15mph accidents can cause whiplash injuries

Whiplash injuries are most commonly caused by car accidents. Even at speeds as low as 15 mph, the impact of another car colliding with yours can create sufficient energy to cause a whiplash injury. Contact sports and blows to the head can also result in whiplash injury. Minor whiplash can sometimes also be suffered by doing repetitive tasks that can strain the neck.

Whiplash injuries can also arise from child abuse, particularly the shaking of a baby. This can also result in much more serious injuries such as a head injury or brain injury.

Whiplash injury following a car accident
If your car is struck from behind, or crashes into another vehicle in front, your head can be jerked back and forth, in a motion that is beyond your control. This can result in the muscles and ligaments supporting the spine being over-stretched or torn. In the severest of cases the discs between the vertebrae in the neck can bulge, tear, or rupture.

Whilst whiplash is a very common injury in car accidents, car manufacturers claim that 80% of whiplash injuries can be prevented simply by positioning the headrest correctly.

The lowest your headrest should be is the top of your ears and it should be no higher than the top of your head. The headrest should be angled to be as close to your head as possible (no more than 2 inches away) without actually pushing it forward.

Headrests designed to pop forward to cushion a person's head during a crash, may in the future be fitted as standard to new cars. A study of insurance company records for Saab cars fitted with the Saab Active Head Restraint (SAHR), at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, has show that such devices may reduce the risk of whiplash injury by as much as 75%.

Seeking medical advice
If you have not already visited your GP, we recommend you do so as soon as possible, as in rare cases, whiplash injuries can be extremely serious. Your doctor will be able to advise you on the best course of treatment and may prescribe anti-inflamatories or pain killers to help you in your recovery. He may even refer you to a specialist for physiotherapy, if this is appropriate for your injury.

It will also help if there is a record of your injury at your GP or local hospital, should you wish to claim compensation for your whiplash

How we can help you following a whiplash injury
If you have suffered a whiplash injury in a car accident caused by another person, we can help you make a claim for personal injury compensation. Our solicitors work on a no cost, no win, no fee basis, which means that whatever the outcome of your claim you will be protected from yours and your opponent’s legal fees and costs. See No-win, no-fee for more information.

Free legal advice, 24 hours a day
To speak to a solicitor about making a whiplash injury compensation claim, call us now on 0808 143 43 42. Even if you are not sure whether to make a claim, do take advantage of our free legal advice, you’ll then be able to make the right decision about making a whiplash injury claim.

More information about whiplash injury

Whiplash symptoms
Whiplash advice – seeking medical attention
Whiplash diagnosis
Whiplash treatment
Whiplash injury claim