Why Whiplash Pain Is Often Delayed After An Auto Accident

• Post published:July 15, 2021
• Post category:Uncategorized

Whiplash is one of the most common auto accident injuries. It occurs when the head whips back and forth suddenly, causing trauma to the neck. Unfortunately, it can take days or even weeks for the full effects of whiplash to set in. In Florida, its essential to seek treatment within 14 days of an auto accident to use PIP insurance for the medical costs. By waiting to get treated until you feel the effects of whiplash, you may have to pay for the treatment out-of-pocket.

There are a few reasons why whiplash pain is often delayed, including:

Whiplash Injury Compensation Whiplash Claim Calculator

When you suffer a neck injury caused by whiplash that was not your fault, you could be owed compensation. Though your compensation may be different if you need to claim through the Whiplash Reform Programme, there can be instances where you will be ineligible to claim in this way. For example, your claim may be worth over £5,000, or the claimant may be under 18.

If so, you could claim through a normal personal injury claim, which will include general damages and potentially special damages, as mentioned above. When legal professionals are working out the value of these claims, they do so by reading various materials that aid them in their calculations.

Amongst these is a publication called the Judicial College Guidelines . The JCG was last updated in 2022. It contains figures that are based on court case payouts made for various injuries. Whilst they may give you a rough idea as to the value of a neck injury whiplash claim, your own claim needs to be assessed before an accurate estimation can be arrived at. Reach out to our advisors today to find out how much your whiplash compensation could be.

Car Accident Neck Injury Symptoms

After a collision, you may experience a range of symptoms, from minor pain or stiffness to excruciating pain or nausea. Furthermore, symptoms may not occur immediately. Delayed neck pain after a car accident is common. Symptoms may appear after two to four weeks. Symptoms of a neck injury after a car accident can consist of:

• Being unable to turn your neck from side-to-side
• Stiffness or a heavy feeling in your neck or head
• Inability to look up or down without pain or at all
• Difficulty falling asleep or staying focused
• Mood changes such as anxiety, irritability, or depression
• Numbness or tingling in your arms
• Blurred visions or ringing in the ears

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Your Bodys Natural Response To Stress And Trauma

When youre in an accident, your first thoughts are likely about the collision. But, the impact of the car isnt the only thing happening during these situations. Your body actually activates its own defense system in response to danger by releasing two hormones: adrenaline and endorphins.

Surges of adrenaline in your body activate the fight or flight response, including:

• Focusing your sight and hearing on things directly in front of you
• Dilating your airways and blood vessels to increase your oxygen levels
• Increasing the blood flow to your muscles
• Eliminating or reducing any pain you feel
• Cranking up your energy

While adrenaline activates your fight or flight response, endorphins provide a more calming response. This helps you feel in control and relaxed, helping you to better manage pain and stress.

Because your body releases these hormones during an auto accident, they can conceal any sign of pain, even when you have obvious indications of injury.

Common Delayed Injury Symptoms After An Accident

Suffering bumps and bruises is common in an auto accident, even if you feel OK and can move around immediately after the incident. But, what may be coming next can be of greater concern for your health.

At Watson Chiropractic, Dr. Steven Watson and Dr. Shannon Darrow recommend you stay alert following your accident, watching for any indication something more serious is wrong. Many times, your body is in shock and producing excess endorphins, leaving you unable to determine the full extent of your injuries.

As the endorphins level out, your brain starts recognizing pain signals, making your injuries more noticeable.

Here are the five most common injuries that may produce delayed symptoms following an auto accident:

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Urgent Advice: Ask For An Urgent Gp Appointment Or Call 111 If You Have:

• severe pain despite taking paracetamol or ibuprofen
• tingling or pins and needles on one or both sides of your body
• problems with walking or sitting upright
• sudden “electric shock” feeling in your neck and back which may also go into your arms and legs
• your arms or legs feel weak

These symptoms could be caused by damage to the nerves in your neck or back.

What Symptoms Should You Look Out For After A Car Accident

No two accidents are the same, so its difficult to predict what to expect physically. After a car accident, you should be aware of several physical and mental symptoms that may not appear right away, like soft-tissue injuries that often take hours or days to develop into pain. Delayed symptoms such as the following should not be ignored:

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Whiplash: Neck Sprain Or Strain

Whiplash is among the most common car accident neck injuries. Also referred to as a neck sprain or neck strain, a whiplash injury occurs when a car accidents rapid back and forth movement stretches or tears the ligaments and tendons in the cervical spine. In severe cases, the force of an accident can also damage facet joints.

Common symptoms of whiplash include throbbing or shooting pain in the neck, stiffness, inability to turn the neck side-to-side, and headaches in the base of the skull. Whiplash injury symptoms may begin at the scene of the accidentthey may also be delayed by several weeks. Since symptoms may take some time to develop, you should always get checked for whiplash immediately.

