What to know about whiplash

The term whiplash was first used in 1928 and although the term has since been replaced with medical terms such as acceleration flexion-extension neck injury and soft tissue cervical hyperextension injury, the term whiplash still remains the most commonly used.

Whiplash may cause fibres of the neck muscles to tear, which results in pain and decreased movement. The symptoms of whiplash include chronic pain and aching within the neck and back.

Whiplash is usually confined to the spinal cord, neck and mid back. Whiplash can be associated with damage to soft tissue of the spine; this damage cannot however be seen on an x-ray, when diagnosing whiplash an MRI scanner is used instead.

There are a number of personal injury accidents that can cause whiplash such as a sports injury or a slip, trip or fall, however road traffic accidents are and always have been the main cause of whiplash with two in three people suffering from whiplash after a road traffic accident. If you are one of these two people who are going through the symptoms of whiplash then it is important that you perform gentle exercises and keep active to reduce the pain, swelling and stiffness in your neck.

Speeds as low as 12 or 15mph can produce enough energy to cause whiplash. This is because the peck acceleration of your head is greater than the peck acceleration of a vehicle, meaning whiplash is possible and likely even if the vehicle can withstand damage.

The pain and other symptoms of whiplash will not develop until a few days after your personal injury accident and will get worse over a period of time before they start to get better. Whiplash is the most common personal injury you will sustain after a road traffic accident. Neck pain, swelling and stiffness accounts for around 92% of the symptoms you will be suffering from with headaches, pins and needles, loss of movement and nausea making up other possible indications of whiplash.

Even if you feel fine after being involved in a road traffic accident it is important that you visit your GP or an Accident and Emergency department as whiplash takes a while to show itself. Having a medical record of any injury is also important if you are planning to put a claim in for compensation after a road traffic accident that has left you with whiplash.

If you have been involved in a road traffic accident in the last three years that wasn’t your fault you could be entitled to compensation. Whether you are the driver, passenger, pedestrian or cyclist that has become the victim of a personal injury accident you can put in a claim for compensation against the insurance company of the person driving the vehicle that collided with you.

Here at Accident Consultant we are experts in no win no fee claims, meaning that in a successful claim you keep all of the money that you are awarded and your solicitor fees are paid by the losing party’s insurance company. At Accident Consultant we have many years of experience in dealing with whiplash personal injury claims after becoming the victim of a road traffic accident that wasn’t your fault.

If you would like to put in for a compensation claim after suffering from symptoms of whiplash then fill in our online claim form to the right of this page and one of our expert advisors will get back to you, alternatively you can call us on 08081 68 69 70 for free advice and to set up your free consultation.

If you would like to know more about whiplash compensation claims or want some more information about what Accident Consultant can do for you then visit our main site, Accident Consult.