Whiplash is one of the most common injuries after a car accident. It happens when the head suddenly moves back and forth due to the impact, injuring the neck. For example, if your car is suddenly hit from the back, your head will move back and forth rapidly before coming to a sudden stop.
Whiplash injuries cause a lot of pain and suffering to the victims. It may take you a long time to recover fully after the accident. Even if you do, treating whiplash is expensive, and you may not go to work for some time.
If you suffer whiplash injuries in an accident caused by someone else, you’ll be entitled to compensation to recover the medical bills and lost wages. However, you must prove that someone else was negligent and caused the accident.
If you’re wondering how to prove a whiplash car accident claim, this article explains in detail.
Proving Whiplash Claim
When seeking compensation for whiplash, you must prove that someone else caused the accident and you were injured. Here are the elements that must exist for your whiplash claim:
- Someone owed you the duty of care.
- They failed to exercise the duty of care by acting negligently.
- Their negligence caused you the whiplash injuries.
If you can prove that the three elements existed in your car accident, you have the right to file for compensation. Below are some tips to successfully file a personal injury claim in a whiplash injury.
1. Seek Medical Care
You will not recover compensation for treatment costs if you don’t present a medical report showing the extent of your injuries. You must seek immediate medical attention after an accident, even if you don’t feel any pain.
Sometimes, whiplash symptoms may take a lot of time to show. You may feel the pain and discomfort after several days or weeks. As soon as you experience the symptoms, seek medical help.
Some of the symptoms you’re likely to experience after whiplash injuries include:
- Headache
- Stiffness in the neck
- Severe neck pain
- Nausea
- Pain in the shoulder, arm, and upper back
- Ringing ears
- Memory loss
- Blurred vision
- Trouble sleeping
- Irritability
If you notice any of the symptoms above, you must seek immediate medical attention to prevent the injuries from worsening. Immediate medical attention is also important to strengthen your personal injury claim.
2. Collect Evidence
If you’re not severely injured during a car accident, then you should take some time to collect evidence. These are some of the things that will help strengthen your case further. Some of the evidence to collect include:
- Take photographs of the accident
- Request for CCTV footage if any
- Get witness statements.
- Police report
- Medical statements
- Supporting documents of your expenses
Collecting evidence at the scene will help you paint a clear picture of how the accident happened and who was at fault. If you’re taking pictures, do it before the cars are removed from the scene.
You can also accompany your evidence with the police report and medical statements. While these come later, you still need them when filing your claim.
3. Follow Up with Your Treatment Plan
Seeking medical help and getting treated for the day will not be enough for your claim. Your doctor will recommend certain treatment procedures to help with your recovery. Even if you already feel better, you still need to follow the treatment plan to the end.
You may not be able to get compensation if you neglect your treatment. If you still manage to get anything, it may be reduced on the grounds that you neglected your treatment.
If your injuries worsen after some time, you may not get any additional compensation because you neglected your treatment.
4. Start Your Whiplash Injury Claim
You must understand that there’s a statute of limitations when filing a personal injury claim. In many states, you’ll have up to three years to start your whiplash injury claim.
This period counts from the time of the accident. Insurance companies also have their own deadlines for reporting the accident and starting your claim process.
When filing your whiplash injury claim with the insurance company, understand that there are some things you should and should not do.
Remember, the insurance companies want to minimize losses and might put you in a tricky situation to minimize or deny your compensation.
Remember only to state the facts when filing your claim. Things such as the date, time, and place of the accident must be 100% correct. Be confident with your statements and avoid making any assumptions.
Secondly, you must never admit fault. If you’re also to blame for the accident, that will not be your issue to report.
Your extent of the fault will be clear in the evidence after all. If you admit fault even without knowing, the insurance company will use that against you.
5. Seek the Help of an Attorney
While it’s okay to file for the claim all by yourself, seeking legal help has many advantages. Remember, the insurance company has professionals representing them, and you will not match their knowledge if you don’t have any experience.
An attorney has your best interest at heart and will fight to ensure you receive fair compensation. They have experience filing various claims for whiplash injuries and can easily negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf.
An attorney will also give you appropriate legal advice so you don’t do anything that might jeopardize your claim.
With the help of your personal injury lawyer, you can also file a lawsuit if you don’t reach an agreement with the insurance company. Knowing that someone has your best interests will give you peace of mind and speed up your recovery.
Bottom Line
Expenses and losses after whiplash injuries can be too heavy on your pockets. You don’t have to carry the weight by yourself if you can get your compensation.
All you have to do is prove that someone else was responsible for the accident and get evidence to support your claim.
With the help of an experienced personal injury attorney, you’ll be able to figure out whether you’re eligible for whiplash injury compensation and begin your claim process.
An attorney will help you throughout the procedure to ensure you get a deserving settlement for your injuries and losses.
