Neck and back injuries typically are among the most painful injuries suffered by those injured in motor vehicle accidents of all types. Serious back and spinal injuries also are among the most devastating injuries suffered by those involved in Georgia car accidents. Severe injuries to the neck and back can involve extensive rehabilitative therapy and pose a substantial economic drain on a family’s resources. Such injuries also can inhibit the ability of injury victims to continue working in their chosen occupation or result in permanent total disability in extreme cases.
Neck and back injuries are particularly common when your vehicle is rear-ended and may take weeks or even months to heal. They frequently result in permanent and debilitating pain and a severe decrease in mobility, which imposes limitations on a person’s ability to work and enjoy the daily activities that came so easily before the accident. Insurance adjusters are notorious for trying to minimize back and neck injuries by characterizing them as “soft tissue” injuries. This is a tactic designed to persuade car crash victims to accept unfair meager settlements. It is very important to consult an experienced car accident attorney before accepting a settlement offer because there will be no opportunity to go back and seek additional compensation if the injuries are more severe that you may have anticipated, and for example cause long term debiliting pain, require years of rehabilitation or interfere with your ability to work or enjoy life with your family and friends.
Atlanta Car Accident – Whiplash Injuries
Tragically, many car accident victims fall for the insurance company’s strategy and settle cases involving neck or back injuries before ascertaining the full extent of the injury or cost of medical and rehabilitative therapy. The reason for this is the stigma that is attached to whiplash injuries, leading many people to doubt whether they are injured as severely as they originally believed. The fact is that a whiplash injury can lead to long-term tissue damage. Whiplash results from the rapid forward extension of the neck and the equally violent “snapping” back into place. The sudden motion leads to a contraction of muscles in the neck and back, which further strains the tissues involved in the damaging forced movement. With this type of flexion and extension, there can be many micro-tears in the tissue, as well as nerve damage. Although some of these injuries do not appear on x-rays, MRIs, or other medical tests, that does not make them any less severe.
Many people mistakenly presume that neck and back strains and sprains are relatively minor injuries, which adds to the incentive to accept quick “lowball” settlement offers from an insurance company. However, one study found that 75 percent of victims that suffer from whiplash-type injuries, continue to suffer as a result of the injuries more than six months after the accident. The study also found that the average person who suffers such a “soft tissue” injury to the neck in the form of whiplash caused by an accident like a car crash typically misses approximately two months of work.
Whiplash or neck and back sprain injuries often are caused by negligent drivers who fail to observe Georgia traffic laws, engage in aggressive driving, or pay more attention to their cell phone than the flow of traffic. These injuries significantly impact a person’s life; however, there are even more serious consequences when an Atlanta car accident victim suffers a spinal disc injury as the result of a motor vehicle crash.
