MVA whiplash injury occurs in so many car accidents because of the mechanism of injury relative to the forces applied to the body in the impact. Whiplash is a colloquial layperson’s term better defined medically as a sudden extension of the cervical spine (backward movement of the neck) and flexion (forward movement of the neck). This type of trauma is also referred to as a cervical acceleration-deceleration (CAD) injury. Rear-end or side-impact motor vehicle collisions are the number one cause of whiplash with injury to the muscles, ligaments, tendons, joints, and discs of the cervical spine. This type of neck or cervical injury causes damages including medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering. Whiplash can become a chronic or permanent condition in some cases but a doctor must give an expert opinion on permanent injury.
Anatomically, the human spine is made up of 24 spinal bones, called vertebrae. Vertebrae are stacked on top of one another to form the spine. The spinal column is the body’s main upright support. The cervical spine is formed by the first seven vertebrae referred to as C1 to C7. The cervical spine starts where the top vertebra (C1) connects to the bottom edge of the skull. The cervical spine curves slightly inward and ends where C7 joins the top of the thoracic spine. This is where the chest begins. A bony ring attaches to the back of the vertebral body. When the vertebrae are stacked on top of each other, the rings form a hollow tube. This bony tube surrounds the spinal cord as it passes through the spine. Just as the skull protects the brain, the bones of the spinal column protect the spinal cord.
As the spinal cord travels from the brain down through the spine, it sends out nerve branches between each vertebrae called nerve roots. The nerve roots that come out of the cervical spine form the nerves that go to the arms and hands.
Two spinal nerves exit the sides of each spinal segment, one on the left and one on the right. As the nerves leave the spinal cord, they pass through a small bony tunnel on each side of the vertebra, called a neural foramen. (The term used to describe more than one opening is neural foramina.)
Each spinal segment includes two vertebrae separated by an intervertebral disc, the nerves that leave the spinal cord at that level, and the small facet joints that link levels of the spinal column. Source eorthopod.com.
McCormick Law Office attorneys in Milwaukee, Wisconsin engage expert opinions in appropriate cases to prove the causal connection between MVA whiplash and medical bills, wage loss, pain and suffering. Next, soft tissue involvement.
