What are the Symptoms of Severe Whiplash?

Step 1: Get Medical Attention Immediately

If you’ve been in a severe collision, it’s always wise to seek the expertise of a medical professional. That way, your treatment will be covered under most insurance policies, and you’ll know the extent of your injuries. A doctor can rule out any tissue damage or broken bones that can worsen your symptoms. If you initially feel fine after your accident, you still might have a whiplash injury that’s suppressed beneath the extra adrenaline and endorphins that your body produces immediately following the shock of a crash. A top Los Angeles car accident lawyer at The Barnes Firm says after your body has a chance to relax and process the impact of the collision, that’s usually when victims feel the force of a severe whiplash injury.

How Do Car Accidents Cause Whiplash?

When you’re involved in a car crash, your body is in a relaxed state before the impact. Usually, rear-end accidents are what cause the most severe cases of whiplash. Whiplash is the common term for a neck sprain. The jerking motion of your head snapping forward and back – like the crack of a whip – can cause the fragile tissues, nerves, and ligaments in your neck and back to bruise. Extreme whiplash cases can also hurt the bones and disks in the back and spine. Car crashes are the most common cause of whiplash, but this injury can also be felt after a sports accident or physical abuse that causes trauma.

What Symptoms Should I Look for that Indicate Severe Whiplash?

Symptoms of whiplash injury usually develop within 24 hours after the accident that caused your injury. It can take longer, but most cases reveal the full extent of pain within a day. The following are signs and symptoms of whiplash:

• Stiffness and pain in the neck
• Increased pain with neck movement
• Loss of a range of motion in your neck movement
• Headaches that usually start where the spine meets the skull
• Tingling or numbness in the arms
• Pain or tenderness in the upper back, shoulders, or arms
• Dizzy spells
• Constant Fatigue

Severe Whiplash

For severe whiplash cases, the pain can last for a long time. Typical car crash whiplash injuries heal within a couple of weeks. When the damage is worse, the pain can last for months or years after the initial accident before the pain starts to lessen. Our best car accident lawyers in Los Angeles say some of the most severe cases of whiplash can have the following symptoms:

• Difficulty concentrating
• Ringing sound in the ears
• Blurred vision
• Problems with memory
• Problems sleeping
• Depression

Additional complications of whiplash injuries tend to haunt victims who are older, who have pre-existing back or neck pain, and who have experienced whiplash before. In general, the higher the impact of the crash, the higher the pain and injury.