Fortunately, you can fully recover from whiplashas long as you seek early treatment. Whiplash can heal within four to six weeks with proper care. Severe whiplash injuries can cause chronic pain or a worsening of symptoms, such as headaches or memory loss, without medical care and rest.

Why Is Neck Pain From A Whiplash Injury Often Delayed Following A Car Accident

When you have been involved in a car accident, some injuries will be very obvious. Broken bones, lacerations, and other injuries manifest immediately and require medical attention as soon as possible. However, other damages such as whiplash take time to develop. Many of these injuries are internal.

We have natural defense mechanisms in our bodies that cause us to only focus on the most necessary actions rather than worrying about everything occurring. Our bodies will release hormones adrenaline and endorphins to act as a defense. These chemicals do several actions for us as a way to cope with what had just happened. Adrenaline activates the bodys natural fight or flight response so that you will be ready for the next step. Such things as increasing blood flow to the muscles, increasing oxygen levels, and reducing any pain are all part of the adrenaline coursing through you.

With endorphins, the body experiences a calming effect so that you can remain collected and in control. This helps you better manage your stress levels and pain. When your body calms down from the hormones, and the soft tissues begin to experience the injury, signs of whiplash begin to occur. For these reasons, whiplash does not usually manifest right away.

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Delayed Whiplash Injury Claims How Much Compensation Can I Claim

Welcome to our guide on delayed whiplash injury claims. You may be experiencing whiplash symptoms that are delayed, causing you to wonder if youre able to claim. Whiplash is one of the most common injuries sustained in the UK. Most people tend to suffer whiplash when they have been involved in a road traffic accident. However, other incidents, such as slips, trips, and falls, could also cause a delayed onset whiplash injury.

One of the most worrying things about whiplash is that symptoms are often delayed some people dont experience pain and limited movement straight away. It can often take days or weeks and sometimes even months. If this sounds familiar, you still have a right to claim compensation, and we can help you secure the payout you deserve.

Furthermore, we will also explain what the new Whiplash Reforms are and how they could affect the amount of compensation you could receive.

This guide will answer many of your questions regarding claiming compensation for delayed neck pain after a fall. However, if you prefer, you can contact us completely free of charge at a time that works for you. You can call us on , contact us through our website or send us your query using the live chat window on this page.

Read on to learn everything you should know about claiming personal injury compensation for your neck strain and whiplash pain.

What Else Should I Know About Claiming For Delayed Whiplash Symptoms

You need to show that your employer has breached its legal responsibility to provide a healthy and safe work environment. You then need to show that this action resulted in the injuries you have sustained. If you can do this, then you have the basis for a successful compensation claim.

A lot of people are fearful about claiming against their employer. They worry that they will lose their job for pursuing compensation. This is something you do not need to fret about. Firstly, the compensation you receive will not come directly from your employers bank account, so you do not need to worry about putting your boss out of pocket. All employers in the UK must have insurance in place by law, which will cover such scenarios.

The insurance company will payout if your case is a success. Not only this, but if your employer were to fire you or treat you differently because of the claim, they would only land themselves in further legal trouble. Your employer will recognise that you have suffered as a consequence of an accident that could have been avoided, so they will appreciate that you need compensation. You simply need to make sure the whole whiplash claims procedure is handled professionally and above board, which is where we come into play.

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Common Neck Injuries From A Car Accident

If youve been in a car accident, neck pain can start immediately or occur in the hours or days following the collision. Although many people have experienced a stiff neck before, the impact of an accident can cause far worse damage, making it critical to seek care immediately.

Doing so allows doctors to determine if rest will do the trick or if stricter measures are needed. And, in Florida, you must seek medical care within 14 days of an accident to qualify for benefits so it is imperative to see a doctor in a timely manner. Learn what to expect after a car accident and your potential treatment options.

Treatment For Neck Pain After A Wreck

To avoid long-term complications from a neck injury, seeking immediate care is necessary. Although auto accident recovery can occur within a few weeks, some circumstances may lengthen the treatment and recovery period, such as:

• Not receiving immediate care after an injury to the neck
• Severe damage to neck discs, joints, or ligaments
• A spinal fracture
• Re-injuring the neck while still in recovery
• Built-up inflammation

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The Most Common Causes Of Delayed Whiplash

Successful delayed whiplash injury claims greatly rely on the causation. So, whiplash tends to occur as the result of a road traffic accident. This is because the head jolts forwards and backwards rapidly, which causes pain and stiffness in the neck. However, whiplash is not limited to road traffic accidents it can occur in other ways. We have helped many personal injury victims to claim whiplash for workplace accidents, as well as slips, trips, and falls.

