Whiplash is a common car accident injury. In many cases, people may think of whiplash injuries as a relatively minor problem, but anyone suffering from whiplash knows that the pain and discomfort from whiplash can be a real burden. If you suffered a whiplash injury in a car accident, talk to an attorney about your ability to sue the at-fault driver. Prosper Shaked represents car accident victims and helps them take their cases to court to fight for compensation for their injuries. If you or a loved one was injured in a car crash, consider calling Prosper Shaked Accident Injury Attorneys PA today to schedule a free consultation.
Suing for Whiplash in a Miami Car Crash
Whiplash may justify filing a lawsuit for your Florida car crash case. Whiplash injuries can be incredibly painful and both physically and mentally exhausting to deal with. When you have a neck injury, it impacts every aspect of your life. It makes it difficult to do your job, drive a car, take care of kids, or even to look around or sneeze. Nearly any movements can lead to sharp pains. While whiplash may not qualify as a “severe” condition, you may still be able to take your whiplash injury case to court.
Florida is a “no-fault” auto insurance state, which places some restrictions on your ability to file a lawsuit after a car crash. Every car insurance policy is required to carry at least $10,000 for “personal injury protection” (PIP). This part of the policy can cover the policyholder for any accident they are involved in, regardless of who is at fault for the crash. In exchange for this, Florida only permits lawsuits in car accident cases if they are severe or “permanent.”
For an injury to be severe enough to qualify for a car accident lawsuit, its damages need to be more than $10,000. Unless you suffered additional injuries aside from the whiplash, your medical bills might not be this high. This kind of lawsuit is much more common in cases of serious cuts and lacerations or obviously severe injuries like traumatic brain injury or severe spinal cord injury.
However, whiplash injuries may qualify as “permanent” in nature, justifying a lawsuit. Even if your medical bills are less than $10,000 and could be covered by your no-fault car insurance, you may still be able to take the at-fault driver to court for your whiplash. Taking your case to court could entitle you to more damages that your insurance would not cover, such as compensation for your pain and suffering.
Many victims of whiplash continue to feel the effects of their whiplash injury for the rest of their lives, making these injuries potentially “permanent.” A back or neck injury can be difficult to fully heal, and many people with these kinds of injuries end up feeling some of the effects for the rest of their lives. Especially if their injury is aggravated by job activities or day-to-day tasks, they could face flare-ups for the rest of their lives. Because of this, whiplash injuries may be sufficiently “permanent” to justify a lawsuit.
Suing for Delayed-Onset Whiplash in Car Accident Cases
Many whiplash victims may not understand that their whiplash injury can be included as part of the car accident damages since whiplash often has a delayed onset. If you were injured in a car crash, it is likely that you will not feel too much pain or discomfort for ten or more minutes after the crash. This is because adrenaline is pumping through your body, numbing your pain reaction and helping activate your “fight or flight” response, giving you the chance to cope with the injuries. Beyond that immediate pain-numbing, it can take even longer to notice a whiplash injury.
Whiplash injuries occur during the car accident but may not become obvious until the next morning. Even though the muscles, tendons, nerves, and bones in your neck undergo the strain of a whiplash injury during the crash, you may not notice the effects until after you get a good night’s rest. The muscles and ligaments in the neck are often stretched and pulled while your head makes a whipping motion, and it isn’t until these muscles and tendons tighten back up after a period of rest that the victim usually notices the injury.
Even though you might not know you have whiplash until the day after a car accident, you can still sue for these injuries. It is important to talk to emergency responders and seek ER treatment immediately after a crash if you think you might be injured. Their treatment can help show that you suffered injuries connected to the car crash. It is also important to follow-up with your physician the next day if you feel whiplash injuries setting in. Getting your condition documented by a medical expert right away can help show that your injury did indeed come from the car crash, especially if you didn’t do anything between the car crash and the discovery of the injury.
Miami Whiplash Attorney Offering Free Consultations for Car Crash Lawsuits
If you or a loved one received whiplash injuries in a car crash, call personal injury lawyer Prosper Shaked today. You may be entitled to file a lawsuit to seek compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. To schedule a free consultation on your case, contact Prosper Shaked Accident Injury Attorneys PA today at (305) 694-2676.