A busy day on the I-5 is never fun, but if you find yourself with a sore neck and asking “what does whiplash feel like?”, it may be time to talk to a personal injury lawyer. We’ll take you through the basics of whiplash symptoms after a car accident, including how to strengthen your case and common mistakes to avoid in your whiplash compensation claim.
What Does Whiplash Feel Like?
Whiplash typically feels like pain and stiffness in your neck and upper spine, but the symptoms can impact other parts of your body as well. You may notice symptoms in your head such as headaches, dizziness, and vertigo following whiplash from a car accident, as well as brain fog, tinnitus, and difficulty concentrating.
Since whiplash impacts the tissue and nerves around your neck and spine, it can also cause discomfort, tingling, and numbness that radiates through your shoulders, arms, and hands. Muscle spasms and severe stiffness are also common, and many people find they have a harder time turning their head after being affected by whiplash.
How Whiplash Occurs in Car Accidents
Whiplash in car accidents occurs when your head is thrown rapidly back and forth, which is most common when another vehicle rear-ends your car. The force of the impact means your body gets pushed forward and your head follows, creating a snapping motion that strains your neck.
Being rear-ended is the most common cause of whiplash in car accidents, but any type of accident that causes your head to snap back and forth can cause whiplash. This includes front and side vehicle collisions.
Delayed Whiplash Symptoms: Why You Might Not Feel It Right Away
While you might notice some whiplash symptoms right after a car accident, others can take hours, days, or even weeks to occur. This is because adrenaline and other hormones spike during stressful incidents like vehicle accidents, and they can mask pain and make it difficult to feel the full effects.
Delayed whiplash symptoms also occur because swelling and inflammation change over time. As your body processes the injury, you may slowly start to notice symptoms like headaches, dizziness, neck pain, and fatigue, which weren’t clear at the time of the incident.
Is Whiplash a Serious Injury?
Yes, whiplash can be a very serious injury. The severity will depend on the individual circumstances, but in some cases whiplash can cause lasting damage and symptoms. Chronic pain and cognitive problems from whiplash can last for years for some people, and in some cases whiplash can be accompanied by other damage like broken vertebrae and concussions from the impact.
Why Whiplash Is Difficult to Prove in Court
Whiplash is primarily a soft tissue injury, meaning it won’t show up on an X-ray or an MRI. Soft tissue injuries impact muscles, ligaments, and tendons, and can cause a wide range of symptoms even though they’re difficult to prove. Without diagnostic imaging reports, courts and insurance adjusters may try to challenge the whiplash diagnosis.
How to Prove Whiplash in a Personal Injury Case
Even without an X-ray or MRI, there are several steps you can take for how to prove whiplash injury for a soft tissue injury lawsuit in California.
Seek Care Immediately After The Crash
Even if you’re not experiencing pain or other symptoms, you should always consult a medical professional immediately after a vehicle accident. This gives you a medical record that directly connects your neck injury car accident symptoms to the incident. It’s also important to follow up with the doctor if you experience any new symptoms.
Keep Clear Documentation
Save any documentation from your doctor or physical therapist, including notes on diagnoses and range of motion. It can also be helpful to find previous medical reports from before the accident to rule out the argument that your symptoms were caused by a pre-existing condition.
Record Your Symptoms
Keep a detailed record or diary of any symptoms you’ve experienced after the incident. This can include pain, stiffness, cognitive symptoms, and any medication you’ve been prescribed to deal with these symptoms.
Hire Experienced Legal Representation
As soon as you’re able to, contact an experienced personal injury lawyer like the team at Jacob Emrani. They can talk to you about the best ways to strengthen your case, and may be able to connect you to local experts like doctors who focus on whiplash. The sooner you can connect with an experienced lawyer, the more support you’ll have through your whiplash settlement in California.
Mistakes That Can Hurt Your Whiplash Claim
If you’re filing a whiplash injury claim in California, keep an eye out for these common mistakes that can hurt your case.
Admitting Fault
While vehicle accidents are always stressful, it’s important to never make any statements that can be interpreted as admitting fault. This can include things as small as saying “I’m sorry” at the time of the crash. If you’re involved in a vehicle accident, you should document as much as possible with photos, get the details of any other people or witnesses involved, and then speak to a lawyer before you say or do anything else.
Posting on Social Media
If you’ve been involved in a vehicle collision, avoid posting anything on social media until you talk to a lawyer. This includes any details about the collision, but also any other details of your life, even if they seem innocuous. For example, posting a photo of a hike or social activity may enable the opposition to argue that you’re not suffering severely from the crash.
Giving Testimony Before Talking to a Lawyer
Avoid giving any kind of statement before you speak to a lawyer. Insurance adjusters or other people involved in the crash may want to record your statement immediately after the incident. You are not required to allow this, and talking to them without a lawyer may lead to a statement that hurts your whiplash claim.
What Compensation Can You Recover for Whiplash?
Whiplash compensation amounts vary, but can often include compensation for medical bills and physiotherapy, lost wages, and pain and suffering. For cases with long-term or chronic symptoms, you may also be able to seek damages for reduced quality of life.
Call Jacob Emrani for Expert Car Accident Claim Support in Southern California
The best way to strengthen your whiplash settlement is to hire an experienced car accident lawyer in Los Angeles who can guide you through the process. At Jacob Emrani, our team of trusted advocates is highly experienced at supporting car accident victims in Southern California. Contact us today to book your consultation and discover how we can help you win your whiplash claim.