Whiplash is a common yet underestimated accident injury. Many clients report never seeing a doctor after a car accident because it was “just whiplash.”  What many people don’t know is that a seemingly minor whiplash injury can turn into major problems in the future.  The medical community has only recently begun publishing the long-term medical problems associated with whiplash injuries in a car accident. 

In addition to auto, truck, and motorcycle accidents, people also sustain whiplash riding roller coasters, falling off of horses, or playing sports.

This sudden force tears muscles and tendons in the neck. It is recognizable in x-rays by the natural curve of the cervical spine being straight. While pain is often immediate, it usually takes about 24-72 hours to fully manifest.

Car accident whiplash injuries typically present with the following symptoms within 24-72 hours of the car accident.

• Neck pain
• Neck stiffness
• Shoulder pain
• Low back pain

Other symptoms may take even longer to appear as a result of a whiplash injury in a car accident. The following symptoms can present weeks or months down the road from a whiplash injury. 

• Dizziness
• Pain in your arm or hand
• Numbness in your arm or hand
• Ringing in your ears
• Blurred vision
• Concentration or memory problems
• Irritability
• Sleeplessness
• Tiredness

Because these symptoms may arise at different times from the date of your car accident, it's important to contact a whiplash lawyer immediately after noticing the first symptoms.  

Prompt medical care and well-established clinical treatment guidelines have been established to help manage the pain and impairment resulting from a car accident whiplash injury.  A car accident whiplash attorney can help you get the medical care you need to manage the immediate symptoms and try to lessen the severity of medical problems from a whiplash car accident in the future. 

While immediate pain from a whiplash car accident injury may seem to resolve in just weeks or months, the long term structural damages can last a lifetime, and cause medical problems down the road.

Learn more about whiplash injury and how whiplash injury case lawsuits typically play out in Texas.

Also called neck strain, whiplash occurs when the neck or spine is jerked forward and then suddenly snaps back. While often associated with car accidents, it can also occur due to blunt force trauma from falls or being hit by moving objects. 

Whiplash is an injury involving forceful flexion and extension of your spine.  It can impact and injure various parts of your spine, but is most commonly associated with your neck (cervical spine).  

A whiplash injury causes tears in the tendons and ligaments surrounding your spine, and can cause pain and inflammation in the discs, muscles, and tendons surrounding the vertebrae in your spinal column.  It also causes your ligaments to forcefully stretch during the violent jerking motion, causing permanent injury to those ligaments.  

Most commonly, whiplash causes injury to the Capsular Ligament (“CL”), in the form of “ligament laxity.” The term “ligament laxity” describes the way a ligament that is forcibly stretched in a traumatic collision does not retract to its original tension. In other words, once your ligament is forcibly stretched in a whiplash injury car accident, it remains stretched, or loose.  This causes the vertebrae supported by the stretched ligaments to become loose, causing instability, and in some cases, chronic pain, arthritis, and accelerated degenerative disc disease.

It depends. Whiplash injuries can have different degrees of severity. As whiplash attorneys in Texas, we’ve seen the full spectrum.

Whiplash can be a relatively minor injury for many people. But even mild whiplash can be incredibly painful. This can be managed with a cervical collar, pain medication, and medication to relieve muscle spasms associated with the tears in the muscle and tendons surrounding the spine. Doctors may also prescribe physical therapy or chiropractic adjustments to restore movement and manage pain.

More serious whiplash injuries occur when the impact is especially violent or the patient suffered from previous back or neck injuries. Like many spinal injuries, those sustained by the cervical spine are cumulative. In other words, you may have some natural conditions of aging in your cervical spine when you sustain a whiplash injury. 

As we get older, our spine starts to show signs of normal wear and tear.  This is called degeneration. Most people have some degeneration in their spine as they get older, and most of us are asymptomatic,  and do not have any pain or physical limitations caused by spine degeneration.  In fact, most people don’t even know they have a degenerative pine condition.

However, when you are involved in a Texas Car accident and suffer a whiplash injury, you may become suddenly symptomatic, feeling pain, limited range of motion, headaches, and potentially all of the other symptoms commonly associated with a whiplash car accident injury. 

Insurance companies and their lawyers will always try to blame your pain and impairment on the “preexisting condition” of degenerative spine conditions, even though they know that most people with that condition are asymptomatic. For that reason, it’s critical to contact a local whiplash lawyer to help you navigate the legal issues in your case, and ensure your legal rights are protected.  

Common symptoms include pain, stiffness, headaches, jaw pain, muscle weakness, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), headaches, dizziness, and visual disturbances. You may also experience pain in your upper back and shoulders as your body tries to make up for the shortcomings from your injury.

Serious cases may be accompanied with a concussion. Many times, a blow to the head simultaneously causes a head injury and whiplash. You may find your headaches are much worse and it is difficult to follow through with simple tasks. Head injuries are always serious and require immediate medical attention.

There is also “whiplash associated disorder” which arises from extreme and chronic cases of whiplash. In addition to experiencing severe pain and headaches, patients may also face depression, anxiety, stress, and sleep disturbance. This often occurs in violent collisions which also create mental symptoms. These can affect recovery time from physical injuries since it is difficult to keep up with treatment when you are experiencing even mild cognitive impairment.

