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The information you obtain at this site is not, nor is intended to be, legal advice.
You should consult an attorney for individual advice regarding your own situation.
Please e-mail the webmaster with questions and comments about this site.
Designed by Will Murphy
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INFORMATIVE ARTICLES
Please Note: The information contained below is meant only to provide some general thoughts on just some of the types of injuries that one can sustain in an accident or collision. It is imperative that all individuals who have been in an accident or collision immediately seek medical attention so that medical professionals can properly evaluate and diagnose any injuries or medical/mental conditions that may have occurred in the accident or collision. Nothing contained in this website is intended to be a substitute for proper medical advice. We will update this articles section periodically.
Back and neck injuries and related medical conditions can be quite serious and take months or years to recover from. Surgery and extensive physical therapy and other treatment modalities may be necessary. This can result in substantial medical expense, work loss, severe pain and mental suffering, loss of usual activities, stress and a serious impact on daily living. If you have been involved in an accident, you should seek immediate medical attention. The information contained in the below articles is meant to provide a very broad overview of the importance of obtaining excellent medical attention, diagnosis and treatment, as well as to provide you with a snapshot of the just some of the types of medical problems that can develop as a result of an accident or collision. After seeking medical attention, be sure to contact our office for a free consultation to learn all that is necessary in order to fully protect your legal rights and make sure that you receive the compensation you deserve following a serious accident or collision.
It is important for accident victims to receive a thorough medical examination following an accident. Whether the examination is in the emergency room, immediate health care facility or the victim’s family physician’s office, the purpose of the exam is to obtain a diagnosis of the patient’s condition in order to get started with an effective course of treatment. The initial exam often consists of the physician taking a history from the patient, which includes the victim’s re-telling of the events leading up to the injury, as well as a thorough physical examination of the patient. The examining doctor can then usually reach an impression or working diagnosis, and can then recommend an effective treatment plan. This can include providing instructions to the patient, prescribing medication, or ordering further x-rays and other diagnostic exams.
Tests are usually performed to identify subjective and objective symptoms. Objective symptoms include symptoms that a patient can’t consciously control. Subjective symptoms are those symptoms that a patient can exert control over. Tests that the examining physician performs to identify objective symptoms for patients suffering neck or back injuries may include checking the patient’s lordotic curve (the curvature of the patient’s spine), palpating the affected area for signs of muscle spasm, measuring bodily areas for signs of muscle atrophy, and testing inner structures (joints, ligaments, fascia and nerve roots) through a series of passive and resistance movements. The patient’ motor, sensory and reflex powers are also tested, as well as the patient’s mental status. The physician may use some of the following tests to identify objective and subjective symptoms when examining the patient:
The Valsalva Test is used to locate presence of a herniated disc or pressure in the spinal column. The Spurling Test is used to diagnose presence of radiating pain (such as from neck to shoulder and arm). The Babinski Test is used to detect presence of brain or spinal cord irregularities or disease. The Distraction Test is used to diagnose scope and degree of nerve damage or osteoarthritis. The Oppenheim’s Test is also used to diagnose presence of brain or spinal cord disease. The Slump Test is used to locate presence of tension on a nerve. The Straight Leg Raise Test is used to diagnose inflammation of low back radiating pain to lower leg. The Beevor’s Test is used to diagnose injury to Thoracic vertebrae. The Patrick’s Test is used to diagnose injury to hip joint. The Compression Test is u sed to diagnose nerve root disease or pathology.
Whiplash is often the result of rear end auto accidents. Whiplash can result from injury to the neck or cervical area caused by an accident or automobile collision. Whiplash is known as a cervical hyperextension-hyperflexion injury. The resulting neck injury is not always known right at the time of the accident. Whiplash received its name from the mechanism of the injury. Whiplash is caused by forces from a rear end collision which forces the neck and head to accelerate forward, which results in snapping the head and neck backwards, in a whip-like motion. This hyperextension injury causes the neck muscles, ligaments and fibers to stretch very rapidly, and ultimately results in the muscles becoming ruptured. Hyperflexion then occurs, which is a serious and sudden contraction of the neck muscles. Whiplash symptoms may not come on for several hours or days after the accident. Whiplash can result in serious and permanent injury to the cervical spine. Symptoms include pain and stiffness in the cervical region. These symptoms can worsen with movement of the cervical area. Pain can radiate from the cervical area to the shoulder and/or down the arm, and can cause radiating pain down both shoulders and arms. Pain can radiate as far down as to the hand or hands. Symptoms can include TMJ pain, eye pain, hearing loss, dizziness, upset stomach, and problems with attention, memory and concentration. Patients need to be evaluated for post-concussion syndrome as well.
