When we are talking about whiplash, we are talking a soft tissue injury located at a person’s neck. This injury will affect the ligaments, muscles, and tendons of the area, and is caused when a sudden force yanks the victim’s head either forwards, backwards, or both. The most common causes of such injuries are motor vehicle collisions, boating accidents, and rides at amusements parks and fairs.
The tricky thing about whiplash is that symptoms may not occur right away, but sometimes days or even weeks further down the line. Once developed, the severity of symptoms can range from barely there to impossible to ignore. However, a late onset of symptoms can pose a big problem, not just medically speaking, but also in the realm of recovering damages for the injury.
Know the Symptoms
There are many symptoms that are evident. Some of the most commonly reported symptoms of whiplash are:
• Stiffness in the neck
• Neck pain
• Strong limitations for head and neck movement
• Headaches
• Chronic fatigue
• Noticeable tenderness in the area of the shoulders, arms, and upper back
• Dizziness
• Tingling and/or numbness the arms
• Increased pain when the neck is moved
Additional symptoms may include problems with memory, blurry vision, ringing ears, disrupted sleep, depression, and increased irritability. If you experience any of these symptoms after the accident, it is essential that you approach a health care professional and get treated. This will provide credible evidence about your injuries.
Factors That Determine the Value of Your Lawsuit
Should you choose to file a lawsuit in order to obtain compensation for your whiplash injury, there are multiple factors which will be at play as the value of your claim is determined. These factors include, but are not limited to: the severity of your injury, the person liable for causing the accident, the location in which you were injured, the height of your income loss, as well as the extent of your past, current, and future medical expenses.
Knowing What Your First Steps Should Be
Immediately preceding the incident that left you injured, your main focus should lie on getting medical attention for your injury. Failure to do so could lead to a worsening of your injury which could leave you with long-term medical problems regarding the soft tissue of your neck, such as pain, stiffness, and loss of motion. Without evidence of an immediate doctor’s visit, you will also struggle immensely to obtain compensation for your injury.
Once that is wrapped up, your next step should be to hire a Personal Injury Lawyer in Georgetown. For your initial consultation, you should already have gathered detailed documentation of the incident, your visits to a healthcare facility, and so on.