Auto Accidents, work injuries or just overexertion can cause neck pain. Neck pain resulting from an auto accident is caused by sudden movement of your neck and upper body. In auto accidents, the force of the impact moves your body forward, but your head and neck follow behind this movement. Your body is caught by the seatbelt, but your head and shoulders get overextended and this could cause strain on the tissues in your shoulders and neck. Ligaments, tendons, and muscles in your neck and shoulder could be torn or strained.
I don’t feel any pain in my neck after my auto accident
You may not feel any pain in your neck the day of the auto accident. The next day however, the pain in your neck may be over bearing. Delayed pain is very common in auto accident injuries, furthering your need to see a doctor quickly after an auto accident collision to provide medical care to help minimize pain.
Common symptoms
- Neck Pain
- Neck stiffness
- Restricted movement while turning your head from side to side
- Dizziness
- Ringing in your ears
- Weakness in limbs
- Shoulder pain or stiffness
Whiplash
Whiplash is what you may have experienced in auto collision. This term has been the blunt of many jokes, but if it ever happens to you, it’s no joke, it can be quite painful. Neck pain resulting from whiplash is very common in auto accidents, sports injuries, and work type injuries.
Delayed Injury
One of the reasons you may not feel any pain after an auto accident is adrenaline. Adrenaline is released after your collision. This adrenaline acts like natural pain killer. It is not uncommon for neck pain to start days or weeks after a auto accident. The pain may range from just uncomfortable to severe. After adrenaline wears off, is generally when the pain will start. Swelling and inflammation are conditions that tell you something is wrong, the healing process has begun. If treatment is not rendered very quickly after you have been injured in an auto accident, you may end up with scar tissue that may turn into chronic pain. It is vital that you seek medical treatment after a auto accident.
I went to the ER, but they did not do much if anything
This is common with most accident injures that involved neck and back pain. The ER may not do much other than you give you some prescriptions ( you are lucky if they even do that these days) and tell you to follow up with your primary care in three days. The emergency room was designed to get people out of immediate life threatening conditions, they may not consider neck pain a life threatening condition. It is always good to go to the ER after an accident, they still may do XRAYs, an MRI or CT scan to determine the extent of your injuries. You also have a record that you went to the ER for an accident injury, this may help in the future if you decide to pursue a personal injury case against the at fault party.
Personal injury claims and whiplash
Personal injury claims should be a last resort for anyone wanting to get compensated for an injury after an auto accident, it would be nice if the insurance company would do the right thing to avoid having to hire a personal injury lawyer. Unfortunately the insurance company has had to deal with a lot of frivolous claims in the past, so they are very skeptical to begin with when someone is claiming personal injuries.
What makes an insurance company not believe you are injured
You wait too long to see a doctor
waiting too long or seeing a doctor after you have hired an attorney may be a red flag for insurance company. The longer you wait to seek medical care, the more the adjuster is going to think you your injury was caused by something else. Seek medical attention immediately following your accident. If you seek medical care immediately after your auto accident, your claim may have more credibility
Make sure you see a creditable doctor that treats auto injuries
Seeing the right doctor after you have been injured is very important to you the creditability of your case. Insurance companies may keep records of doctors and lawyers who work together to run up medical cost to achieve a better settlement for themselves. They are not concerned for your wellbeing at all or looking after your best interest. Make sure you see a creditable doctor.
Make sure to follow doctors orders
I have to admit, I don’t know if I could do this, however, if the doctor says you need to sit out of work for a few days, you may need to follow his or hers instruction. I know many Americans simply cannot afford to do this. I had an attorney tell me one time, you have to do what is best for you. Is the doctor or the attorney going to pay your bills?
If you have neck pain after an auto accident and need to seek medical care, you find a doctor on our website that can provide you medical care under a lien. Don’t put off care because your PC wants money up front or you would have to pay out of pocket. If we do not have a doctor listed on our website in your area, contact us and we will help you find one