Hartford Whiplash Injury Lawyer

Whiplash is an extremely common soft-tissue injury that can result from any event where the head makes sudden back-and-forth movements. It is so named because this motion resembles the cracking of a whip, which stretches and tears muscles, tendons, and ligaments beyond their normal limits.

This type of injury is frequently associated with car accidents, especially rear-enders, but is also encountered as a sports injury, as a result of physical blows to the head, or even as an unintentional consequence of amusement park rides.

Whiplash can be a difficult condition to deal with on its own, but it is often accompanied by other injuries a patient might have sustained. Car accidents, for instance, can lead to broken bones or traumatic brain injuries, as well as whiplash.

The cost of treating these injuries can quickly add up. It’s easy for an accident victim to end up in financial trouble when you combine that with the fact they may have to stop working while they recover from injuries.

Thankfully, a Hartford whiplash injury lawyer can help you get compensation in dire situations such as these. By getting you a fair amount to compensate you for your damages, the right attorney at your side can turn the serious health struggles of whiplash injuries into nothing more than passing inconveniences.

Why You Need a Hartford Whiplash Injury Attorney

As specialist personal injury lawyers, Hartford whiplash injury attorneys excel at getting their clients compensation for losses after tragedy. When you choose to work with one, you gain a guide who can help you through the legal process, no matter how complex or overwhelming it might seem.

Let’s take a look at how they can help you.

• Maximizing Compensation: When it comes to insurance negotiations, attorneys know better than anyone how to fight for the full amount you need in order to cover your medical bills, lost wages, and other damages, whether economic or non-economic. Whereas insurance companies try to minimize the payout you are owed, your legal representation understands your damages and will argue why their stance is wrong and that you deserve more than they are offering.
• Legal Expertise: Your whiplash injury attorney understands the complexities of the law, including the deadlines and requirements to meet in order to get you maximum value. They will build a case for you, gathering evidence such as medical records, accident reports, and witness statements, and then use this documentation to strengthen your claim.

• Client Advocacy: A good lawyer always has your best interests in mind, and that means providing you with confidence and emotional support in whatever way they can within the bounds of the professional relationship. They accomplish this by leveling the field when facing insurance companies so you can invest your thoughts and emotions into more important things, such as your family, your work, and, most importantly, your recovery from your injury.

In addition to these advantages, whiplash injury lawyers often work on a contingency, which means they are paid based on your winnings, and you owe them nothing if you get nothing. This provides clients with accessible, zero-risk legal services even if they have no money to begin with.

What Should I Know About My Whiplash Injury?

Although whiplash is a painful and debilitating condition, most cases end in complete recovery within a few weeks to a few months. That said, a minority of cases can worsen and lead to long-term issues.

Understanding the nature of a whiplash injury, as well as the complications that can occur, helps you avoid worst-case scenarios. The right information means the right decisions and the right treatment, allowing for speedy recovery times.

Symptoms of Whiplash

Not everyone with a whiplash injury will experience it the exact same way, but there are common symptoms that most cases of whiplash share. While it is ideal that you get diagnosed by a health professional, paying attention to these symptoms can get you a head start in dealing with whiplash.

• Neck Pain and Stiffness: The most common symptoms of whiplash are discomfort and limited mobility caused by damage to the soft tissues in the neck. The degree of pain and stiffness varies depending on the specifics of the injury but generally can be described as aching and stabbing, especially when attempting to move the head.
• Headaches: Damage to nerves and/or vascularized tissues can trigger headaches, and damage sustained from whiplash, in particular, usually presents this symptom at the base of the skull. This is because all nerves and blood vessels that run between the head and torso run through the neck.

• Dizziness: Another symptom often associated with nerve damage, dizziness can occur when affected innervated tissues cannot send accurate signals about your head’s position to the brain. This mismatch between what your neck is telling you and what your center of balance in the inner ear knows confuses the brain, leading to dizziness.

• • • If dizziness occurs even without nerve damage, another cause may be a change in blood flow. Low oxygen levels in the brain lead to lightheadedness and, sometimes, fainting spells.

• Blurred Vision: The same mechanisms that lead to dizziness can also cause blurred vision. Low oxygen can blur vision, and inaccurate information about the head’s position can lead to the eyes having difficulty adjusting their focus.

• Fatigue: Whiplash usually has some impact on a person’s energy levels as well as the ability to recover. This can lead to bouts of fatigue and torpor that persist for prolonged periods and hinder a person’s activities.

• Low Concentration Levels: Whiplash may lead to poor concentration, usually as a side-effect of pain levels that make it difficult to keep attention on a single thing. Pain can also lead to disrupted sleep patterns, which also contribute to difficulty keeping mental focus.

• Tinnitus: This is a phantom sound – a sound that is not actually present in the environment – that commonly presents itself as a ringing, humming, or buzzing in the ears. The mechanisms of a whiplash injury that causes tinnitus are related to several factors.

• • • Inner-ear trauma from sudden increases or decreases in pressure can damage the hair cells that detect sound.
    • Inflammation, pain, and/or muscle tension in the jaw and neck can radiate to the ears, causing inflammation. This can apply pressure to nerves in the ear and lead to the experience of phantom sounds.
    • Reduced blood and/or oxygen supply can affect the functioning of the structures responsible for sound perception, contributing to tinnitus.

• Numbness and Tingling: Compressed, inflamed, or otherwise irritated nerves have a more difficult time sending signals to and from the brain. As a result of this, whiplash can present itself with reduced sensation and functionality in different parts of the body, particularly in heavily innervated regions like the hands and feet.

• Muscle Spasms: Closely related to numbness and tingling, muscle spasms result from weak signals being sent between the affected area and the brain. Spams may occur periodically and, in the worst of scenarios, be so strong that they result in stabbing jolts of pain.

Treating Whiplash Injuries

There isn’t a single universal approach to whiplash because different structures might be damaged across different cases. However, as most of the common symptoms involve pressure on the nerves, treatment usually – but not always – focuses on reducing pain and swelling.

• Over-the-counter pain relievers: Paracetamol, ibuprofen, or acetaminophen are some easily accessible drugs that can help manage the inflammation and pain that whiplash patients experience. These drugs are often used for mild cases of whiplash where the neck only sustained minor tissue damage.
• Hot and cold compresses: Cold compresses are best for the first 24 to 48 hours after a whiplash injury, as the low temperature reduces swelling and pain by constricting blood vessels. Hot compresses, on the other hand, help improve blood flow and tissue repair once inflammation has subsided and can be beneficial after the first 48 hours have passed.
• Physical Therapy: Massages, stretches, and exercises can help with tight muscles and circulation problems, both of which are common sources of pain and other symptoms of whiplash. Through gradual and proper movement, patients can restore a full range of motion in the neck.

Sometimes, the treatments above are insufficient, and your doctor might recommend other steps for your treatment plan. They may recommend muscle relaxants or electrical muscle stimulation in particularly severe cases.

Above all else, patience is necessary when recovering from whiplash. Following your physician’s advice over the recovery period will help you speed up healing and avoid aggravating the injury.

When You Need a Hartford Whiplash Injury Law Firm, Call Bert McDowell Injury Law

When you need resources to recover from whiplash injuries in Hartford, contact our experts at Bert McDowell Injury Law. We provide our services to the Hartford community, securing fair compensation for the injured, with a track record of tens of millions of dollars won for those who chose us.

When you work with us, you benefit from our Three Pillars of client communication, client attention, and client success. You are always our priority, and we are always aggressive and relentless in our pursuit of justice on your behalf.

Call us today at (203) 590-9169 and get your free case evaluation.