More often than not, insurance companies may question a victim's assertion of back pains, neck pains, headaches, or otherwise soft tissue injuries sustained in accidents where the property damage appears low impact or minor. However, from a medical consideration, given there is little correlation between the impact of the accident to the severity of injury sustained, low impact accidents have routinely led to serious muscular and/ or spinal injuries. Those sustaining various levels of trauma from their auto accidents often experience whiplash occurring when the head, neck and back are jerked back and forth at the time of impact causes inflammation of the muscles and strain ligaments, resulting in various types of soft tissue diagnosis including but not limited to:
· Sprain of ligaments of cervical spine
· Strain of muscle, fascia and tendon at neck level
· Acute post-traumatic headache
· Sprain of ligaments of thoracic spine
· Strain of back wall of thorax
· Pain in thoracic spine
· Contracture of muscle
· Cervical disc degeneration
· Intervertebral disc degeneration, thoracic region
· Spondylosis w/o myelopathy or radiculopathy, cervical region
· Spondylosis w/o myelopathy or radiculopathy, thoracic region
· Cervicalgia
· Segmental and somatic dysfunction of cervical & thoracic region
Victims may anticipate to experience symptoms within 24 to 48 hours of an accident which may include stiffness, soreness and possibly swelling in addition to various bodily/ muscular pains resulting in a reduced range of motion. These medical issues are generally treated through a combination of visits to the hospital (ER), primary care physician, physical therapist and even specialists for orthopedic, neurology, and pain management as treatment.
Therefore, due to the seriousness of soft tissue injuries, it is not advisable to contact an insurance adjuster without talking to an experienced auto accident lawyer. If you or a loved on has sustained any of the above described soft tissue injuries from an auto accident, please contact us for a free phone or in person consultation.