Getting into a car accident can really turn your life upside down. It’s so easy for us to fall into a false sense of security while out on the road, so that when an accident does occur, it can really shake us up. If you are lucky enough, the only damage would be to property. Unfortunately, most car accidents come with mild to severe bodily injury.

Most injuries that are suffered are readily apparent after a crash. Things like lacerations and broken bones are immediately felt and suffered from directly after the crash. Whiplash from a car accident, however, may not start to affect you until hours, or sometimes a days after the crash. In order to investigate just how you can get compensation for whiplash, we will look at just what whiplash is and how it affects your body.

Medical Definition for Whiplash

Also known as a neck sprain, whiplash is caused by a sudden bending or extension of the neck that causes damage to the soft tissue. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NIH), whiplash most commonly occurs due to a rear end automobile crash. Whiplash from a car accident may or may not include injury to the discs and ligaments of the neck, intervertebral joints as well as the muscles and nerves of the neck.

What makes whiplash so tricky to diagnose is that it can sometimes take hours, or even several days for you to begin feeling the symptoms. The reason for this is inflammation. Just like after an intense workout, your body may take a day or two to start to feel sore, after whiplash has occurred, your body will take some time for the swelling to start to cause pain and discomfort.  Also, sometimes it is difficult at first to understand that the symptoms of whiplash are being experienced as some of the symptoms may never occur at all.

The main symptom of whiplash is pain and stiffness of the neck, however some less common symptoms include:

• Depression and irritability
• Mild to severe sensitivity to light
• Headache
• Blurry vision
• Nausea
• Memory issues and difficulty concentrating
• Limited range of motion of the neck and head

Whiplash Personal Injury Claims     

Unlike more apparent injuries, getting compensation or whiplash injuries can prove tricky. The insurance agencies have strict deadlines for filing a claim for an injury, and if you miss the deadline, you may be stuck paying for all of the medical expenses yourself. The first step in making sure that you are covered is understanding that just because you may feel fine after a rear end crash, you may still be injured.

The next step in ensuring that you will have a valid personal injury claim is to immediately seek medical attention after the crash, regardless of if you are experiencing pain. This way a doctor will be able to diagnose your whiplash even if you aren’t experiencing any symptoms yet. If you wait to see a doctor or leave the scene of the accident without getting looked at, the insurance companies will try to use that against you after you have filed your claim.

After your examination by a doctor, it is important that you document the injury and compile all of the evidence from the accident. You will need copies of the medical records from your exam, as well as pictures of the accident, police reports, as well as documentation showing property damage.

Immediately Hire Injury Lawyer for Your Whiplash from a Car Accident

All the major insurance companies have procedures that are in place for the one and only purpose of saving these companies money. That means paying out the barest minimum for injury claims. They will immediately send out an insurance adjuster that will try to get you to fill out paperwork that is full of leading questions aimed at getting you to admit that you were at fault for the car crash, so they don’t have to pay.

The insurance adjuster will also try to pressure you into getting an examination by the insurance agencies “recommended doctor.” This doctor or hospital will have affiliations with the insurance agency and the diagnosis will be in the insurance agency’s favor.

After you have suffered whiplash from a car accident, you should immediately hire an experienced personal injury lawyer to represent you. This way your lawyer can not only run interference with the insurance agency’s tricks, but also take the burden of fighting for compensation off your shoulders so thar you can focus on recovering from your injuries.

Conclusion

Our team of personal injury lawyers here at Justice Law Center have been helping the residents of Nevada get fair compensation for whiplash from a car accident for decades now. We know all of the tricks that the insurance agencies will try to play and how to deal with them.

We offer completely free initial consultations so we can discuss your case in detail. Also, we only take our fees out of the money that we win for you, so there is no reason to delay. Call us today.