Whiplash is a common injury sustained by car accident victims, although it can also be caused by things like bungee jumping, rollercoasters, football, falls, and other potentially high-impact activities.
Here’s what you need to know about whiplash injuries.
Whiplash injuries occur when the head is forced suddenly backward and forward, as it can be during a rear-end collision. Whiplash occurs because the soft tissues of the neck can be injured when the head whips back and forth. The medical name for whiplash is cervical acceleration-deceleration (CAD) syndrome.
Neck pain is the most common symptom of whiplash. It can range from mild to excruciating, and it can include a tingling, pins-and-needles feeling. Other symptoms can include the following:
Headache and tingling, numbness, or weakness that radiates into the shoulder or down the arm can also indicate whiplash. Whiplash symptoms can be long-lasting and numerous, and they can occur at the same time as symptoms from other injuries, including concussion, radiculopathy, shoulder injury, or stinger. Chronic pain and symptoms from whiplash injuries can last for years.
It doesn’t take a lot of force to cause a whiplash injury. A rear-end collision at speeds as low as five miles per hour can cause a serious whiplash injury. That’s because the head is fairly heavy in relation to the structures of the neck that are intended to support it. Even a relatively small impact can cause injury to the soft tissues of the neck. If you have a whiplash injury resulting from a car accident, you need to contact a personal injury lawyer right away.
Whiplash isn’t an injury that is always taken as seriously as it should be. However, even the mildest form can lead to more severe injuries that affect you forever.
If you have been injured in an accident that was someone else’s fault, let us help. Contact the lawyers of the Mirian Law Firm at 647-556-5888 or complete the form on our website to set up a free consultation.
