A good whiplash injury law firm Washington, DC and its surrounding communities can rely on, may be able to help a whiplash injury victim to get monetary compensation for his or her injury. Whiplash can be caused by many different things but a common cause is car accidents. When someone is injured because of someone else’s negligence, malice, or recklessness, the person who caused the injury may be liable for expenses that are the result of the injury.
If you or someone you love is suffering because of whiplash in Washington DC, Virginia or Maryland, the dedicated whiplash injury law firm of Cohen & Cohen is here to help.
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.
