Washington DC Whiplash Injury Lawyer

Serious injuries deserve experienced attorneys

When a person is suffering from whiplash that is the result of someone else’s negligent, malicious, or reckless behavior, they may find it helpful to talk to a DC whiplash injury lawyer who is familiar with whiplash injuries. Whiplash can be extremely painful and debilitating. It can also cause brain damage. If someone is suffering from whiplash because of something that someone else did, he or she may be entitled to compensation for their injury and the damages it caused. A lawyer who is experienced in successfully defending these kinds of cases may be able to help a whiplash victim and their family make more informed decisions about what their next steps should be.

Any impact or blow that causes someone’s head to jerk forward or backward beyond its normal range of motion, can cause a neck strain that is often referred to as whiplash. Car accidents, sports injuries, falls, roller coaster and other amusement park rides, and being shook too hard are common ways people get whiplash. When it comes to car accidents, one of the most common causes of whiplash are rear-end collisions. When a moving object comes in contact with a stationary object, the stationary object absorbs the impact. A person’s body that is wearing a seatbelt to prevent them from flying forward into the windshield, will move with the impact of the other car while their head and neck are jerked back and forth.

What is Whiplash and What Causes It?

Whiplash is a non-medical term that is used to describe a wide range of injuries to the neck that have been caused by (or related to) a sudden distortion of the neck. According to the North American Spine Society, whiplash is both the cause and the name of a specific type of spinal cord injury.

While whiplash is commonly associated with motor vehicle accidents, especially from when a victim has been in a car that was rear-ended, this kind of injury can be sustained in many different ways. Some of these causes include when someone is shaken back and forth, falls, bungee jumping, amusement park rides, and dancing with violent and jerky movements of the head (often referred to as headbanging). Prior to automobiles being a common mode of transportation, whiplash injuries were called railway spine because the often occurred during train collisions.

A good whiplash injury law firm in Washington DC (or in the state that the injury occurred) should be able to help whiplash victims and their families to understand their rights.

The reason why whiplash is common after car accidents is because the force of a crash often thrusts the vehicle’s occupants forward while their seatbelts prevent their body from going forward. With the body strapped in place and the head and neck free, an occupant’s neck can be thrust rapidly forward before jerking backward.

This kind of movement can damage the soft tissues of a person’s neck, including the tendons, ligaments and muscles.

Symptoms of Whiplash

If you have been in a car accident, it is recommended that you seek medical attention even if you do not feel like you have been hurt. Many injuries, including whiplash, do not present themselves until 24-48 hours after the injury was sustained. It is also recommended that people who are suffering from whiplash, discuss their situation with a reputable whiplash injury law firm in Washington DC (or wherever the injury occured) because doing so, may help the victim and their family to protect their rights.

Common symptoms of whiplash include:

• Pain in the neck that can also spread to the shoulders, arms, head, and sometimes the
  lower back
• Neck stiffness
• Numbness, weakness, or tingling (in the neck and/or arms)
• Pain or discomfort when trying to move the head or neck
• Headaches
• Dizziness
• Difficulty sleeping
• Ringing in ears
• Blurry vision
• Exhaustion

While not all auto accidents cause whiplash, many of them do. When this happens, it is a good idea to contact a personal injury law firm that is experienced in successfully defending the rights of whiplash victims and their families. If a whiplash injury occurred because of someone else’s negligence, malice, or reckless behavior that was not part of a vehicle accident, it is still a good idea to get legal advice from a reputable lawyer.

For a whiplash injury law firm Washington DC whiplash victims can trust, contact Cohen & Cohen for a free case evaluation with no obligations.

This kind of injury can cause soft tissue damage, the effects of which can be felt for years after the initial injury. The sudden force of this kind of injury can stretch and tear the muscles and tendons in a person’s neck. This can cause anywhere from severe to mild pain as well as limiting the injured person’s range of neck motion. The length of time and ability to fully recover is determined by the severity of a person’s injuries and other factors such as their age, and physical condition prior to the accident. Some people heal quickly while others take a long time with their symptoms worsening over time. People can become permanently disabled because of whiplash. Whiplash can make a person more susceptible to future neck injuries and it can make healing from them more difficult.

It is often difficult for doctors to detect soft tissue injuries during medical tests. Very often, brain injuries are overlooked because there was no blow to the head and because they do not always present visible injuries or symptoms. Failing to treat a brain injury can lead to further, more serious injuries and complications.

If you or someone you care about is suffering from whiplash, a good place to begin learning about whether or not you or that person is entitled to compensation, is by talking to an experienced whiplash injury lawyer. For a whiplash injury law firm with over 30 years of experience in protecting injured people’s rights, contact Cohen & Cohen today.