A large number of car accidents in Northern Ireland result in whiplash injuries for passengers and drivers alike. With thousands or car crash related neck injuries each year, could you be eligible to make a compensation claim?
From Feeny to Downpatrick, car accidents are more common than you would think. Globally, car crashes kill around 1.19 million people each year. If you are lucky enough to suffer a car accident in or around Belfast and you manage to survive it? You are one of the lucky ones. Even if a lengthy recovery time or a serious whiplash injury means that you don’t feel like it.
How is Whiplash Caused?
Whiplash is the most commonly reported injury after a car accident because it is caused by the sudden jerking back and forward of your neck. When the neck muscles are jolted with force and without warning, the muscles strain to support the head. The resulting pain after the hyperextension is known as whiplash.
With between 20 and 50 million people internationally suffering injuries from survivable road traffic accidents, whiplash cases are a common occurrence.
What are the Symptoms of Whiplash (Neck Injury)?
Basic whiplash symptoms include pain in the neck, stiffness in the neck, shoulders, and back muscles, and a lack of neck mobility.
Moderate whiplash symptoms can include a ringing in the ears, muscle spasms, dizziness, nausea, and blurred vision.
Severe whiplash symptoms include memory loss, confusion, long term pain and even disability. In the most severe cases, whiplash symptoms can include paralysis or long-term mobility issues.
Defining Whiplash Associated Disorders (WAD)
The collection of severe symptoms associated with suffering from whiplash after a car collision is known as Whiplash Associated Disorders (WAD). Although the condition itself is not a disorder, it can cause the body to malfunction. Symptoms like dizziness, fatigue, pins and needles, and a lack of ability to concentrate might all be included in this, although they are rarer.
What are the Grades of WAD
While the US grades whiplash as grades 1-4, the health executive of Northern Ireland use a three point system. NI whiplash claims therefore fall broadly into one of three categories:
- Minor Whiplash
- Moderate Whiplash
- Severe Whiplash
The severity of your whiplash and associated disorders defines how much your whiplash claim is worth.
How Long Does It Take for Whiplash to Heal?
Whiplash could heal quickly. In the case of a basic whiplash injury, you may heal within three months. Occasionally, whiplash injuries can take longer to heal after a car crash. You could be a victim in a rear-end collision in Enniskillen in March and still be suffering neck pain in December.
In the worst cases, injuries caused by that collision could be permanent. If your whiplash associated disorders are still with you over a year later, then your compensation claim could be worth the maximum amount.
Why Hire Lacey Solicitors as your Whiplash Injury Solicitor?
From Belfast City Centre to the back streets of Bangor, Lacey solicitors have experience with handling car crash compensation claims. Whether you are side swiped by an overtaking vehicle or another vehicle reverses into you in a car park, you need an expert personal injury solicitor on your side.
Call +44 28 9089 6540 today to discuss your compensation claim for whiplash injuries.
