Whiplash Injury Lawyer in Louisiana

If you’ve been in a car or truck accident, you might consider yourself lucky if you didn’t suffer any obvious injuries like broken bones, head injuries, or burns. However, some injuries like whiplash can take hours or even days to present symptoms, but can still be debilitating.

After a car accident, be sure to be examined by medical staff at the scene, and call an experienced car crash injury lawyer to begin the process of recovering compensation for your damages with a free consultation.

What Is Whiplash?

Whiplash describes various injuries to the neck and cervical spine. It is sometimes also called hyperflexion, cervical strain, cervical sprain, neck sprain, or neck strain. Whiplash is the most common car accident injury, and the majority of whiplash injuries are caused by car crashes, especially rear-end accidents.

Whiplash is usually caused by a heavy impact that causes fast, extreme head or neck movements while the body stays relatively still. Whiplash can also be caused by slip and fall accidents, sport accidents, assault or abuse, and even repetitive stress injuries from work.

Common Whiplash Symptoms

While many car wreck injuries are immediately obvious, whiplash is often more subtle. Symptoms can take hours or days to present, and you may not notice anything particularly amiss if you have regular neck or back pain.

However, if you experience any of the following symptoms after a traffic accident, seek medical attention for a possible whiplash injury immediately:

• Persistent back pain
• Persistent neck pain
• Headaches, especially those that start at the base of the skull
• Tenderness or tingling in the arms or upper body
• Dizziness or fatigue
• Blurry vision
• Tinnitus
• Difficulty remembering, concentrating, or thinking
• Depression or irritability
• Trouble sleeping

Because these symptoms are common to many different injuries, whiplash can be difficult to diagnose and treat. That’s why it’s so important to be examined by a medical professional for a diagnosis.

Other injuries you could sustain during a whiplash accident

Whiplash injuries often don’t appear alone, due to the high forces involved in most whiplash accidents. Victims of whiplash can also experience the following injuries:

• Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
• Internal bleeding
• Spinal cord injuries
• Broken bones
• Bruises
• Cuts and scrapes
• Sprained or strained muscles

In the worst of cases, the injuries could be serious enough that they lead to the victim’s death. If your loved one has died from their injuries after a car crash, you could be eligible to file a wrongful death claim against the other driver.

Long-term Whiplash Complications

Whiplash can lead to long-term complications, as well. In some extreme cases, these debilitating effects can last for years, inhibiting your ability to work or move about your life. According to research by the Mayo Clinic, you could experience any of the following after a whiplash:

• Severe, chronic neck pain
• Shoulder and upper back pain
• Reduced range of motion
• Headache
• Fatigue
• Emotional or mental issues

These conditions can be life-changing, and you deserve compensation for your pain and suffering. The whiplash lawyers with Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys are here to help you fight for your rights in court.

What Damages Can I Recover After a Whiplash Injury?

The damages you suffer after any injury typically fall into one of two categories: economic, or specific damages, and non-economic (general) damages. In a whiplash injury claim, these damages typically include:

• Bills related to medical and hospital treatment, ongoing therapy, and related expenses
• Lost wages from missed work
• Lost future wages due to a decreased earning capacity because of your injuries
• Property damage
• Pain and suffering
• Mental or emotional anguish
• Other non-economic damages that don’t have a specific monetary value

Whiplash Injury Statistics

Every year in the United States, approximately 3 million people suffer from whiplash according to the Spine Research Institute of San Diego. Rear-end collisions are the most common reason for whiplash injuries, but they can also be caused by other car wrecks, falls, shaking, and other accidents.

Of those 3 million, about half, or 1.5 million people, suffer from chronic pain caused by whiplash. For 300,000 Americans, the injury is bad enough that they become permanently disabled. The older victims are, the more likely they are to experience major whiplash injuries.

What to Do If You’ve Suffered a Whiplash Injury in Louisiana

If you’ve been the victim of a rear-end accident, T-bone accident, or other auto accident, or if you’ve suffered whiplash from a slip and fall or other personal injury, you could be entitled to financial compensation. The experienced Louisiana whiplash injury lawyers at Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys have 679+ years of combined legal experience helping accident victims recover the compensation they’re owed, and we can help you too.

Give us a call at 888.501.7888 for a free consultation about your rights. We can help you file your claim, discover evidence, negotiate with insurance and the other party, and even go to court if need be. If we don’t win or settle your case, you won’t owe us a dime. That’s the G Guarantee!

Areas in Louisiana We Serve