When you lose a limb due to the negligence, recklessness, or intentional act of another person, it’s possible for victims to collect a substantial amount of compensation. An experienced Orange County neck injury lawyer can help you collect money for medical expenses, current and future lost earnings, pain, suffering, and mental distress. Call the Crockett Law Group today to schedule your free consultation with our
personal injury lawyers and learn more.
Neck Injury and Whiplash Statistics
According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons,
more than three million people a year injure their neck in accidents in the United States, and the majority of those injuries result in symptoms that last more than six months. Many
rear-end car accidents cause some degree of whiplash, due to the back and forth motion of the neck. The human neck is a delicate and complicated structure that is especially sensitive to impacts. That’s why more than 40% of automobile accidents cause injuries with lifelong pain, and a large majority of those accidents cause injuries to the neck.
Symptoms of Neck Injuries and Whiplash
Neck injury symptoms do not always appear right away. In fact, it’s quite common to not feel the full range of symptoms for a day or even a few days, after an accident. These are some of the most common symptoms of neck injury:
- Soreness in the neck and shoulders
- Dizziness and vertigo
- Faintness and shortness of breath
- Numbness or tingling in the hands or arms
- Memory loss or fuzzy memory
- Burning and tingling feeling
- Blurred or double vision
- Difficulty sleeping
- Ringing in the ears
- Muscle spasms
- Pain radiating down the arm
If you’re experiencing any of these injuries after a car accident, slip and fall, or other trauma, it’s important to seek medical assistance. Some of the symptoms above may also indicate a serious head injury that requires immediate attention.
Types of Neck Injuries
Common types of neck injuries include:
Fractured Cervical Vertebrae
A fractured vertebra in the neck is a potentially catastrophic injury. If certain areas of cervical vertebrae are broken, a person can become paralyzed from the neck down or die.
Spinal Cord Damage
Severe disruption to the alignment of the
spinal cord can cause irreparable damage that leads to partial or full paralysis from the neck down. Less severe damage may be treatable.
Whiplash
Whiplash is the most common injury from a car accident. The soft tissues such as muscles, ligaments, and nerves, are damaged from rapid movement due to an impact. This back and forth motion is usually caused by a rear-end car accident.
Pinched Nerve
A sudden jolt from a car accident, fall, or sports accident can cause a sharp pain called a “stinger” injury as soft tissue is pressed against nerves in the neck. This injury is very painful but usually resolves quickly.
Herniated and Bulging Discs
When the soft material inside the discs bulges out pressing the nerves, it’s called a
bulging disc. When the material escapes out further, it is even more painful, and it’s called a
herniated disc.
Causes of Neck Injuries and Whiplash
Some neck injuries are caused by degeneration, which can be aggravated by overuse either working or with sports and recreational activities. The large majority of neck injuries are caused by
car accidents,
truck accidents,
pedestrian accidents,
slip and falls, equipment malfunctions, and construction accidents. The most severe neck injuries as caused by
head-on-collisions, rear-end crashes,
rollovers, and falls from heights.
Further Reading
Treatment for Neck Injuries and Whiplash
Catastrophic neck injuries such as fractures and spinal cord damage require emergency treatment at the closest trauma center, even if that means using a Helivac. Less serious neck injuries usually respond well to conservative treatments such as chiropractic manipulations, physical therapy, and acupuncture. When conservative therapies are unsuccessful, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) testing can diagnose serious soft tissue injuries such as bulging and herniated discs. Pain management techniques are the next course of action, with epidural injections at the site of pain. Surgery is done in some cases where extreme pain remains but is usually avoided due to the risk of paralysis.
Further Reading
Compensation for Neck Injury and Whiplash Injury Victims
Compensation for personal injury cases
in Orange County is based on economic and non-economic damages. Some of the highest verdicts in these cases are for
catastrophic injuries such as neck fractures that cause paralysis from the waist down. Victims are not only permanently disabled from work and saddled with tremendous medical expenses, but they’re also subject to the most extreme mental anguish imaginable. It is not uncommon for victims to be fully conscious of their situation, but unable to breathe, eat, or do anything at all without assistance.
This is why they often receive multi-million-dollar settlements. For less serious neck injuries, it’s possible to receive a large amount of compensation if the injury requires a long period of treatment, causes permanent, partial, or full disability, and has an extended period of pain and suffering. The amount of compensation will increase if the victim requires pain management therapy or surgical repair.
Orange County Neck Injury & Whiplash Lawyers
You can count on our Orange County neck injury and whiplash attorneys at Crockett Law Group to know how to collect the largest amount of money possible to pay for medical treatment, reimburse you for your lost earnings, and compensate you for your pain, suffering, and mental anguish. We’ll launch a thorough investigation of your case, ensuring that we have the evidence to present a strong case on your behalf. We offer a free consultation to discuss your case and our legal strategy so you will have a complete understanding of all issues. Please call our
Orange County personal injury firm at
(800) 900-9393 today to make an appointment.
