Fort Worth Whiplash Injury Lawyer
Have you suffered a whiplash injury after a rear-end collision or accident at work? If your accident was caused by someone else, you may be entitled to compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, and other damages.
An experienced Fort Worth whiplash injury lawyer at Stephens Law Firm, PLLC can help you fight for the full compensation you deserve.
Contact our Fort Worth, TX injury offices today or give us a call at (817) 420-7000 to schedule a free case review with award-winning car accident attorney Jason Stephens to discuss your case.
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How a Fort Worth Personal Injury Attorney Can Help with Your Whiplash Case
Even a seemingly minor accident can lead to a serious whiplash injury that leaves you struggling with pain and unable to work. To make matters worse, recovering the compensation you deserve from the party who caused your accident isn’t always easy.
Insurance companies are armed with teams of lawyers and claims adjusters who limit payouts as much as possible. While you are trying to recover and move forward, you’re left defending yourself against claims that you’re to blame.
A Fort Worth personal injury lawyer serves as your advocate to defend you against these claims, build evidence to strengthen your claim, and negotiate on your behalf. Jason Stephens is an award-winning trial lawyer in Fort Worth. He has been recognized as a Texas Super Lawyer with the highest Martindale-Hubbell AV rating and has secured some of the state’s largest verdicts.
When you choose Stephens Law Firm, PLLC to represent you, you can count on your Fort Worth whiplash injury lawyer to:
- Guide you through the legal process and answer your questions
- Perform an in-depth investigation of your accident
- Handle every aspect of your personal injury case
- Consult with accident reconstruction specialists, medical experts, and law enforcement
- Gather evidence proving causation, liability, and your damages
- Negotiate to reach a fair settlement offer with the insurance company
If a settlement can’t be reached to fully compensate you, Jason Stephens is not afraid to present your case in a courtroom. Contact Stephens Law Firm, PLLC today for a free case review with an aggressive Fort Worth whiplash accident lawyer who will fight for you.
What Is Whiplash?
Whiplash is a common neck injury that results from a sudden and forceful back-and-forth motion of the head. While whiplash can occur in sports accidents or other types of trauma, whiplash is most common after a car accident. Rear-end collisions are most likely to lead to whiplash.
Whiplash is a type of soft-tissue injury that can damage tendons, ligaments, nerves, and muscles in the cervical spine. It’s also called a neck strain or cervical strain.
This type of injury happens when a force causes the body to violently move in one direction while the neck and head either do not move or move in the opposite direction. This sudden force can stretch and even tear tendons, muscles, and other soft tissue.
Whiplash injury symptoms usually develop within 24 hours of an accident, but they can take days to develop.
Common symptoms of whiplash include:
- Headaches that originate at the base of the skull
- Limited range of motion of the neck
- Increasing neck pain that may feel like an ache, stiffness, or pinching
- Soreness or tenderness near the neck, upper arms, shoulders, and upper back
- Fatigue
- Dizziness
Some people also develop blurry vision, tinnitus, and difficulty sleeping and concentrating.
Consequences of a Whiplash Injury
It’s a common misconception that whiplash is a minor injury. The truth is whiplash can cause chronic pain and more serious consequences. You do not need to be driving fast and your vehicle does not even need to sustain damage to suffer a whiplash injury. Many whiplash injuries occur in accidents at speeds between 5mph and 10mph!
According to one study, up to half of all whiplash patients never fully recover. Up to one-third of people who sustain a whiplash injury are left moderately to severely disabled.
Whiplash-associated disorders (WADs) can cause neurological and physical symptoms that may be chronic. Some victims deal with consequences such as:
- Central hypersensitivity which causes higher pain scores, longer durations of pain, and larger areas of referred and localized pain. This suggests pain hypersensitivity can be generalized to the entire central nervous system after a neck injury.
- Difficulty with memory and concentration
- Tinnitus
- Mood changes
- Headaches
Researchers have found that the symptoms of a whiplash injury can last for over 10 years for some victims.
