Whiplash is a painful neck injury that often occurs in car accidents, particularly rear-end accidents. It is caused by quick back-and-forth movement of the neck, which can damage muscles, ligaments, and bones or nerves in the spine.
Unfortunately, an ongoing study has revealed that traditional MRI scanning practices are not sufficient for discovering whiplash injuries. Thousands of patients have undiagnosed cases of whiplash because the injury was not identified by traditional MRI scans.
The study concludes that medical professionals need to conduct more thorough MRI scans of patients’ necks to discover whiplash.
Medical professionals need to pay special attention to the craniocervical junction, a complex group of ligaments and tissues connecting the top of the spine to the skull.
Researchers conducted detailed scans on 200 patients who were suspected of having whiplash; 60 to 70 percent were found to have undiagnosed problems in the craniocervical junction.
Many of these issues can be easily fixed by implanting a screw-like device in the joint to stabilize it and allow the damage to heal.
Unfortunately, the craniocervical junction is not usually scanned in a routine MRI, which results in some whiplash injuries going undetected, causing years of pain and suffering.
Many of these patients are told that there is nothing wrong and they are not referred to specialists for more testing.
Signs of a Whiplash Injury
Our Watertown car accident attorneys advise you to watch for these symptoms of whiplash after an auto accident:
- Neck pain
- Shoulder pain
- Arm pain
- Numbness in the arms or hands
- Dizziness
- Fatigue
- Memory loss
- Poor concentration
What to do After a Whiplash Injury
If you think you suffered whiplash in a car accident, one of the things you should do immediately after the accident is seek medical treatment.
The faster you seek treatment, the less likely you are to develop long-term symptoms or other problems related to whiplash.
Seeking treatment quickly is also important if you plan to file an insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit over your injury.
Insurance companies and juries are often suspicious about the legitimacy of whiplash claims and often assume these are not serious injuries and victims do not require much, if any compensation.
However, seeking treatment immediately helps to demonstrate the seriousness of your injury.
Contact Our Experienced Attorneys Today
The next step is to contact our Watertown car accident attorneys for a free, no obligation legal consultation. We can inform you of all of your legal options.
If you have a case and decide to proceed, we will not charge legal fees unless there is a favorable resolution of your claim.