Examining the dangers of rear-end collisions

Many in Pottsville may believe that only high-speed collisions resulting in extensive vehicle damage can produce injuries that require victims to pursue compensation. Thus, when they are involved in simple rear-end accidents that apparently produce minimal damage, they may assume their potential to suffer a debilitating injury to be low. Research, however, seems to suggest that they could be wrong.

One of the more common injuries for people to sustain in an accident is whiplash. It is caused by the sudden jerking forward and backward of the neck that often occurs during a rear-end collision. Common signs and symptoms of this injury may include:

Nearly everyone has likely woken up one morning to a sore neck, only to have the pain dissipate a short time later. Whiplash, however, comes as result of muscle and/or tendon strain, meaning its results tend to linger. In fact, the results of a study shared by The Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry showed that over 52 percent of participants who had suffered whiplash accidents still reported having neck pain one year later.

How costly can a whiplash injury be? The aforementioned study also reported that a quarter of participants had to take time off of work due to their injuries. Nearly 25 percent of those people were away from their jobs for 1-6 months while recovering.

Those who believe that only high-speed rear-end collisions can cause whiplash may also be mistaken. Information shared by Dynamic Chiropractic shows the average speed at which whiplash becomes a danger to be only 6-12 mph. This shows that nearly any accident has the potential to be costly.