Whiplash injuries are the result of rapid, violent back-and-forth movement of the neck and are most commonly associated with motor vehicle accidents, especially among motorists who are rear-ended (although they can result from several forms of trauma, such as a physical altercation or sports collision). While often dismissed by defense attorneys as an insignificant or phantom injury, whiplash is a very real, very painful soft tissue injury that can lead to years or even a lifetime of complications and treatment.

The most common and persistent symptoms of whiplash include neck pain, stiffness, and headaches. In many cases, these issues resolve themselves over time, but in others, they require exercise, physical rehabilitation, and medication, or some combination of the three. Unfortunately, some people suffer chronic pain for years following their injury.

If you have been involved in a car accident, you should always seek medical treatment, even if you don’t think that you have suffered an injury or if you think that the injury you have suffered is mild. Being treated by a medical professional immediately following the wreck could be imperative in proving damages at some point down the line. Several conditions, including whiplash, may not exhibit symptoms for days, weeks, or even years, but diagnostic imaging and a thorough examination could uncover the injury before symptoms begin to manifest.

With injuries such as whiplash, insurance adjusters are often skeptical. Therefore, it’s imperative that the first word on the matter is reported by a treating physician, rather than, say, a chiropractor months after the fact. Don’t make the mistake of speaking with an insurance adjuster at the scene of the accident, and don’t forego medical treatment. Doing so could jeopardize your potential claim before it begins.