Whiplash is a relatively common injury to the neck that can happen when somebody is involved in a car accident. The most likely type of accident is when the victim’s car is hit in the rear by another vehicle.
Whiplash is not normally life threatening, but can be extremely painful and debilitating. It may need physical therapy and treatment for months, as the condition can become chronic
If you have been involved in a collision with another vehicle and the accident was not yoir fault, then you have grounds for filing a claim for damages against the other driver. It makes a lot of sense to use an experienced whiplash attorney who will not only be able to arrange medical confirmation of your condition, but make a rapid assessment of your future financial needs in order to establish a firm claim for damages.
Whiplash is not easy to diagnose, as the physical evidence can be hard to detect, even by experienced doctors, but the painful effects are real enough for the sufferers.
What is whiplash and how is it caused?
Whiplash is the result of a sudden jerking movement of the neck, when somebody is hit from the rear. The neck jerks forwards violently then “whips” back again. The joints between the neck vertebrae are stressed by the sudden movement and the disks of cartilage between the vertebrae move slightly out of place. Recovery requires a relatively lengthy period of rest for the neck, so that the joints can normalize again.
Whiplash is typically a specific injury of rear end vehicle collisions and because the injury is hard to take place without somebody else causing the accident, the blame for the injury is relatively straightforward compared to other car accident injuries.
Whiplash is almost always caused by a rear end collision
Rear end collisions are almost always caused by another driver who is driving far too close behind and is probably not paying enough attention to what is going on ahead or is deliberately being provoking or trying to intimidate the driver in front. It doesn’t take too much imagination to think of what can happen when the vehicle in front has to slow down or stop quickly and the vehicle behind is too cloie. Many state road rules use the three second rule, which means that you should always allow at least three seconds for you to stop if the vehicle in front stops suddenly. Sadly, lessons learned for state driving licenses are sometimes soon forgotten once the license is issued.
If you, or a member of your family, have been rear ended or been involved in a collision that has resulted in whiplash, then you should make sure that you use an attorney with specific experience in whiplash claims. The claim should cover any medical expense you may have to pay as well as loss of earnings and an amount to cover the loss due to psychological and emotional suffering.
If you or a loved one has been involved in a car accident, learn how to protect your rights with a free consultation. Contact an experienced Philadelphia Car Accident Lawyer.