Oakville Whiplash Lawyer

Neck pain and stiffness after a rear-end accident are common signs that you have whiplash. Some victims will shrug this off as normal pain that will go away in time, but it is a severe injury that requires medical treatment. You must get a medical evaluation from emergency personnel or your primary doctor to determine your injury and establish a treatment plan to alleviate your pain and symptoms. 

You must also speak to a personal injury lawyer in Oakville, TN, from Gatti, Keltner, Bienvenu & Montesi PLC to determine the next legal steps. 

Whiplash Is Not a Minor Injury

Accident victims assume that since whiplash is prevalent in car accidents, it is a minor injury. They also believe that the accident must be severe for a severe injury to occur, but that is not the case. You can suffer a severe whiplash injury from a minor car accident. 

While speed is a contributing factor in the severity of your injury, slow-speed accidents can also cause significant injuries. 

Whiplash is a painful injury that will impede your daily life and make sleeping uncomfortable. Recovery can be short or long, depending on individual factors. During your recovery, you cannot drive or work, which will cause physical and financial strain. 

Signs of Whiplash 

When you begin to feel pain or stiffness in your neck, it is a sign that something is wrong and you need medical attention. Medical professionals can classify your whiplash injury from zero to four, with grade zero having no physical symptoms and grade four being a fracture or dislocation. Symptoms of whiplash will vary by person and severity but will include:

• Tingling sensation or numbness in your arms
• Tired or dizzy
• Pain gets worse when you move your neck from side to side 
• Your concentration or memory is impacted
• Constant headaches beginning from the base of your skull 
• Blurry vision 
• Ringing in your ear 

The best way to determine if you have whiplash is to speak to a doctor who will run tests and conduct an evaluation. Your neck injury can result in strain or disc damage, and you must take these injuries seriously. Some whiplash injuries lead to disc, ligament, muscle, or nerve damage that can leave you with a permanent impairment. 

Our whiplash attorneys will work with your medical team to set up appointments and payment plans. 

Treatment Is Available for Victims of Whiplash Injuries

Before you can resume your daily activities, you will need treatment for your whiplash injury. You will feel pain and discomfort, and a physician will establish a treatment plan that addresses your symptoms and manages your pain. They will prescribe medication and send you to physical therapy. 

Throughout your physical therapy sessions, you will participate in activities to strengthen your neck, reduce swelling and alleviate pain. Treatment can also involve chiropractic care, rest, and home stretches. You will need spinal injections or surgery to relieve your symptoms in severe cases. 

For some individuals, it will take a couple of weeks, but for others, it can take several months to get back on their feet. 

How Whiplash Occurs

The back-and-forth movement of your head can cause strain on your neck, like when you are in a car accident, sports incident, or suffer physical abuse. Immediately following an accident, you will not experience symptoms because whiplash can take hours or days to appear. You must get to a doctor immediately to report your symptoms. 

Three actions can lead to a neck injury during a vehicle collision: hyperextension, hyper fixation, and impact. Upon the initial crash, the neck hyperextended in one direction. Then, it hyper-fixated in the opposite direction. 

Lastly, your head will impact a surface like the steering wheel or headrest, causing your whiplash injury. 

Proving Liability for Your Whiplash Injury 

After a whiplash injury, you must contact a whiplash attorney in Oakville, TN, to prove to the insurance company that their insured caused your injury, and they must pay for your losses. In car accidents, our Oakville whiplash lawyers must show the driver was violating their duty of care when they hit you. Some examples of this violation are:

• Speeding 
• Driving too fast for the conditions
• Not leaving enough space between vehicles 
• Distracted driving
• Driving while impaired by drugs or alcohol

While you might assume the driver is responsible for the accident, other entities, like a brakes manufacturer or repair shop, can also share liability. After a car accident, contact our whiplash lawyers to uncover the cause of your injury and the responsible party. 

Recovering Compensation for a Whiplash Injury in Oakville

A rear-end collision can cause financial consequences that will take years to recover from, which is why you need a law firm that will fight to get you a fair settlement. Gatti, Keltner, Bienvenu & Montesi PLC will pursue compensation for:

• Medical expenses, including ambulance costs, physical therapy, x-rays, hospital bills, medications, injections, and out-of-pocket expenses 
• Lost wages for time off or the accident and subsequent medical appointments
• Lost earning capacity when you must change careers or take a lower-paying position because your injury prevents you from working in the same capacity as before the accident
• Pain and suffering, which we can prove by using your pain journal detailing the severity of your pain and how long it lasts.
• A future expense like ongoing medical care 

Other types of compensation are available for accident victims, and it is imperative for you to work with an Oakville whiplash lawyer to uncover all compensation methods available to you. 

Call an Oakville Whiplash Attorney Today

After a rear-end collision or other incident causing whiplash, you must speak with our Oakville whiplash lawyer to get the compensation you deserve for your losses. Gatti, Keltner, Bienvenu & Montesi PLC will review the details of the accident, gather evidence, review insurance policies, and fight for you. Whiplash victims find themselves out of work for extended periods and a mountain of medical bills with no income to pay for them. 

Our goal is to alleviate the stress of these accidents so you can focus on healing. Call our office to speak to an Oakville whiplash lawyer today.