What To Do if You Get Whiplash in a Car Accident
Soft tissue injuries might seem like they’re not as serious as a broken bone or another severe injury that can happen in a car accident, they can still greatly affect your everyday life if you don’t get checked out and treated right away. When it comes to whiplash, it’s important to go to the doctor because if it’s left untreated, it can cause permanent damage to your head, neck, and back.
Even at low speeds, victims of car accidents can suffer from whiplash. After you’ve been in a collision where you think you suffered from whiplash, or where you don’t think you have any injuries at all, you need to see a medical professional. That way, your doctor can make a treatment plan and ensure you heal as quickly as possible from your injuries.
After a car accident where your head was whipped back and forth, you could have whiplash. This is what to do if you think you have whiplash after your wreck.
Get Evaluated
The first step will be to seek medical treatment as quickly as possible. Whiplash might not give you pain right after your car accident, so that’s why it’s vital that you go to the hospital and get evaluated by a medical professional immediately after your crash. That way, they can see if you have any injuries and determine if you got whiplash from your car wreck.
From there, they will create a treatment plan that will help you recover from your whiplash as long as you follow their plan. This way, you are less likely to have lasting symptoms and you can make a full recovery.
The longer you take to get evaluated and treated, and the more you ignore your treatment plan and don’t allow yourself to heal, the worse your symptoms will be. If you don’t address your injury and don’t allow it to heal, you could have lifelong effects from the whiplash, like dizziness or ringing in your ears.
Monitor Your Symptoms
Even if you’ve seen a doctor and are following your treatment plan, you still will want to monitor your whiplash symptoms to ensure that you are healing and that your injuries are not getting worse as time goes on. If you notice that your pain, stiffness, and headaches are only getting worse, then you will want to speak with your doctor.
They might need to reevaluate your treatment plan and choose different treatments to help you heal. They could even turn to treatments like acupuncture to get your symptoms under control and lessen your pain.
Typically, patients recover from their whiplash injuries after 3 months, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). If it’s been 3 months and your symptoms haven’t improved or have gotten worse, then you should speak with your doctor.
Notify Your Insurance
While getting treatment and monitoring your progress are important for your health, they’re also good steps before filing an insurance claim. Taking those first two steps gives you evidence of your injuries so that you can go to your insurance, or the insurance company of the person who caused your collision and file a claim so that you can be compensated for what you’ve gone through.
However, sometimes insurance companies will try to deny your claim. That’s where the next step comes in.
Seek Legal Guidance
Lastly, you’ll want to hire a lawyer so that you can get what you deserve for your injuries. If your insurance claim was denied, or if you want to hold the negligent party who caused your whiplash accountable for what happened to you, then one of our lawyers at McMath Woods P.A. will be here to fight for you.
You shouldn’t have to worry about how you’re going to pay for your medical bills, repair costs, lost wages, and regular bills after suffering from whiplash. With us on your side, you can have peace of mind knowing that you can focus on healing while we work hard to getting you the legal justice that you deserve.
We’re here to support you. Reach out to our firm today so we can discuss your potential claim and determine what you’re owed.
