Whiplash injury compensation claims

Whiplash injuries are usually caused by road traffic accidents in a car. A whiplash injury can affect the bones, discs, muscles, nerves or tendons.

Whiplash occurs when an unexpected force suddenly jerks the head backwards or sideways, followed by a reflect contraction in the opposite direction.

Symptoms usually ease without any specific treatment. It is best to keep the neck active and moving and if required painkillers will ease the pain.

What is a whiplash neck sprain?

The term whiplash is used to describe the snapping action of the neck. A whiplash neck sprain occurs when your head is suddenly jolted backwards and forwards in a whip-like movement. This can cause neck muscles and ligaments to stretch more than normal (a sprain).

The term whiplash is used to describe the snapping action of the neck. A whiplash neck sprain occurs when your head is suddenly jolted backwards and forwards in a whip-like movement. This can cause neck muscles and ligaments to stretch more than normal (a sprain).

What is the whiplash motion?

The whiplash motion happens at the time of impact is when the head is thrown backwards whilst the body moves forwards. This movement is known as hyperextension because the muscles and ligaments get excessively straightened, often suffering damage.

Who suffers whiplash?

Whiplash injuries are very common. About 2 in 3 people involved in car crashes develop neck pain even when the car crash was minor. Even an incident when a car is travelling slowly and bumps an object may be sufficient to cause the whiplash motion, therefore resulting in neck pain.

The head may then get thrown forwards, typically if brakes have been applied harshly or the car has come to a sudden stop against another vehicle. This forwards movement is called hyperflexion and the neck joint over-bends, sometimes causing the chin to touch the chest. This can cause further damage to the neck.

It takes a very short amount of time for a whiplash injury to occur in a car accident. The processes of hyperextension and hyperflexion occur in approximately 1/10th of a second and are followed just 1/10th of a second later by a return to the typical neck position. It has been discovered that even in a low speed car accident of 8 mph, the head will move up to 18 inches in an extremely short period.

During the accident, the energy that comes from the changing velocity of the cars (with the striking car decelerating and the struck car accelerating) is transferred into the bodies of the occupants. This force creates the very fast movement with which we associate a whiplash-type injury.

However, it is extremely rare for bones in the neck to be damaged when a whiplash movement occurs. It is normally the neck muscles, joints and ligaments which suffer the effects of the whiplash-type injury and cause discomfort. This is known as soft tissue damage.

Whiplash isn’t only caused by car accidents. A whiplash neck sprain can be caused by a trip or fall or even an accident at work.

Get compensation

Whiplash injuries are suffered by thousands of people in the UK. Many of these people suffer whiplash through a car accident due to no fault of their own.

If you have suffered a whiplash injury and you were either a driver or passenger in a car crash, Oscar Hamilton are here to help.

We are experts in whiplash-associated injuries and are here to provide you with the best representation for your case. No win, no fee compensation means if your case isn’t successful, you pay nothing.