What about delayed whiplash specifically? Delayed whiplash can often occur due to the initial shock of the collision. If you have been involved in a car crash, you may not feel the pain immediately because of adrenalin. Yet, once the shock subsides, the pain will increase. In fact, the pain is often likened to the delayed onset of muscle soreness people tend to experience after being at the gym. Rather than occurring at the activity, the pain happens once the body starts to repair itself. This is exactly what happens during delayed whiplash. Depending on the severity of the injury, pain can be felt in the neck and the back and shoulders.

Vision And Vestibular Issues

Place two fingers on the back of your upper neck . Without turning your head, look as far left as you can, then as far right as you can. You should feel the muscles in your neck activate, even though you havent moved your head at all!

Every time your eyes move, your cervical muscles engage. If something is wrong with your vision, theres a very good chance it will create extra work for your neck as it attempts to compensate. How that plays out depends on what type of vision problems you have and what your body tries to do to make up for them.

For example, one of our patients was so affected by gaze instability that, rather than turn her head to look at something, she would turn her entire body!

Several other patients have had cervical instability neck muscles that were too loose and couldnt keep their heads sufficiently supported. That resulted in not only neck pain, but an overwhelmed vestibulo-ocular system, which presented as nausea, cervicogenic dizziness and vertigo, headaches, balance problems, and more.

The neck, your vision, and your vestibular system all work closely together when even just one out of the three isnt functioning correctly, all three can be affected.

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How Does Whiplash Affect My Body

Whiplash happens because of how one law of physics, the law of inertia, affects the human body. Think about what its like to be in a moving car when the driver suddenly steps on the brakes. Inertia is why your body keeps moving forward even though the car is stopping. Inertia is also why you press back into your seat if the driver suddenly steps on the gas and goes from a complete stop to rapid acceleration.

Just like youre a passenger in the car in the above analogy, your brain is a passenger in your skull. Sharp, sudden movements can cause your brain to smack against the inside of your skull, causing injury to your brain. Thats why your neck is like a shock absorber for your head, naturally compressing, extending or twisting to minimize the effect of sudden movements on your brain.

Whiplash happens when inertia causes your head, neck and body to move at different speeds. That forces your neck to compress or extend too quickly or in ways that push the muscles, ligaments and bones of your spine beyond what they can tolerate.

The sharper and stronger the movement, the greater the force on your neck. Thats why whiplash injuries can range from minor to severe. However, even weak levels of force can still cause moderate or severe whiplash. Experts dont fully understand why this happens, but research is ongoing. At its worst, whiplash can break the vertebrae in your neck, creating a risk of damage to your spinal cord and its network of connected nerves.

Why Should I Claim For Delayed Neck Pain After A Fall Cover

Whiplash claims 2017 and beyond will also cover all of the other costs that are associated with injuries. This includes travel expenses, childcare costs, and the cost of counselling. This ensures that the ordeal you have gone through does not impact you financially.

There is also the argument that making a compensation claim can help to make other drivers more responsible and ultimately make the road a safer place. The person that has caused your injuries will be held responsible for their negligence and/or carelessness. It is highly unlikely that they will make the same mistake again, meaning you could have saved someone else from suffering the same painful fate as you have. Information like this could form the basis for your delayed whiplash injury claims.

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Possible Delayed Injuries In A Slip And Fall

Slipping and falling on someone elses property can be a serious liability and the business or property owner may be held legally responsible for damages. There are many conditions that can lead to a slip and fall injuries, such as torn or uneven carpeting, inadequate lighting, stairs that arent up to code, a wet floor, or cracked sidewalks. A slip and fall injury can occur at a neighbors house, a family members house, or a local business and can result in very serious injuries.

After a slip and fall injury, you may feel pain right away, but its also possible that there will be some delayed injuries. Here are a few delayed injuries that you should look out for after slipping and falling.

Autonomic Nervous System Dysfunction

The autonomic nervous system regulates a host of involuntary processes throughout your body. Some examples include your heart rate, blood flow, breathing, digestion, and physiological threat response.

The ANS has two halves: the sympathetic nervous system and parasympathetic nervous system . In a healthy person, one side of the system isnt dominant over the other. Theyre in a constant state of flux, deftly responding to the needs of your body at each moment.

But after a head or neck injury, the ANS may become less flexible and stuck in a state of sympathetic nervous system activation. And that can easily lead to neck pain.

Imagine youre a cat. Something startles you, so you arch your back at it and hiss. But then, instead of returning to normal, you stay arched for days afterward. Being in that tense state all the time would really start to hurt!

Thats a bit what its like for many post-concussion patients who suffer from anxiety and autonomic nervous system issues after their injury. Like a cat arching its back, the ANS is clenching the muscles that connect the neck and shoulders because it feels threatened.

Many patients who suffer from dysautonomia report neck muscles that just wont relax no matter what they try. Being in that state all the time will result in tension, pain, and stiffness. They might also have cervicogenic headaches. If you suffer from post-concussion headaches, read this post.

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