Many Insurance companies and their so-called independent medical evaluators consider whiplash to be a fake or made up condition that is used by accident victims to obtain financial compensation. However, medical literature supports that this condition exists and can be caused by forces like the ones exerted in rear end automobile accidents. Whiplash is an acceleration-deceleration trauma. This type of injury can result in permanent or long term pain and disability. Associated damage to ligaments, nerves, vertebrae, muscles, joints and nerves can occur. Whiplash injuries should be properly diagnosed and treated by proper experts. The types of experts to be consulted may include:
Medical and Chiropractic literature holds that over a third of patients who suffer whiplash will suffer long term symptoms, and that for patients who are still symptomatic 3 months or more following the accident, there is more than an 80% chance that they will remain symptomatic.
Many Insurance companies and their supposedly independent medical research hold that whiplash type injuries can’t occur in low speed collisions. However, simulated impacts at low and high speeds have been studied thoroughly and the results confirm that low speed collisions with minimal or no visible damage to a vehicle can cause significant injury to the head and neck of the passengers in the impacted vehicle. In fact, it has been shown that high speeds are not even especially important in determining the extent of the whiplash type injuries sustained in the collision. Whether you were injured in a low or high speed collision, the important thing is to get quick medical attention and treatment, and to call our law office soon after the collision to insure that your legal rights are fully protected.
A fracture to a bony structure can result from injury to the neck or cervical area, or mid to low back, caused by an accident or automobile collision. Fractures can range from a slight crack to the bone up to a complete break. They can be simple or compound. Simple fractures include those that have no open wound at the site of the fracture. Compound fractures include those that involve tissue damage above the fracture site that includes tissue that is cut, torn or opened, which exposes the bone. A type of fracture that is sometimes seen following a serious accident is a vertebral fracture. When hypeflexion of the spine occurs a portion of one or more vertebrae in the spine can collapse, resulting in a wedge shaped fracture. Sometimes a more serious vertebral fracture, a burst fracture, may occur. It is important to get immediate medical attention and a proper diagnosis. A MRI scan is often performed, and sometimes a CT scan is necessary.
Please Note: The information contained below is meant only to provide some general thoughts on just some of the types of injuries that one can sustain in an accident or collision. It is imperative that all individuals who have been in an accident or collision immediately seek medical attention so that medical professionals can properly evaluate and diagnose any injuries or medical/mental conditions that may have occurred in the accident or collision. Nothing contained in this website is intended to be a substitute for proper medical advice. We will update this articles section periodically.
- TYPICAL MEDICAL EXAMS FOLLOWING AN ACCIDENT
Back and neck injuries and related medical conditions can be quite serious and take months or years to recover from. Surgery and extensive physical therapy and other treatment modalities may be necessary. This can result in substantial medical expense, work loss, severe pain and mental suffering, loss of usual activities, stress and a serious impact on daily living. If you have been involved in an accident, you should seek immediate medical attention. The information contained in the below articles is meant to provide a very broad overview of the importance of obtaining excellent medical attention, diagnosis and treatment, as well as to provide you with a snapshot of the just some of the types of medical problems that can develop as a result of an accident or collision. After seeking medical attention, be sure to contact our office for a free consultation to learn all that is necessary in order to fully protect your legal rights and make sure that you receive the compensation you deserve following a serious accident or collision.
It is important for accident victims to receive a thorough medical examination following an accident. Whether the examination is in the emergency room, immediate health care facility or the victim’s family physician’s office, the purpose of the exam is to obtain a diagnosis of the patient’s condition in order to get started with an effective course of treatment. The initial exam often consists of the physician taking a history from the patient, which includes the victim’s re-telling of the events leading up to the injury, as well as a thorough physical examination of the patient. The examining doctor can then usually reach an impression or working diagnosis, and can then recommend an effective treatment plan. This can include providing instructions to the patient, prescribing medication, or ordering further x-rays and other diagnostic exams.
