.

Symptoms of Whiplash After a Car Accident

Whiplash car accident symptoms may include:

Sore muscles
Stiff neck
Muscle spasms
Compressed nerves, nerve pain
Spinal disc damage, such as bulging or rupture
Facet joint misalignment or irritation

Long-term whiplash car accident complications

Most cases of whiplash heal. But sometimes long-term effects, such as chronic pain, stiffness, headaches, and nerve issues, can linger.

In addition, whiplash can occur alongside other injuries. For example, if you experience headaches, sleep or memory disturbances, and brain injury, whiplash may be contributing factors.

Why Symptoms Are Often Delayed by Hours or Days

When whiplash occurs, the trauma creates microscopic tears in the muscles and ligaments. The stress and adrenaline of the car accident may prevent you from noticing the pain right away. Over the next few days, swelling and inflammation build, causing soreness, and fluids rush to the area. The muscles may tense up to guard the body from additional harm. These factors contribute to delayed whiplash symptoms.

How Whiplash Is Diagnosed

Whiplash is primarily diagnosed through examination. This may include:

Personal history. This means telling the doctor about the car accident so they understand the mechanics of the strain on the body.

Physical exam. The doctor evaluates the person’s upper body for tenderness and swelling and may examine the range of motion.

Symptoms. The person tells the doctor their symptoms.

Tests. The doctor may evaluate muscle strength, reflexes, and nerve response.

Diagnostic tests. Like X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs. These tests can identify or rule out related trauma like dislocations, spinal injury, and broken bones.

Is Whiplash a Serious Injury?

Yes. Whiplash is a serious injury.

Whiplash can:

Cause pain
Limit the range of motion
Limit activities and functioning
Result in complications

Long-term whiplash symptoms

Whiplash can cause immediate pain. Plus, long-term symptoms can be limiting. One study of long-term whiplash-associated disorders found much higher rates of shoulder stiffness, headache, and arm pain for whiplash victims than in the control group.

Whether it is short-term pain or long-term complications, whiplash can be a serious injury.

Whiplash and Concussions

It’s common for car accident victims to suffer both whiplash and a concussion. The same forces that strain neck muscles in a car accident can also shake the brain.

Recognizing the symptoms

Whiplash symptoms and concussion symptoms can overlap. Whiplash can cause pain and fatigue. So can concussions. Doctors may quickly recognize one injury and overlook the other. The result can be that either the whiplash or concussion injury goes undiagnosed and untreated.

Seek medical attention immediately

It’s important to seek medical attention immediately after a car accident. Be upfront about your symptoms, even if they’re distressing and even if you’re not sure what’s causing them. Comprehensive medical care that identifies and treats both whiplash and concussion can improve your healing time and prognosis.

Why Insurance Companies Downplay Whiplash Claims

Insurance companies like to limit the compensation they pay. Minimizing payments increases profit margins.

This can be especially true for whiplash claims.

Whiplash can be mild, moderate, or severe. The fact that some cases are mild doesn’t make the severe cases any less severe. But it does give the insurance company room to argue that the diagnosis is mistaken or exaggerated. They may downplay complications or the recovery time needed.

Unless there are complications, such as broken bones, whiplash usually doesn’t show on a CT scan or MRI. The doctor must rely on self-reporting and examination. The insurance company may use the lack of imaging to downplay a claim.

With sound medical documentation, you can prove your diagnosis and fight back. A lawyer can represent you.

What Is the Average Whiplash Settlement in South Carolina?

Each claim amount is determined individually. Whiplash may be combined with other injuries to arrive at a case value. Many settlements happen out of court. For these reasons, it’s hard to calculate an average amount for whiplash or determine what makes a case typical.

Bobby Jones Law can provide an individual consultation with a lawyer about what your case may be worth.

Factors That Increase the Value of a Whiplash Claim

The value of a whiplash claim depends on three factors:

How much does it cost to treat? This includes the cost of initial treatment, medical intervention, and rehabilitation.

How much pain does it cause? In a car accident claim, the victim may recover for pain and suffering. The amount is relative to the severity.

How much does it interfere with your life? If whiplash causes so much pain that the person can’t work, that’s a financial loss to include. If symptoms prevent daily activities, that’s also a loss.

Losses are unique to each case. To receive what you deserve, you must prove your losses. An attorney can represent you in gathering evidence.

How Treatment Gaps Damage Your Case

Case preparation for whiplash from a car accident begins long before your settlement negotiations. In fact, it begins the first time you seek medical care.

It’s important to get medical care as soon as possible, even if you don’t think your injuries are serious. Because whiplash progresses over time, medical documentation of the development, treatment, and improvement of symptoms can establish a timeline and case value.

Documenting a Whiplash Injury from Day One

Seek medical attention as soon as you realize that you may be hurt. Even if you didn’t receive medical care immediately after the accident, go to the doctor as soon as you notice symptoms. You want to stabilize injuries, minimize the risk of complications, and begin treatment. Medical care documents your diagnoses and gives you an expert who can speak about your injuries.

As you heal, continue to document your medical care, therapy, symptoms, and return to activity. A lawyer can help you with this process.