A Whiplash Injury Can Be Deadly

 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Car Accidents

Whiplash is one of the most common injuries a person can receive in a vehicle accident. The injury occurs to the neck when a vehicle is rear-ended, causing the victim’s head to suddenly jerk backwards and then forward.

The motion is similar to a cracking whip, hence its name. It is those sudden jerking motions to the neck that pulls the ligaments and muscles farther than they usually go. This sudden stretching can injure ligaments, discs, intervertebral joints, nerve roots and cervical muscles.

Symptoms of whiplash can include neck pain and stiffness, dizziness, and headaches. Some people may suffer from back or shoulder pain as well as experiencing strange feelings to the injured areas such as a prickling or burning sensation.

In more serious whiplash injuries, the victim may also suffer from memory loss, sleep disturbances, impairment of concentration, fatigue, nervousness, depression or irritability. Healing time for someone with a whiplash injury typically takes approximately three months.

Although there is often a perception that whiplash is a minor injury, its occurrence can be serious, and sometimes fatal. This is what happened in a recent vehicle accident which occurred in India, killing one of the country’s government ministers. The accident, which was referred to as a “minor accident” happened when the car he was in, described as a sedan, was hit from behind by another vehicle, described as a hatchback.

The impact caused the victim to suffer extreme whiplash, where his cervical bone may have been fractured. The cervical bone surrounds and protects a person’s spinal cord, which is connected to the area of the brain which controls a person’s heart beat and breathing.

If you have been injured in a vehicle accident caused by the negligence of another driver, contact an Orland Park personal injury attorney to find out what compensation you may be entitled to for pain and loss.