Neck Pain After Car Accident

Feeling sore, stiff, and in pain after a car crash is common, especially in the neck and shoulders. You may experience symptoms right away with severe injuries, but some signs might not appear until a few days later. However, that delay does not mean that you are fine, since you could still have serious damage to your nerves or muscles.

If you or a loved one has neck pain after an accident, you should get medical care immediately for a full diagnosis. The Florida car accident lawyers at Chubb Law discuss what you need to know about what causes neck pain, how it is treated, and how to address your medical bills in insurance claims or lawsuits.

Why Does My Neck Hurt After a Car Accident?

Your neck, shoulders, and upper back may feel sore or achy after a traumatic event, such as a crash. Neck pain after a car accident can signal whiplash, which requires immediate treatment so you do not develop other conditions. Neck pain from a car accident can also indicate that you already have severe nerve or muscle damage.

Your neck often hurts after a car accident because of the extreme physics at work in a crash. For a head-on or rear-end collision, your head may move forward and back very fast, stretching and tearing the soft tissues. You can also suffer whiplash in a T-bone accident when your head moves side-to-side very quickly.

When muscles, ligaments, and tendons are affected so rapidly, the result can range anywhere from moderate pain for a few weeks to damage that requires corrective surgery. 

Your Neck Pain From a Car Accident May Not Appear Right Away

Depending on the type of injury causing your car accident neck pain, you may not realize you are hurt until later. The chaos of an automobile crash can be disorienting, and your body will also release epinephrine (adrenaline), known as the “fight or flight” hormone. This substance hides pain so that you can get to safety, but it also means that you might think you are fine when you actually have serious injuries.

That is one of the reasons we believe you should go to the hospital after a car accident. At the very least, ask medical first responders to examine you at the scene before going home. Once you are home, visit your doctor within 72 hours for a full evaluation. Having that paper trail of medical records helps your physicians get a better understanding of how to treat you, and it gives you a strong foundation for making your insurance compensation claim.

Common Neck Injuries After a Car Accident

Whiplash is just one type of neck injury in a car accident. Other kinds of conditions include the following:

Vertebral Fracturing or Dislocation

The impact of your head and neck hitting the headrest or other parts of the vehicle, such as in a rollover crash, could cause fractures in your vertebrae. Breaks in these bones that make up the neck and spine can damage the discs between them, as well as your spinal cord and the surrounding nerves.  In extreme cases, these movements can cause atlanto-occipital dislocation (internal decapitation), where the ligaments holding the skull to the spine break. 

Herniated Discs

The cushioned discs between your vertebrae allow you to move your neck and back smoothly without the bones hitting one another. When one of these is crushed or damaged, it becomes a herniated disc. The bulging and misalignment can put pressure on your spine, causing numbness, tingling, and weakness. 

Symptoms include pain and tingling in the affected area. A herniated disc from a car accident often requires surgery and weeks of physical therapy to recover. Pain from them can be in your neck or radiate down your spine and back. 

Spinal Cord Injuries

Other sources of neck pain in a car accident include spinal cord injuries. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, a spinal cord injury involves damage to the bundle of nerves running through your spine. It can cause excruciating pain or result in a loss of sensation below the point of injury.

Spinal cord injury in the neck can also lead to permanent paralysis, based on whether the damage is incomplete or complete. You could lose the ability to move your arms and legs, perform basic bodily functions, and even need assistance breathing. Symptoms include loss of feeling in the arms or legs, problems walking or using your arms, bladder and bowel incontinence, and paralysis. 

Lumbar Injuries

In addition to neck pain, a car accident can lead to damage and soreness in your lower back. The force of impact could be dramatic enough to stretch and tear ligaments from your neck down to the base of your spine. 

Neck and back injuries tend to happen together after a crash, and you may overlook lumbar sprains and strains. By getting immediate medical care and a full examination, you can identify the full extent of your injuries. 

Common Symptoms of Neck Injury From a Car Accident

Although different injuries will present different symptoms, here are some indicators that are common to any condition that may be a neck injury:

• Muscle weakness
• Difficulty moving arms or legs
• Stiffness and soreness in your neck
• Trouble turning your head side-to-side or looking up or down
• Headaches radiating from the base of your skull
• Pain that extends into your shoulders, upper back, and arms
• Tingling (“pins and needles”) or numbness
• Sleepiness or insomnia
• Dizziness and nausea
• Blurred vision
• Jaw pain
• Changes in mood, especially irritability

You could experience any of these within 24 to 48 hours after the car accident. Once the adrenaline leaves your system and you are back home, you may feel the first pain and signs of injury. Get to your doctor right away for testing and scans to diagnose what is wrong. 

Treatment and Recovery From Neck Pain After a Car Accident

Your doctor will use different techniques to diagnose your injuries, such as MRIs and X-rays. They may recommend applying ice to the affected area for 24 hours, followed by using warm compresses and over-the-counter pain medications. Usually, you should rest and limit strenuous activity for a few days until you feel better.

More serious injuries could require prescription medications, therapy, and even surgical intervention. Recovery times range from a week to months, depending on how much care you need, your general health status, any pre-existing conditions, and whether there is a delay in your treatment.

During this time, you may be out of work, which can be stressful when you are already facing pain and uncertainty for the future. Working with a car accident lawyer can help you understand your options for seeking compensation to pay for your bills.

Who Will Pay for Your Neck Injury After a Florida Car Accident?

In Florida, there are different types of auto insurance available to cover injuries. You can use some of them to pay your bills, depending on the details of your accident and injuries. The Florida Bar Association provides a list of policy types in Florida:

• Personal Injury Protection (PIP): The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) requires all drivers to carry at least $10,000 worth of PIP coverage, although you can buy more. This is the primary policy you would use to pay for your medical costs for your neck injuries (up to 80%) and lost income (up to 60%).
• Bodily Liability Insurance (BLI): BLI is optional in most cases, but some people purchase it to protect themselves from claims by other drivers. It is mandatory after DUI convictions for a minimum of $100,000 per person. Your car accident lawyer can investigate whether the driver who hit you has this coverage.
• Uninsured Motorist (UM) insurance: Another optional policy that you can use to pay for a neck injury if PIP does not cover enough of your medical bills, or you are in a hit-and-run accident.  
• Medical payment insurance: An optional policy to pay for any medical costs stemming from any auto-related injury. It pays your bills beyond what PIP covers, giving you more compensation without having to file a personal injury lawsuit.

You could also turn to your private or employer-provided health insurance to pay your medical expenses. In the event you suffer a serious bodily injury, as described by Chapter 316 Section 027 – 2023 Florida Statutes, or your bills are greater than $10,000, you could have the right to file a lawsuit for full financial recovery.

Get Help When You Have Neck Pain After a Car Accident in Florida

At Chubb Law, we are dedicated to helping you reach full recovery whenever you have suffered a car accident or other personal injury. We can assist you with filing insurance claims, initiating a lawsuit, or connecting with medical specialists to treat your injuries. We offer free consultations with experienced Florida car accident attorneys at your convenience. Learn more and begin your road to recovery when you contact us today.