Tests are usually performed to identify subjective and objective symptoms. Objective symptoms include symptoms that a patient can’t consciously control. Subjective symptoms are those symptoms that a patient can exert control over. Tests that the examining physician performs to identify objective symptoms for patients suffering neck or back injuries may include checking the patient’s lordotic curve (the curvature of the patient’s spine), palpating the affected area for signs of muscle spasm, measuring bodily areas for signs of muscle atrophy, and testing inner structures (joints, ligaments, fascia and nerve roots) through a series of passive and resistance movements. The patient’ motor, sensory and reflex powers are also tested, as well as the patient’s mental status. The physician may use some of the following tests to identify objective and subjective symptoms when examining the patient:
The Valsalva Test is used to locate presence of a herniated disc or pressure in the spinal column. The Spurling Test is used to diagnose presence of radiating pain (such as from neck to shoulder and arm). The Babinski Test is used to detect presence of brain or spinal cord irregularities or disease. The Distraction Test is used to diagnose scope and degree of nerve damage or osteoarthritis. The Oppenheim’s Test is also used to diagnose presence of brain or spinal cord disease. The Slump Test is used to locate presence of tension on a nerve. The Straight Leg Raise Test is used to diagnose inflammation of low back radiating pain to lower leg. The Beevor’s Test is used to diagnose injury to Thoracic vertebrae. The Patrick’s Test is used to diagnose injury to hip joint. The Compression Test is u sed to diagnose nerve root disease or pathology.
- WHAT IS “WHIPLASH”
Whiplash is often the result of rear end auto accidents. Whiplash can result from injury to the neck or cervical area caused by an accident or automobile collision. Whiplash is known as a cervical hyperextension-hyperflexion injury. The resulting neck injury is not always known right at the time of the accident. Whiplash received its name from the mechanism of the injury. Whiplash is caused by forces from a rear end collision which forces the neck and head to accelerate forward, which results in snapping the head and neck backwards, in a whip-like motion. This hyperextension injury causes the neck muscles, ligaments and fibers to stretch very rapidly, and ultimately results in the muscles becoming ruptured. Hyperflexion then occurs, which is a serious and sudden contraction of the neck muscles. Whiplash symptoms may not come on for several hours or days after the accident. Whiplash can result in serious and permanent injury to the cervical spine. Symptoms include pain and stiffness in the cervical region. These symptoms can worsen with movement of the cervical area. Pain can radiate from the cervical area to the shoulder and/or down the arm, and can cause radiating pain down both shoulders and arms. Pain can radiate as far down as to the hand or hands. Symptoms can include TMJ pain, eye pain, hearing loss, dizziness, upset stomach, and problems with attention, memory and concentration. Patients need to be evaluated for post-concussion syndrome as well.
- IS WHIPLASH A REAL MEDICAL CONDITION?
Many Insurance companies and their so-called independent medical evaluators consider whiplash to be a fake or made up condition that is used by accident victims to obtain financial compensation. However, medical literature supports that this condition exists and can be caused by forces like the ones exerted in rear end automobile accidents. Whiplash is an acceleration-deceleration trauma. This type of injury can result in permanent or long term pain and disability. Associated damage to ligaments, nerves, vertebrae, muscles, joints and nerves can occur. Whiplash injuries should be properly diagnosed and treated by proper experts. The types of experts to be consulted may include:
- Orthopedists
- Doctors of Chiropractic Medicine (Chiropractors)
- Neurologists
- Neurosurgeons
- Dentists and Oral Surgeons
- Neuropsychologists
Medical and Chiropractic literature holds that over a third of patients who suffer whiplash will suffer long term symptoms, and that for patients who are still symptomatic 3 months or more following the accident, there is more than an 80% chance that they will remain symptomatic.
- LOW IMPACT COLLISIONS AND INJURY
Many Insurance companies and their supposedly independent medical research hold that whiplash type injuries can’t occur in low speed collisions. However, simulated impacts at low and high speeds have been studied thoroughly and the results confirm that low speed collisions with minimal or no visible damage to a vehicle can cause significant injury to the head and neck of the passengers in the impacted vehicle. In fact, it has been shown that high speeds are not even especially important in determining the extent of the whiplash type injuries sustained in the collision. Whether you were injured in a low or high speed collision, the important thing is to get quick medical attention and treatment, and to call our law office soon after the collision to insure that your legal rights are fully protected.
- FRACTURES TO BONES AND VERTEBRAE
A fracture to a bony structure can result from injury to the neck or cervical area, or mid to low back, caused by an accident or automobile collision. Fractures can range from a slight crack to the bone up to a complete break. They can be simple or compound. Simple fractures include those that have no open wound at the site of the fracture. Compound fractures include those that involve tissue damage above the fracture site that includes tissue that is cut, torn or opened, which exposes the bone. A type of fracture that is sometimes seen following a serious accident is a vertebral fracture. When hypeflexion of the spine occurs a portion of one or more vertebrae in the spine can collapse, resulting in a wedge shaped fracture. Sometimes a more serious vertebral fracture, a burst fracture, may occur. It is important to get immediate medical attention and a proper diagnosis. A MRI scan is often performed, and sometimes a CT scan is necessary.
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