When it comes to personal injury, lawyers are not unfamiliar with whiplash claims. Motorists can suffer whiplash regardless of driving speed or seatbelts and in varying degrees of pain. Consequently it is no surprise that some would contend that whiplash claims are the most common form of accident claims. What many may not know however, is that studies are showing a link between whiplash and more serious potential conditions.
The Institute of Health and Work ran a study on 5840 Saskatchewan adults who were dealing with whiplash injuries and discovered a link between whiplash victims and depression. Out of the group who showed no previous signs of depression
“more than 40 per cent developed symptoms of depression within six weeks of the injury”
Following this, the Institute of Health and Work also noted that
“About 18 per cent more developed symptoms over the following year”
Fortunately they did discover that for most, the depression stopped over time. Those who continued to have symptoms had suffered mental unbalance prior to their road traffic accident.
Many solicitors suggest that motorists involved in rear-end collisions should seek medical attention for whiplash. The concern is that whiplash may be not only dangerous to the spine and neck but also may cause brain damage. The study quoted from the Brain Injury Journal suggests that
“whiplash injuries could cause anatomical changes to the brain, resulting in herniation which can see the organ dip through an opening in the base of the skull.”
Although this may sound like a worst-case scenario, road traffic accident victims should consider that
“After studying 1,200 whiplash victims’ MRI scans, the researchers found that brain injury occurred in nearly a quarter (23 per cent) of cases.”
That is a little less than 300 people who would have to take brain injury into account when assessing personal injury compensation claims.
Related Personal Injury News
- How to log a whiplash claim
- Claims advice given to whiplash patients
- Whiplash injuries and claims demystified
- Slough has a terrible road traffic accident record
- The consequences of road traffic accidents in relation to costs and fees for the general public
This article does not cover the much more serious side of whiplash injury which can cause a syrinx in your spinal cord. This has been known to happen even when someone just fell out of a tree. A third of all Syrinx are Post Traumatic occuring in whiplash type injuries. A Syrinx can cause Paraplegia and Quadraplegia, so anyone suffering a whiplash injury should have a Brain & Cervical & Thoracic MRI scan at the time of the accident and again before settling a damages claim. There is also the delightful prospect of Arachnoiditis which can occur afterwards. So NO ONE should settle a Whiplash Injury Claim, ever, without the provision to return to court for further damages, should a Syrinx or Arachnoiditis occur later.
Comment by Injury_Claims_ — August 31, 2010 @ 12:29 pm