What is whiplash? You hear the term all the time following an accident but unless you are a medical professional or have just been in a California car accident, you might not really know what this common injury entails. For starters, whiplash is the most common California car accident injury. This neck injury occurs when the sudden jolt of impact forces your neck to move out of it’s normal range or motion causing strain to the muscles and ligaments in your neck. While you can understand how the jerk motion of being hit by a car or truck can cause this type of injury, one of the most surprising things about whiplash is that you do not always notice it right away. It can take weeks, even months for the painful symptoms of a whiplash car accident injury to manifest itself.
WHIPLASH SYMPTOMS & TREATMENTS
Whiplash is a soft tissue issue which means that MRI’s and CT’s will not show this type of injury. A medical professional can however diagnose you with this injury given your symptoms, including:
- Limited range of motion in your neck
- Stiffness
- Soreness
- Headaches
- Muscle spasms
- TMJ and other jaw soreness
- Swellling and/or tenderness in your neck or shoulders
The extent of your whiplash symptoms varies among individuals and if you were seriously injured with other pressing injuries, you may not notice it right away if at all. What you should never do following any car accident is ignore the signs your body is telling you and not see a medical professional. If ignored, your whiplash symptoms could become chronic. Some of the treatments for whiplash injuries include:
- Ice: Especially dealing with a minor case of whiplash (a slow moving rear-end collision, for example), you can benefit tremendously from icing your neck multiple times a day to calm down the inflamed muscles
- Anti-inflammatories: Since the muscles in your neck and shoulders are inflammed and irritated from the car accident, taking anti-inflammatories such as Advil or Alleve can help to help with the pain and soreness you are feeling as well as accelerate your healing.
- Muscle Relaxants: Your doctor will very likely prescribe muscle relaxants following your car accident to help calm the area and allow you to increase your range of motion. Muscle spasms are very common side effect of whiplash and the proper dosage of muscle relaxants combined with other treatments work well for many car accident victims.
- Steroid Injections: For more serious cases of whiplash, an epidural steroid injection (also known as a nerve block) might be recommended. An outpatient medical treatment, an epidural for car accident whiplash can help to alleviate whiplash headaches and other persistent symptoms.
- Radiofrequency Ablation: Using thin probes to locate and trigger the damaged nerves believed to be causing whiplash pains, radiofrequency ablation attempts to “disrupt” the pain communications from the nerves and allow them to repair and hopefully heal.
- Acupuncture: Many car accident victims find acupuncture helpful in relieving many of the pains associated with their whiplash by breaking up muscle tension that has built up around the injury points.
- Heat: While heat should not be applied immediately following your car accident whiplash, it can be helpful down the line to calm whiplash flare-ups.
- Stretching/Physical Therapy: Getting your range of motion back and strengthening the weakened neck muscles is a process. Guided stretching and other physical therapy work can help with your long-term recovery.
Working with medical professionals cannot only help limit the extent and duration of your whiplash injuries but it can also help get you more money from your California car accident lawsuit. How? Because these various tests and treatments help give a realistic picture of the scope and length of your treatments. As California personal injury attorneys for over 40 years, our goal is to make you whole again– financially and physically. Fill out our contact us form today to schedule your free consultation and learn more about how Walch Law can help you.
Nine Reasons To Choose Us
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ResultsWhen looking for a California wrongful death lawyer, you want a law firm that can get you the money you deserve. At Walch Law, we don't just meet our clients' expectations, we exceed them. We win over 95% of our cases and will work hard to get you the same great results we have gotten for so many of our happy clients. When it comes to handing a California wrongful death case, resolving your case as quickly as possible for as much money as possible is how we approach every case.
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ExperienceFounding partner Gary Walch started this law firm to help people in your very situation. With over forty years of experience, you can feel confident that when you hire Walch Law Firm, you are benefiting from his years of experience. Robert Walch has been with the firm since 2000 and has a track record of success, as does the rest of the highly qualified staff at Walch Law. A family firm with the resources of a big law firm means you get the best of both worlds.
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TrustThere are lots of law firms that will happily take your business but very few will deliver results and handle your case the way that we do. We understand and respect how difficult this time is for you and our family. When you hire Walch Law Firm you are hiring a family firm that you can trust. We have a stellar reputation within the legal community and among our clients.
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Contingency FeeFor many individuals and families following a death it is not just an emotional time but a stressful financial time as well—hiring an attorney should help relieve this financial stress which is why you hire us on a contingency fee arrangement. Translation: you don't pay for any fees or costs associated with your case until you get paid. We have the financial resources of a large law firm but the accessible environment of a small firm meaning your case won't get lost in the shuffle.
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CommunicationWhenever you are ready, we are available to talk and this open and available communication model is something that our clients enjoy until their case is closed. We keep you informed and updated on your case every step of the way, always explain what's happening in plain English and ultimately deliver on our promise to get you paid.
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Recent VictoriesWinning over 95% of our cases means that you can feel very confident when you hire us to help with your case. Some of our recent victories include a $5,000,000+ settlement for a car accident, $1,250,000 settlement for a wrongful death pedestrian case and $2,500,000 for injuries related to a subway accident.
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SupportFirst and foremost, you are suffering a major traumatic loss and we understand that. We can help with counseling, medical professionals and other important resources during this time. Your focus should be on dealing with this loss, let us take care of all the legal details.
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Family FirmThere are small firms that might not be able to front the costs of your case and there are big law firms that will easily take your case but lack any type of personal touch (and you might have trouble hearing back from them when you want to) and then there's Walch Law Firm. We can handle any case and pride ourselves on our accessibility to clients. Father-son duo Gary & Robert Walch treat everyone like family and this personal touch is something that our clients as well as our employees constantly e!
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Se Habla Espanol!¿Busca un abogado de habla hispana ayudar con su caso de la muerte ilícito de California? No busque más. Somos una firma de abogados de servicio completo de habla hispana que puede ayudarle durante este tiempo difícil tiempo. Llama nos o correo electrónico hoy para su consulta gratuita para aprender más.
