Whiplash Injury Attorneys

Our Bay Area car accident lawyers are ready to fight

Were you in a car accident in the Bay Area and are now experiencing neck pain? Maybe you were rear-ended on I-680, hit head-on at a State Route 4 intersection, or got into a broadside crash on Ygnacio Valley Road. If your neck pain is severe, you may have a whiplash-associated disorder, or WAD.

Whiplash from a car accident is very common and often agonizing. It may limit your movement, disturb your sleep, stop you from driving, and keep you out of work. About 20 percent to 40 percent of people with whiplash never fully heal. Left untreated, it could develop into a permanent disability or chronic pain. That’s why you need an experienced car accident attorney to fight for the treatment and compensation you need.

We pursue compensation for whiplash

Whatever type of injury you sustained, if you are the injured victim in a Bay Area car accident, you should be entitled to compensation for medical expenses, pain, and lost wages, among other damages. Getting full compensation, however, won’t be easy. Insurance companies are known for making lowball settlement offers and downplaying serious injuries. Because whiplash is hard to identify in X-rays and CT scans, adjusters like to pretend it doesn’t exist.

When an adjuster tries to push a too-small settlement on you, the whiplash accident attorneys at Clancy & Diaz, LLP push back. We know how to prove whiplash injuries. We build strong, evidence-backed cases that the insurance companies cannot ignore.

If you were injured, contact us for a free case review at one of our offices in Walnut Creek or Antioch. In the meantime, here is some general information about how to prove whiplash injuries as well as Contra Costa County treatment options.

What is a Whiplash-Associated Disorder or WAD injury?

Whiplash accident injuries happen when the force of a collision jolts people inside a vehicle’s cab forward and jerks them back, often multiple times. The violent movement does significant damage to your neck. There are various kinds of whiplash symptoms you may sustain, including:

Neck pain, as well as stiffness and tenderness.
Cervicogenic headache, a debilitating headache caused by damage to the cervical bones in your neck.
Nerve damage, which causes pain, numbness, or tingling.
Muscle, tendon, and ligament injuries, also known as soft tissue or musculoskeletal damage.
Neck or spine fracture.
Dislocated discs in the neck or spine vertebrae.
Back pain

These symptoms may reveal themselves immediately following a car accident, or days and weeks after. Delayed whiplash is common, which is why seeking medical attention fast is so crucial.

How is whiplash treated?

WAD treatment often includes physical therapy and exercise to increase range of motion and strengthen neck and scapular muscles. Pain management and anti-inflammatory medications may be prescribed. If the pain persists for more than three months, surgery may be necessary for relief.

How much is my whiplash injury worth?

Whiplash is a complex injury, so there is no single average California whiplash settlement. It could be tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on injury severity and how greatly the pain detracts from your quality of life.

Factors considered in whiplash injury settlements and verdicts often include medical expenses, lost wages, replacement services, rehabilitation therapies, and pain and suffering. It is also important that your compensation from a whiplash injury considers the lifelong cost of pain management, monitoring, and maintenance.

Can you prove whiplash?

Yes. Again, whiplash after a car accident can be tough to diagnose with medical tests, but that does not diminish the very real pain you are feeling. Evidence to support your whiplash injury claim may include:

Medical records including visit summaries, test results, doctor’s orders, prescriptions, and medical bills.
Photos of visible injuries – while whiplash itself cannot be seen with the naked eye, there may be bruising, cuts, lacerations, swelling, or other damage that demonstrates what happened to your neck in the crash.
Testimony from medical providers and others who can describe how your whiplash injury has affected you.
Your own powerful story of how whiplash pain is negatively impacting your life.

How can a whiplash injury lawyer help me?

Even if your case seems “simple” and the other driver was clearly at fault, don’t count on your claim running smoothly. The job of an insurance adjuster is to pay as little as possible on every claim. A whiplash lawyer can protect your right to maximum compensation and handle the often-frustrating claims process while you heal.

Clancy & Diaz does thorough car accident investigations that allow us to pursue compensation aggressively. When you’re right, you don’t back down. We know how to identify the signs of whiplash and we never accept less than your case is worth.

Free legal consultations

If you are the injured victim in a car accident, we can help. Our Bay Area car accident attorneys work on contingency – that means there is no upfront cost for our services. We also offer free case consultations. At no cost to you, a member of our team will listen to the details of your case, estimate your claim’s value, and help you weigh your legal options.

You have nothing to lose and a lot to gain from consulting a whiplash lawyer. Do not wait to contact us. There is a statute of limitations that applies. Contact us to schedule your no-cost consultation today.