Whiplash is one of the most common car accident injuries in Houston, but it can also be among the most serious. Whiplash is a type of neck injury that occurs when a person is forcefully pushed forward and backward, damaging the soft tissue and ligaments of the neck. Whiplash isn’t life-threatening, but it can be painful and costly to treat and may require time off of work.
Reach Out to a Houston Whiplash Attorney
Have you suffered whiplash or another neck injury in a Houston car accident? If so, you may be eligible for compensation from the party who caused your injury. The attorneys at Ceja Law Firm PLLC have helped clients recover all of the compensation they deserve after an injury. We have years of experience holding negligent drivers and insurance companies accountable for their careless actions. Contact us today to schedule your free initial consultation.
What Is Whiplash?
Whiplash can occur whenever someone’s neck and head jerk forward and backward with excessive force. Many whiplash injuries are caused by rear-end collisions when the vehicle behind the victim isn’t paying attention and collides with them. The driver and passengers of the vehicle in front may experience their next snapping forward and backward in an unnatural position.
When a person’s neck experiences excessive force, the lower neck bones can become hyper-extended. Meanwhile, the upper bones in a person’s neck can become hyperflexed. Because the neck is in an unnatural position, the muscles, ligaments, and facet capsules can become damaged.
Symptoms of Whiplash
Whiplash can be a difficult condition to treat because it won’t show up on X-rays and other diagnostic tools. For most patients, the pain is caused by soft tissue damage. Treatment can require multiple types of treatment, including physical therapy, massage therapy, and other types of rehabilitation, resulting in time off of work.
Those who experienced severe cases may not be able to return to work because of the pain they experienced. An injured individual may be required to use strong painkillers to control their pain, resulting in a dependency on painkillers. Painkillers also come with their own risks and potential side effects. Whiplash symptoms can range from irritating to extremely painful and debilitating, including:
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Pain and stiffness in the neck and shoulders
- Ringing in the ears (tinnitus)
- Back pain
- Blurry vision
- Visual disturbances
- Eye problems
- Jaw pain
- Fatigue
What To Do After a Houston Car Accident
The steps you take after a car accident will impact your ability to recover compensation through an insurance claim for a lawsuit. The symptoms of whiplash don’t always show up immediately after a car accident. It could take a few days for the symptoms of whiplash to occur in your case. If you think that you may be experiencing symptoms after being involved in a car accident or other type of high-impact incident, it’s crucial that you seek medical care as soon as possible.
Insurance companies are notorious for trying to deny whiplash claims. If you don’t seek medical treatment soon after the accident, the insurance company or defendant may claim that you weren’t really injured. Undergoing a comprehensive medical evaluation allows you to tell your doctor about all of your symptoms.
Your doctor will be able to evaluate you and advise you as to the severity of your injury. You will establish a record that your neck injury is related to your car accident, evidence that will help you in your pursuit of compensation. Make sure that you write down all of these symptoms you’ve experienced, the days that you’ve had to take off work because of pain, and keep all of your medical records. You should also avoid signing any settlement agreements or giving recorded statements before discussing your case with an attorney.
Common Causes of Whiplash
Motor vehicle accidents are the most common cause of whiplash. Slow-moving car accidents, such as rear-end accidents and parking lot accidents, caused a significant percentage of whiplash cases. However, whiplash can occur in any type of car accident. Even if a car accident is deemed a fender-bender, or there is no damage to the vehicles, neck injuries can still occur. It can also result from slip and fall accidents, physical abuse, and any other event that results in force being placed on a person’s neck.
Long-Term Effects
Some people assume that whiplash isn’t a serious condition and that it always goes away within a few weeks. This is not the case, however. Whiplash can be debilitating for those who experience extreme pain. It can also cause mental health symptoms in addition to painful physical symptoms. Some victims experience anger, depression, anxiety, or even post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The symptoms can persist for an extensive time frame and require intense treatments that are physically painful and mentally draining, such as neck braces, physical therapy, and pain medication.
Types of Compensation Available in Houston
Calculating damages in these types of cases can be challenging. As mentioned above, there is no singular diagnostic test for whiplash. The testimony of medical experts along with your medical records and photographs of your injury can help you recover the most compensation possible in your case. It’s important that she began working with an attorney as soon as possible.
Your attorney can help you protect evidence and ensure that you receive the medical treatment you need to recover and establish that the car accident resulted in your whiplash injury. In personal injury lawsuits, victims can recover compensation for their past and future medical expenses, lost income, loss of earning capacity, property damage, and pain and suffering.
Discuss Your Case With an Attorney
At Ceja Law Firm PLLC, our skilled attorneys know how to handle whiplash cases. We understand how painful and debilitating neck injuries can be. If you or your loved one have experienced whiplash caused by another driver’s negligence, we will fight for you to obtain the compensation you deserve. Contact the Houston personal injury attorneys at Ceja Law Firm PLLC today to schedule your free initial consultation.
Ceja Law Firm PLLC helps clients with whiplash injury cases throughout Harris County and the Greater Houston Area including Pasadena, Baytown, Sugar Land, Bellaire, Galveston, Texas City, Jacinto City, and more.
