Our Skilled FL Injury Lawyers Discuss Whiplash and Why Diagnosis and Treatment Are Important for Your Injury Claim
Whiplash is one of the most common injuries in car accidents. A form of soft-tissue injury, whiplash happens when a person’s head is thrust back and forth in a violent manner. The sudden impact of a car accident can over-extend the muscles and tissues in the neck, stretching and sometimes tearing them. 
Whiplash can be difficult to diagnose and treat because it isn’t as obvious as a broken bone or a bleeding wound, and insurance companies are often skeptical of personal injury claims for this type of neck injury. However, whiplash can result in chronic pain, and recovery can be a years-long process.
Seeking medical care is essential for whiplash, not just for your own well-being but for the success of your personal injury claim. Our experienced car accident attorneys at Spetsas Buist can help you navigate the complex legal process and explain why prompt medical attention is critical. Here, our FL attorneys discuss some of the common signs of whiplash and how it’s diagnosed and treated.
Common Symptoms of Whiplash After a FL Car Accident
If you experience whiplash in a car crash, your symptoms will depend on the severity of your condition. Some common symptoms to watch for include the following:
- Neck pain and stiffness
- Headaches
- Shoulder, neck, or back pain
- Dizziness
- Blurred vision
- Fatigue
- Ringing in the ears (tinnitus)
- Numbness or tingling in the arms
You may notice soreness immediately, or it may take time for you to feel pain from this neck injury because the stress hormones released during a crash may mask your symptoms.
Whiplash Diagnosis After a FL Car Crash
It’s important to seek medical attention right away following a crash, even if you don’t notice symptoms or pain. Your doctor will likely start by conducting a physical exam, assessing your muscle strength, range of motion, and reflexes, and determining areas of tenderness. They’ll also ask you questions about your medical history and current symptoms. When diagnosing whiplash, your doctor may also use X-rays, MRIs, or CT scans to rule out other conditions.
Treating Whiplash
Treatment for whiplash is meant to help manage pain, restore range of motion in your neck, and enable a return to your normal activities. Your treatment plan may include any or all of the following, depending on the severity of your injury:
- Pain management. Your doctor will likely suggest rest, ice, and over-the-counter (OTC) pain medications. If you have severe pain, they may also offer prescription medications, muscle relaxants, or numbing shots.
- Exercise. Your doctor may suggest physical therapy or at-home stretching exercises to help restore your range of motion.
- Foam collar. Doctors no longer agree on when or how to use foam collars. However, your doctor may suggest using one, especially to help you sleep. Many doctors now say you shouldn’t use them for more than 72 hours since doing so may increase stiffness and prevent you from regaining mobility in the neck.
The Importance of Diagnosis and Treatment for Whiplash
If left untreated, whiplash can cause serious, long-term health problems. The immediate pain of whiplash can last up to six months or a year, and whiplash can affect the brainstem and spine. Untreated whiplash may turn into several other types of conditions, including the following:
- Chronic headaches
- Vertigo
- Chronic neck pain or soreness
- Stiffness and long-term issues with mobility
- Vertebrae misalignment
- Degenerative disc disease
Waiting to get medical attention for whiplash can also undermine your personal injury case. Discussing the accident with your doctor and being assessed for injury right away helps you:
- Create a medical record of the injury and its severity
- Connect the injury to the collision
- Limit the ability of the at-fault driver to question the severity or timing of your injury in an attempt to reduce their responsibility
Medical records play an important role in personal injury cases, providing evidence of your injuries and their relationship to the crash.
When to Contact a Florida Personal Injury Attorney
Don’t wait to contact our skilled Florida personal injury attorneys after an accident. We will work quickly to gather valuable evidence and communicate with the insurance company, fighting any underhanded tricks to delay or deny your claim for whiplash.