Proving a Whiplash Case in Fort Worth
Proving your case and recovering compensation will require either:
- Proving another party owed you a duty of care, breached this duty, and caused your injury, usually through negligence, or
- Showing that your injury was work-related if your employer had workers’ compensation or proving your employer’s negligence contributed to your accident in a personal injury lawsuit
Texas has a modified comparative negligence rule that means you can recover compensation for your accident as long as you were not 51% or more at fault. For every share of the blame that is shifted to you, your recovery will be reduced.
The insurance company will use many tactics to try to shift as much blame to you as possible. They may claim their client was exercising ordinary caution and not negligent. They may claim you were the party primarily responsible for the accident and your injuries. They may even claim you are faking or exaggerating your injuries.
Winning a whiplash injury claim can be complicated because whiplash is a soft-tissue injury with damage that does not always show up on imaging tests. Diagnosis of whiplash is usually based on a physician’s observations and the patient’s subjective reports. Because symptoms may not appear for days or even weeks, failing to immediately report injuries and seek treatment can also make a claimant seem disingenuous.
To prove your whiplash injury claim, it’s crucial to seek medical attention as soon as possible after an accident, even if your injuries do not seem serious or you do not think you are hurt. Your Fort Worth whiplash accident lawyer will work to investigate your accident and gather evidence to show the severity of the injuries you have sustained and why they happened.
Damages Available in a Fort Worth Whiplash Case
If your claim is successful, you may be entitled to many forms of compensation for the damages you have sustained. These damages are designed to make you as whole as possible after your accident and may cover economic and non-economic damages.
Depending on the details of your case, you may be entitled to compensation for:
- Medical expenses, both current and future, related to your accident
- Lost wages
- Disability or reduced earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
If you suffered whiplash in a workplace accident, you may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. These benefits are available if your employer carries workers’ compensation benefits. They do not cover non-economic damages like pain and suffering, but workers’ comp is a no-fault system. Otherwise, you may still be entitled to file a lawsuit against your employer and/or third parties responsible for your injuries.
Statute of Limitations to File a Whiplash Injury Lawsuit
It’s crucial to contact a Fort Worth whiplash lawyer as soon as possible after your accident. Under Texas law, there is a two-year statute of limitations on personal injury lawsuits. If you do not file a lawsuit before this statute of limitations expires, you will not be able to recover compensation in most cases.
While this may seem like a long time, remember that valuable evidence can be lost if you delay pursuing your claim. The more time that passes, the harder it becomes to verify the severity of your injuries, that they were caused by the accident, and that the other party was at fault.
Contact a Fort Worth, TX Car Wreck Lawyer
Whiplash injury victims often face a stigma associated with whiplash claims. In the past, dishonest people have filed claims for exaggerated and faked whiplash and these types of claims have often appeared in movies and dramas. Some people view victims claiming serious whiplash symptoms as opportunists.
Jason Stephens of Stephens Law Firm, PLLC understands that whiplash is a serious and sometimes life-changing injury that can have lasting effects. Whiplash can rob you of your ability to work and range of motion and leave you with chronic pain. Jason Stephens is an award-winning Fort Worth whiplash injury lawyer who will fight for the compensation you deserve from the at-fault party.
Contact Stephens Law Firm, PLLC today to schedule your free consultation with a compassionate Fort Worth whiplash lawyer who can help you.
Other Car Accident Cases We Cover
Additional Resources
- Can I Be Compensated for Pre-Existing Conditions After a Car Accident?
- Car Accident Statistics
- How Long Will My Car Accident Case Take to Settle in Texas?
- Most Dangerous Roads and Intersections
- Texas Child Car Seat Laws
Stephens Law Personal Injury | Wrongful Death | Truck Accidents
1300 S University Dr # 300
Fort Worth, TX 76107
(817) 420-7000