You probably know the term “whiplash.” It happens when your head and neck whip violently backward and forward.
It usually occurs in car wrecks, but it can also happen during sporting events and other high-impact collisions.
If you sustain whiplash in a car wreck, that’s painful but not fatal.
However, it doesn’t mean that you should let the accident go and hope you recover. You’ll have costs to cover and medical expenses and personal injury lawyers can help you to learn what’s owed to you beyond an accident happening. Once you know, you can then make better decisions on what to do next in your recovery.
Managing whiplash injuries post-car accident isn’t difficult, provided you follow established best practices.
Let’s talk about how you can do that right now.
Determine the Injury’s Severity
Let’s say you’re driving along one day, and a child runs across the road. You slam on the brakes and stop in time. However, you had someone driving right behind you. They can’t stop in time, and they hit your rear bumper.
That’s a situation where you will probably get whiplash. You might not feel the injury very much in the moments right after the wreck. You’ll have your adrenaline pumping, and you may feel nothing while talking with the cops and the other driver.
After you’ve taken a few moments and collected yourself, you might feel some serious head and neck pain.
You might call an ambulance and have the driver take you to the hospital, or perhaps you can drive yourself there if the accident didn’t damage your car very badly.
You should at least consider driving yourself because an ambulance costs some significant money, even if you have health insurance. No matter how you reach the hospital, though, you must have a doctor look you over.
They can suggest an X-ray and make sure you didn’t break your neck or suffer a more extreme injury.
The X-Ray and Subsequent Tests Will Reveal Whether You Have Whiplash
The doctors may look over your X-ray results and tell you that you have whiplash.
They will monitor you over the following hours and days, and they’ll give you some instructions you can follow.
If you have a minor case of whiplash, that’s painful, and you might experience some stiffness and soreness.
The doctor may suggest you wear a neck brace. If you have a more serious case, you will definitely wear a neck brace for a while.
You can take off the brace when you sleep, but other than that, you must wear it. You must immobilize your neck as much as possible so you don’t exacerbate the injury.
Ways You Can Deal with the Pain
If you have a severe case of whiplash, that’s a tough situation. You might feel pain every time you move your neck or head. You may also experience headaches.
You can take some time off from work. You must contact your boss, or your clients, if you employ yourself, and tell them about what happened.
You can lie around in bed and watch TV or read a book. Your neck needs healing time, and you might experience some boredom while you’re recovering. You need that downtime, though, so you should enjoy it as best you can.
You can put a cold compress on your neck, or you might try a hot one instead, whichever feels best. Usually, a cold compress works.
You can buy one on Amazon or in a brick-and-mortar store, or you might also get a cold washcloth and use that instead.
If you have very severe whiplash, a doctor might give you some prescription meds. They probably won’t give you opioids because of the addiction risk, but they may give you some extra-strength Tylenol or something like that.
If you have a relatively minor case of whiplash, then you can probably use over-the-counter pain meds. You might get some Aleve or Advil.
You should swallow them with food, or you might experience an upset stomach.
You Can Continue with Your Life Eventually
You might need some downtime after the accident, but you can probably continue with your life with no issues in a few weeks or less.
Whiplash hurts, but usually, you will recover completely. As long as you didn’t sustain any permanent injury, you can typically put this behind you if you’re patient.
See Whether You Can Sue the Other Driver
While you’re recovering, you might also think about suing the driver who hit you. That all depends. In the scenario we described, you probably won’t win a lawsuit since you stopped suddenly and the other driver didn’t expect it.
They simply didn’t have the reflexes and hit your back bumper accidentally.
Maybe you have a situation where the other driver tailgated you on the highway, though. If you tailgate someone on the highway when they’re in the fast lane, you’re causing an unsafe situation. Drivers should hang back and give the car ahead some room.
If a driver rear-ended you on the road, you might bring a lawsuit against them and win. Your lawyer can say the other driver drove recklessly.
You can get damages if you say you suffered after the car wreck. That’s no exaggeration. You can describe the whiplash pain and discomfort you felt.
You can also sue because you lost wages when you couldn’t work. You might also say you couldn’t play with your kids, go for bike rides, walk around the neighborhood, play on your softball team, or do anything else you missed.
A jury will likely take all that into account.
They might award you some money if they agree the other driver drove recklessly. If you can produce eyewitnesses who saw what happened, that should help you win your case.
You might also see whether you can find some video footage that shows the wreck. Maybe there’s traffic camera footage if a traffic cam picked up the accident.
Perhaps someone walking by with a smartphone has a helpful video as well. You will need the right law firm or lawyer who can bring legal action against the other driver on your behalf.
You must pay the attorney if you win, but you can keep most of the money the other driver pays you.