The skills and past experience of a lawyer can come in handy when fighting for damage recovery after a whiplash injury, and an Atlanta whiplash injury attorney is standing by to help you get started.
Ali Awad, the founding and managing attorney of The CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm, has built a local firm up into a national brand in just a few short years by applying the same dedication and blankness to each client served.
An initial consultation with The CEO Lawyer is free and comes with no obligation to continue with our services. In this meeting, we aim to better understand the specific details regarding your accident and whiplash injury, map out a general course of action, and answer any questions you may have along the way. To schedule an initial consultation, call (404) 777-8800 or contact us online today.
How an Atlanta Whiplash Injury Attorney Can Help You
Roughly 2 million people, on average, experience whiplash every year in the U.S. Some of the most common incidents that prompt the development of whiplash and its accompanying pain are sporting accidents, falls, and, most commonly, auto accidents, with motorcycle accidents alone account for an average of 1 million whiplash cases per year.
Whiplash is, at best, uncomfortable and inconvenient, but at its worst, it can be highly impactful to a person’s everyday life. The brain is the body’s function control center, and the neck is the indispensable support that keeps everything functioning properly.
When the cervical spine is injured, the victim can be left unable to complete everyday tasks at work and home. A whiplash injury takes a serious toll on a person’s ability to function normally during their routine, and, in extreme circumstances, it can develop into worsening conditions. Because whiplash is often considered a minor injury by insurers, recovering compensation for your losses can be a struggle in some cases.
An injury like whiplash is common in many types of accidents, but the symptoms can affect people differently. In the worst cases, this injury can last months or even up to years following the accident.
An Atlanta car accident attorney can be your advocate through the process of recovering compensation after a whiplash injury in Atlanta, leaving you with more time and energy to focus on what truly matters in this situation: healing.
With the help of an experienced and proven Atlanta whiplash injury attorney like The CEO Lawyer, you gain the resources provided by a whole team of experienced professionals, all of whom are dedicated to supporting you as a claimant through your recovery journey.
Retaining an attorney can offer an accident victim peace of mind, knowing they have a legal advocate to:
- Review and organize all collected documentation: You’ll accumulate a lot of paperwork during the course of a personal injury claim. From doctor’s assessments to physical therapy invoices, these documents can be useful later when negotiating a settlement. Your attorney can help you make sense of all the paperwork and help you understand how it may be impactful in your situation.
- Manage communication with all other parties: To finalize a settlement and smoothly move through the process of a whiplash injury claim, all parties must keep an open line of communication and stay on top of new developments during the investigative process. It seems unfair to expect the victim of the accident to recount their experience repeatedly with representation for the negligent party, and this is why your trusted Atlanta personal injury attorney can speak on your behalf, eliminating this unnerving task altogether.
- Help you understand the state laws, regulations, and best practices around your case: Trying to familiarize yourself with state law to prepare for upcoming litigation can take more time than you have, but an attorney can be there to assist in breaking down applicable state laws, regulations, and case law in regards to your claim.
- Investigate your accident, including a thorough evaluation of claims of negligence: Sorting through the details of your accident and looking for anything that may be valuable during a negotiation can be an exhaustive task, especially when you have limited experience with the claim process. An attorney can take this task into your hands, as they will sort through all the evidence from the accident in question, looking for details that solidify negligence or otherwise impact your position as a claimant.
- Negotiate a settlement on your behalf: The final step in a whiplash injury claim is negotiating the final settlement. A settlement figure is based on a number of factors, such as your medical bills and how future treatment may impact you. An attorney can act on your behalf, negotiating for a comprehensive settlement that accounts for all of your damages, present and future.
What Is Whiplash, and How Is It Caused?
Whiplash is an injury to the cervical spine that happens with a forceful jolt or back-and-forth movement — think of the neck cracking like a whip, hence the name: whiplash.
When it comes to auto accidents, whiplash is highly likely to result from rear-end collisions, but it can also present after other types of collisions, as well. A whiplash injury can also be considered a neck sprain or strain, which is an umbrella term for various neck injuries.
While most people recover from the symptoms of a whiplash injury within the weeks following their accident, some people may experience chronic pain that requires ongoing treatment. If the neck pain is ongoing or leaves the person unable to partake in daily activities, it would be beneficial to see a doctor for a professional assessment.
How Do You Know if It Is Whiplash?
Most of the time, whiplash is a self-diagnosable injury. The symptoms generally appear shortly after the neck jolting accident and worsen for three days following.
A whiplash injury will consist of stiffness in the neck, limited mobility, aches, and pain when attempting to move the neck.
Someone suffering from whiplash may also experience headaches, tingling or numbness in the arms, dizziness, blurred vision, ringing in the ears, sleep disturbances, memory problems, and difficulty concentrating. Many of these symptoms could also be the result of another underlying injury, so it is crucial that a person seek medical attention if they experience additional symptoms.
Treating Whiplash
When assessing the extent of your injuries, a doctor will conduct a series of tests, evaluating your neck’s range of motion. They’ll ask you to move your head in various directions, ask you about your pain level, and may even recommend further testing like X-ray, MRI, or CT scans.
A large portion of treating whiplash is focused on managing the resulting pain. To calm inflammation and pain from a whiplash injury, it is important that the sufferer find ample time to rest in the initial stages of recovery.
Switching between hot and cold compresses can also calm swelling inflammation and ease restricted mobility. A neck brace may be helpful to limit mobility, and additional neck support may be needed during sleep.
After giving the cervical spine a few days to rest, it is crucial that the whiplash sufferer practice mobility exercises to release tension slowly. For extreme situations, physical therapy or injection therapy may be necessary.
Whiplash Can Lead to More Serious Health Concerns
In some cases, whiplash will worsen as time goes on. It can be difficult to predict how a person will recover from whiplash, especially without extensive testing from a doctor, but extreme circumstances are most common in situations where the victim has experienced the injury before, has pre-existing neck and back pain, was involved in a high-speed injury, or is older.
While a traditional whiplash injury is contained to the cervical spine, an extreme case can cause that pain to spread to the arms or lower in the back. This pain can limit general mobility and create chronic pain.
In a study revisiting victims of whiplash after 12-14 years, from a pool of the 37% that answered, more than half of the respondents expressed ongoing pain from their whiplash injury.
What Compensation Is Available in Whiplash Claims?
After any type of accident, it is natural to wonder how you’ll be compensated and what damages will be included. A whiplash injury can result from many types of accidents, leaving the victim with new debts to be responsible for.
An Atlanta whiplash injury lawyer can help you ensure that every expense is accounted for in your whiplash injury settlement. When reviewing the damages you can receive a compensatory settlement for, the most commonly addressed damages from a whiplash injury claim include:
- Medical bills and the cost of continued treatment
- Physical therapy
- Property damage
- Reimbursement for lost wages
- Other bills and expenses incurred because of the whiplash injury
- Pain and suffering
The Support of an Atlanta Whiplash Injury Law Firm Can Make All The Difference
Facing the legal steps after any accident can be overwhelming, but in a whiplash accident, an attorney can be there to articulate the severity of your suffering, advocate for a comprehensive compensatory settlement, and protect your best interests when dealing with an insurance company or other third parties.
Instead of juggling the many complex aspects of litigation alone, utilize the alliance of an Atlanta whiplash injury lawyer to alleviate some of the pressure.
The CEO Lawyer has an average success rate of over 99% and is prepared to help you through your claim next. To schedule an appointment for an initial consultation, call (404) 777-8800 or contact us online today.