What is whiplash in an injury compensation claim?
Whiplash is an injury that occurs due to acceleration and deceleration forces experienced at high velocities.
The best example of this is a car accident involving a collision with another vehicle. The impact of the collision with the vehicle at speed, causes a sudden and forceful accelerated forward motion.
This is followed by a sudden “whipping back” of the head, neck or body – a forceful backward motion responding to the sudden deceleration in movement.
We’ve pulled together a lot of our most common questions on QLD, Gold Coast & Brisbane whiplash compensation claims from our clients to help you further below. That said, you’re welcome to call us for help, or feel free to chat, or email if needed.
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Frequently asked questions about whiplash compensation
A lot of people think that whiplash injuries are confined to the neck region only, but this is not the case.
Whiplash can affect all areas of the spine, including the neck (also known as the cervical spine), the mid-back region (also known as the thoracic spine), and the lower back region (also known as the lumbar spine).
It can also affect other areas of the body too, including causing injuries to the shoulders and hips.
This is because the forces involved in the collision, can exert such a jarring effect on these areas of the body, that it causes injury.
Most people would be well aware of “rear-ender” motor vehicle accidents.
This is where a car following another vehicle collides with the rear of the vehicle in front of it, because the driver fails to observe the car in front or sees it too late.
In such accidents, this type of injury is common and rear-ender car crashes, are a well known cause of whiplash injuries.
Any accident which results in a force exerting a forward and backwards motion on the body, can cause Whiplash.
So if you are T-boned in an accident, or experience a head-on collision, you will still be experiencing the acceleration and deceleration forces which cause Whiplash injuries.
And you do not even have to be in a collision for this type of injury to occur.
For example, The Personal Injury Lawyers have seen Whiplash injuries sustained in a case where a vehicle has had to pull up suddenly and with such force to avoid a collision with another vehicle, that Whiplash injuries are sustained.
Immediately following an accident, whiplash symptoms may not necessarily appear until some hours or even the next day following the accident.
We hear whiplash victims often describing how the pain and stiffness or heaviness in their neck will not start to appear until hours later; or they will wake the next morning and be unable to lift their head from the pillow or get out of bed.
Back Pain And Stiffness May Follow But May Not Be Noticed Until Days After The Accident Often Whiplash starts with a pain in the back region, whether mid or lower back, with long periods of standing or sitting, that was never experienced previously.
Or the back will feel like it is locking up when bending, these are all symptoms of whiplash injuries:
Neck or back pain;
A feeling of heaviness about the neck and shoulder region (some describe it as being like a small child sitting on their shoulders);
Neck or back stiffness with movement;
Stiffness and pain after long periods of sitting or standing or static positioning (e.g. sitting watching a movie, standing in a queue, or even after sleeping at night);
Reduced movement in the back or neck, limiting looking sideways or up and down, bending, twisting or turning;
Pain in your back or neck with reaching up, behind or out from your body;
Pain or altered sensation (pins and needles or numbness) radiating into the jaw, chest, shoulders, arms or fingers;
Pain or altered sensation (pins and needles or numbness (radiating from the lower back into the buttocks or into the legs);
Headaches or migraines (these are caused by muscle spasm in the neck or upper back and can occur almost immediately following the accident or may not appear for a year or more post-accident).
It is very important that when you suffer any pain or stiffness, or any of the above symptoms in your neck or back following an accident, you see your local doctor or go to the Hospital to report your injuries.
Especially so that there is documented medical evidence of the injuries you have sustained in the accident.
If you leave reporting of your injuries for too long, this can lead to arguments by the insurer as to whether your reporting of injury is actually resulting from the accident, or some other intervening event since the accident.
Yes! Often people think that Whiplash injuries are only minor transient injuries that resolve over time following an accident.
But this is not always the case.
Although whiplash injuries can improve over the first few months following an accident so that they seem to have resolved, they can result in ongoing difficulties and persisting symptoms.
Whiplash Symptoms Usually Involve Ongoing Pain Or Restriction These symptoms usually involve ongoing pain or restriction with certain movements or exertive tasks (e.g. lifting and carrying).
It also causes difficulties with long periods of standing or sitting or static positioning which will result in pain and stiffness, and the need to change positions and move about to relieve symptomatology.
Some suffer increasing debilitating headaches or migraines following an accident, that can become more frequent and intensify over time.
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Often because those who suffer Whiplash become used to their injury and their restrictions, they don’t take notice of the real impact these injuries have upon their everyday living.
Recreational, social, domestic and employment activities, but when they think about their pre-accident lifestyle and activities, then they can see that they have had to change what they do or avoid doing certain tasks or activities because of their Whiplash injuries.
Also, what a Whiplash injury can cause is an acceleration of the normal degenerative process.
All of us are degenerating after we reach a certain age. From the moment we stop growing, we start to degenerate.
They can. This means that although you may think your Whiplash injuries have resolved, with just a few niggles now and again. However, down the track, as you age, you may very well experience increased problems in the areas of your injury.
This can result in reduced sitting and standing tolerances, limitations with lifting and carrying, restrictions with mobility and movement generally, and even regular occurrences of debilitating headaches and migraines.
Because Whiplash injuries can be quite sinister in that their real impact may not start to be seen until many months or years following an accident, this can result in many accident victims missing out on much needed compensation.
Sadly when these types of injuries can start to impact on a person’s employment or ability to care for their home or family, they have missed time limits that apply to bringing claims for such injuries.
It’s all too easy to be stoic. We will often receive enquiries from accident victims who tell us that they have been experiencing increasing problems.
It’s only noticed when they are at work or caring for their home or children and it’s due to whiplash injuries sustained years previously.
We then have to tell them they are out of time to bring their claim.
How much compensation did other people get awarded for their injuries?
To help you understand more how much other people were awarded for their compensation claims, (who may have similar injuries to you) we pulled together some helpful, real life personal injury payout examples..
These include compensation for injury at work as well as car accident injuries, workplace injury and slips, trips and falls. You may have suffered an injury that means that you can’t return to work. We assess the type of injury that you have suffered and will look at current medical reports, the costs of your future medical treatment, along with important factors such as whether you are left with a total and permanent disability.