Whiplash is one of the most popular injuries that a person might experience after a road traffic accident. Whiplash injury is caused by a sudden movement of a person’s head back and forwards (or sideways) with great force. It makes the soft tissues in the neck stretched and damaged, which later results in physical pain.
What are the Symptoms of Whiplash Injury?
It might take time for whiplash injury symptoms to appear, however, sometimes people feel them just after an accident. Usually, the symptoms get worse with time and can include:
- neck pain, tenderness, stiffness a, and discomfort
- headaches, especially at those from the back head to the front
- pain that radiates to the shoulders and arms
- muscle spasms
- a sensation of pins and needles
- problems with concentration and memory
- dizziness
How to Treat Whiplash Injury?
The treatment of whiplash varies from person to person and depends on the severity of the injury. Usually, the treatment begins with painkillers and home treatments such as cooling and massaging the person’s neck and taking plenty of rest. It is not recommended to take sports and visit the gym at the moment when whiplash is suffered.
If after some time the symptoms of whiplash do not disappear then further actions are needed. The doctor might recommend taking physiotherapy sessions which should relieve the pain and help you to move on. The person might be advised to take massage sessions or learn specific exercises which should give strength to the neck.
What’s Next?
If you were diagnosed with or have symptoms of whiplash after an accident that was not your fault, then you are legally entitled to claim compensation. This compensation consists of several components which are:
- compensation for personal injury which will be evaluated based on the medical report made by an independent medical expert
- compensation for medical treatments
- compensation for travel expenses related to the accident
- compensation for loss of earnings (if a person did not attend work because of an accident)
- compensation for other losses related to the accident
It is important to save any proof about the existence of the above-mentioned events (cheques, payslips, etc.) and track changes to your medical condition (the best way to do this is to keep a diary). Every person who was involved in a non-fault accident has 3 years from the date of the accident to make a claim.
However, we recommend not to delay and start your claim straight away because with time:
– you might forget some important details about the accident
– you might lose the evidence you had (accidentally delete dashcam footage, lose reciepts of items you paid for, lose payslips, etc.)
– it might be more difficult to contact third-party insurance (usually people only take the name and phone number of the driver who was at fault; with time the person might change their number or leave the country, etc.)
– if the driver at fault was uninsured, it might be impossible to track them after several years
– the witnesses you have might change their contact details or forget what exactly happened several years ago.
Accident Claims 24 deals with all types of road traffic accident claims and can secure you compensation within the shortest period. Read more about our services: Road Traffic Accident Claims
