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Fort Lauderdale Workers' Compensation Lawyer > Blog > Auto Accident > Whiplash: An Invisible but Sometimes Very Painful Injury

Whiplash: An Invisible but Sometimes Very Painful Injury

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Have you ever had a minor injury that drew lots of attention even as it was healing, such as a cut that had scabbed over or a bruise that continued to look black and blue after it had stopped hurting?  You probably assured your family and co-workers that the injury looks worse than it feels.  Whiplash injury is the opposite.  Not only can you not see it with the naked eye, but it doesn’t even look like much on an X-ray.  Despite this, the pain of whiplash injury can be severe, and it can continue to cause problems for months or even years after the incident of trauma that caused it.  If your whiplash injury resulted from an accidental injury, and the symptoms are severe enough to have required extensive medical treatment and to make you miss work, contact a South Florida car accident injury lawyer.

How Does Whiplash Injury Happen?

Whiplash injury is a muscle strain injury in the muscles in the back, neck, and shoulder area that support the spine.  It happens when a sudden force causes the upper body to move forward and then backward in one quick motion; it is called whiplash injury because it happens when the spine moves in a whip-like motion.  Some whiplash injuries happen in sports where people crash into things, such as surfing, skiing, and football.  Outside of sports, the most common cause of whiplash injury is car accidents.

Many cases of whiplash injury are mild.  You just feel soreness in your back or neck for a few days, but then it goes away.  The risk factors for suffering a more serious whiplash injury in a car accident are the following:

  • A generally poor state of health and physical fitness
  • Old age
  • Sitting in the back seat
  • Not wearing a seat belt

Whiplash Injury and Car Accident Injury Lawsuits

Whiplash injury does not start showing symptoms immediately after the car accident or other trauma that caused the injury.  It can take a few hours or even a few days before your back and neck start to hurt after the accident.  You might feel fine immediately after the accident, but the following week, you might be in so much pain that you can’t go to work.  Therefore, it is very important to go to a doctor’s office, hospital emergency room, or urgent care clinic to be examined immediately after the accident, even if you do not feel any pain or have any visible injuries.  This way, if you file a personal injury lawsuit in connection to the accident, your medical records clearly show that your whiplash injury is the result of the car accident and not some other traumatic injury that happened after the car accident.

Let Us Help You Today

Severe cases of whiplash can require physical therapy and other treatments and can keep you out of work for months.  Contact a Sunrise car accident lawyer at the Law Offices of David M. Benenfeld, P.A. to discuss your car accident case.

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