If you experience mental symptoms or pain, tingling, dizziness, neck instability, and balance or coordination problems, do not avoid medical treatment. These types of symptoms demonstrate  that the injury may be neurological as well as physical, so you will require more aggressive treatment options.  If you’re experiencing these symptoms, it's critical to call a Texas whiplash lawyer immediately to ensure you are getting the medical care you need.

Some  whiplash injury patients are able to make a complete recovery with appropriate medical care. Those who remain disabled by whiplash one year later, often also suffer symptoms of whiplash associated disorder.

That is why whiplash should not be ignored as simply strained muscle pain. If you do not address it promptly and thoroughly, it is likely you will face pain, limited range of motion, and depression symptoms for the long term. Also depending on the seriousness of the impact, you could be vulnerable to future neck injuries. Additionally, as discussed previously, you may require significant medical treatment in the future if you suffer from ligament laxity from a car accident whiplash injury. 

Since any spinal injury is cumulative, you may develop nerve impingement, bulging discs, sciatica,  and herniations. Migraine headaches may also develop from repeated or untreated neck strains.

Whiplash is common, and insurance companies remain skeptical about it, despite the prolific reporting of its severity in reputable medical journals and studies. 

If you end up on the more severe side of whiplash injuries, it is important that you attend your doctor appointments and comply with the treatment plans ordered by your medical professional. 

Insurance companies and the lawyers that represent them, are likely to downplay the severity of your whiplash injuries by relying on debunked and outdated myths associated with car accident whiplash injuries.  Virtually all major medical journals have reported the serious nature of whiplash injuries and the long term effects it can have on car accident victims.  

If you are considering filing a whiplash lawsuit or suing for whiplash injury, here’s everything you need to know about navigating a whiplash injury claim in Austin, Texas.

If you develop whiplash associated disorder or have sustained a head injury, those will likely be treated as injuries separate from the whiplash. Mental symptoms, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress syndrome require delicate handling and attention. The same is true with head injuries.

There is nothing small or minor with whiplash. At the very least, there is pain and annoyance that affects your quality of life but you may also be forced to miss work due to inability to perform job duties. 

It is important to see a physician that routinely treats patients with whiplash injuries caused by a car accident . A doctor that understands the implications of a car accident whiplash injury, including the possibility of chronic pain, instability, and arthritis caused by ligament laxity, will be able to most effectively manage your symptoms.  Additionally, its important to have medical documentation supporting your diagnosis of whiplash injury to support a personal injury claim.  

To ensure you protect all of your legal rights after being injured in a Texas car accident, its important to contact a whiplash lawyer immediately.  While the whiplash injury statute of limitations in Texas is generally two years from the date of the collision, it is important you start your medical treatment as soon as possible after the collision. 

Keep your focus on recovery rather than answering constant questions from the insurance company.  Insurance companies and their lawyers generally try to delay settling claims to force you to accept a lower settlement offer. Contact CPM Injury Law, P.C. today so we can start working on securing the best settlement possible for your whiplash injury.

The amount of a whiplash injury settlement in Texas varies, depending on the severity of the injuries and the amount of medical care required to recover from the whiplash injury.  For example, if you suffer a mild whiplash injury that is fully resolved after several weeks of chiropractic care, your whiplash settlement can range between $5,000.00-$25,000.00.  

If your whiplash injury is severe, and requires extensive medical care to resolve, your whiplash settlement value may be higher.  For example, if you are experiencing headaches, pain into your shoulders and arms, and are experiencing other neurological symptoms such as dizziness and blurred vision, your settlement value can easily approach and even exceed $100,000.00.   

How much is a whiplash car accident case in Texas?  It’s a good question, and the answer depends on multiple factors.  The settlement value of most Texas personal injury cases is determined as a multiple of the medical bills incurred as a result of the injuries you suffered in the car accident.  Most Texas whiplash lawyers will multiply the amount of your past medical bills by 2-5 times to arrive at a settlement value. 

For example, if your car accident whiplash injury resulted in you going to the emergency room, undergo chiropractic treatment, and have imaging (X-rays and MRIs) performed, you might incur the following medical bills:*

• Emergency Room: $5,000.00
• Chiropractic Care: $5,000.00
• Imaging Services: $5,000.00

Your total medical expenses would be $15,000.00.  A Texas whiplash lawyer would probably send a settlement demand to the insurance company for 2-5 times that amount.  So your settlement value could range from $30,000.00-$75,000.00.  

*This example and the numbers used for the various treatment options are for illustration purposes only, and are not reflective of typical amounts charged for those medical services. 

Your personal injury lawyers at CPM Injury Law have handled the entire spectrum of whiplash cases, from the most minor injury to the most severe.  Those cases have been resolved from $8,000.00 to as much as $200,000.00.

Keep your focus on recovery rather than answering constant insurance inquiries. Insurance companies in general try to delay settling claims to force you to accept a lower settlement offer. Contact CPM Injury Law, P.C. today so we can start working on securing the best settlement possible for your whiplash injury.