After a motor vehicle accident, a person may suffer various types of injuries including car whiplash. These are different injuries to the neck during a motor accident. Such injuries usually occur when the vehicle is hit from behind causing sudden, violent jolting of the head forwards and backwards. The injuries may be mild or severe depending on the intensity of the accident.
After such an accident, sometimes the symptoms may take a few hours or days before they present themselves. If the symptoms are mild, they may go away without treatment. If severe, the injury may take an indefinite period of time to heal.
Some common symptoms include stiffness and pain in the neck, stiffness and pain on shoulders or stiffness and pain in the lower and upper back. Headache, dizziness, pain in the jaw or pain when swallowing are other symptoms.
If you have such symptoms, it would be advisable to see a doctor. Diagnosis of this injury can be made by the doctor taking your history, performing neck and head examinations, x-rays to check for any bone fractures and use of medical imaging to find out the extent of the injuries. If the injuries are severe they could lead to various complications including chronic pain and severe disability of the cervical spine.
There are several things that one can do to treat this condition especially if it is mild. Firstly you could exercise the neck to keep it active. Try to move it as normally as possible and also try to rest it for some time. The doctor may also recommend painkillers or muscle relaxants to deal with the pain and relax the muscles respectively. Using a firm pillow when sleeping may also offer some relieve. If the problem persists, a physiotherapist or doctor can give further advice.
Such an accident bring you some inconveniences depending on the extent of the injuries. Sometimes one is forced to spend money seeking treatment including traveling costs, doctor’s fee and medication. That is why this type of personal injury is classified under motor accidents in many countries. It is therefore possible for the injured person to claim for compensation. In many countries these claims form a large percentage of compensation claims made every year.
The amount to be claimed may vary depending on the severity, amount of pain caused, duration of symptoms and how much you have lost/spent financially. This includes medical expenses, travel expenses and loss of earnings. All these factors help the court to come up with the final settlement. The law classifies such injuries into various categories such as minor, moderate and severe with each category attracting different amounts of compensation.
If you decide to seek compensation, it would be advisable to seek the services of a solicitor who has knowledge and experience in this area of law. This is because such a case can be quite complex at times. It is important to make the claim as soon as possible because there is a set time limit. The law requires you to start proceedings not later than 3 years after the incident.
After such an accident, it is important to inform the necessary authorities such as the police and the doctor. This is essential if you plan to seek compensation. The police record details of the accident while the doctor records details of the injuries by carrying out the necessary tests. These two people may be required to give evidence in court if need be. You could also take the names and contacts of any witnesses present at the time of the accident as they can also help you when seeking compensation.
Many solicitors are ready to give legal advice to such clients. They assess your injuries based on your medical records. This helps them to determine how long the injury has lasted or whether it is ongoing. They also assess the impact the injuries have on your life socially, psychologically and financially. After this, they can launch the claim in court.
Most of the solicitors usually prefer a “no win no fee” agreement. This is in law is known as conditional fee agreement (CFA). This means that if you lose the case, you do not pay legal costs to the solicitor. You may however be required to settle costs incurred by the other party. If you win the case, you pay the solicitor a success fee and legal fees. Most people treat car whiplash injuries just like they treat other motor accidents by seeking compensation in a civil suit.
