Delayed Vertigo After Car Accident: What It Means
If you’re suffering from delayed vertigo after a car accident that wasn’t your fault, then you could be entitled to sue the defendant for damages under the law. Car accident injuries, such as whiplash, can have serious consequences for car accident victims, affecting their ability to work, play, and socialize — essentially, to live a “normal” life. Car accident impacts (especially delayed vertigo after a car accident) involve substantial losses that must be accounted for in your lawsuit.
Navigating the legal process effectively — and securing maximum compensation — demands experienced legal representation. We encourage you to contact 1-800-THE-LAW2 for a free legal consultation with an attorney in our network. That being said, if you’d like to learn more about delayed vertigo after a car accident, and the various issues that you’re likely to encounter over the course of the dispute, read on!
What is benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, and can it be delayed?
Generally, accident-related vertigo will occur in the form of “peripheral vertigo,” which is caused by issues with the inner ear, which controls balance. Serious head injuries (i.e., head trauma from an accident) can damage the fragile systems of the inner ear and cause peripheral vertigo. Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is a specific type of vertigo that arises when calcium carbonate crystals are dislodged in the inner ear, often due to trauma such as head injuries from car accidents.
At its core, vertigo is not mere dizziness or lightheadedness. Though it is often described as dizziness by its sufferers, the most accurate description of vertigo is that it creates the sensation of perpetual motion — in other words, during an acute vertigo episode, the sufferer feels as though the world is spinning around them. This can be extremely disconcerting psychologically, and the balance issues can lead to serious physical injury.
It’s worth noting that there can be delayed vertigo after car accident scenarios. Vertigo isn’t always incited in the immediate wake of a car accident. If the collision causes more widespread inflammation and head injury (than just the inner ear), “central nervous system vertigo” may result, which can develop slowly over time due to brain damage.
What are the symptoms of vertigo?
Depending on the particularities of the sufferer’s delayed vertigo after a car accident, symptoms may include:
- Dizziness due to motion perception
- The sensation of spinning
- Hearing loss
- Balance issues
- Sharp ringing in one’s ears
- Nausea
- Severe dizziness
- And more
Symptoms can range in severity, and in fact, may last for years. Medical experts can test for vertigo (both short-term and long-term) by engaging in blood tests, auditory tests, EEG, MRI, and CT scans, and testing your walking gait. These various tests will help them to confirm the type and severity of your vertigo, which can be used to support your claims for damages.
Can a head injury cause long-term vertigo?
Absolutely, yes. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can cause persistent, long-term vertigo. Not only that — head injuries can lead to vertigo many years later, even if symptoms don’t appear soon after the accident. These vertigo episodes can last for hours at a time, causing a great deal of impairment and suffering.
What not to do after experiencing vertigo?
If you’re experiencing vertigo, here are a few important things to consider:
- Do not delay in getting the medical attention you need. Failing to secure adequate medical care in a reasonable timeframe can worsen your condition, which the defendant may use as a defense argument against you in court. Build a consistent medical record that shows you are following through with your care, and the defendant will have a more difficult time countering your claims.
- Avoid strenuous and/or hazardous activities. This includes recreational sports, operating a vehicle, operating machinery, and other activities — at least until your symptoms begin to subside. Engaging in these activities could lead to another accident that causes further injury.
- Avoid caffeinated beverages and other foods that could trigger headaches and negatively affect your balance. Or at least limit intake until your symptoms subside.
- Do not engage with the insurance company until you’ve talked to an attorney. Submitting a claim for vertigo and other conditions can be a challenge, as the insurance company is likely to try and undermine your claims by waiting on you to make sensitive disclosures. An attorney can handle these communications on your behalf and work with you to develop an airtight benefits claim.
Can you get compensation for vertigo after a car accident?
Yes, you may be compensated for any injury (or other adverse condition) you’ve sustained due to the defendant’s negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct, including those resulting from car accidents and neck injuries. The losses that result from these conditions (i.e., vertigo) must be accounted for in the form of compensatory damages.
Claimable losses include:
- Lost wages
- Loss of earning capacity
- Loss of property
- Medical expenses (i.e., medical bills for whatever medical treatment you’ve received for your vertigo-related issues, from diagnostics to pharmaceuticals, to rehabilitative care, and even surgical intervention)
- Pain and suffering (i.e., the physical, mental, and emotional harm caused as a result of having to deal with delayed vertigo)
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of companionship
- And more
Losses can vary wildly from case-to-case, as each plaintiff (and each accident) is unique.
For example, suppose that you’re an avid rock climber, and your social circle and recreational life is centered around rock climbing culture. The post-traumatic vertigo you suffer after the accident has interfered with your ability to engage in rock climbing. This not only reduces your quality of life directly (due to being unable to rock climb), but it also disrupts your social life and causes tension in your relationships. Your “loss of enjoyment of life” damages could be substantial under these circumstances.
How a car accident attorney can help you with your case
Attorneys are more than just courtroom advocates. They can handle a wide range of litigation responsibilities from the beginning to the end of the case. These include, but are not necessarily limited to:
- Identifying, gathering, and preserving evidence
- Helping connect injured clients to relevant medical professionals
- Working with witnesses (eyewitnesses and experts) to develop supportive testimony regarding the head trauma injury and other accident-related issues
- Building a persuasive legal argument to push for compensation
- Negotiating a potential settlement agreement with the defendant(s)
- Navigating various court hearings and processes
- Pushing ahead to trial, if necessary
- Securing the compensation payout after the dispute is resolved
- And more
An attorney can also assist with brain injuries and whiplash injuries, which are common in car accidents. Brain injuries, such as concussions and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), can result from impacts during accidents and require immediate medical attention. Whiplash injury, caused by the rapid forward and backward motion during a crash, can lead to cervical vertigo and other complications like nerve damage.
Given the variety of tasks that an attorney will take on, it’s critical that you consult with an experienced personal injury lawyer for guidance, as early as possible — they will ensure that your chance of success is maximized, as they can help you construct an airtight case and avoid violating procedural requirements.
Hiring a car accident attorney doesn’t cost anything upfront
This may come as a surprise, but most plaintiffs’ car accident attorneys work on a contingency fee basis — in other words, they don’t get paid until or unless they secure compensation on their client’s behalf.
There are no upfront or out-of-pocket costs when hiring a car accident lawyer on contingency. Instead, the attorney offers their services in exchange for a percentage cut of whatever compensation they “win” for the client. This percentage can vary from 25 percent to 40 percent or more, depending on a number of different factors.
Ultimately, contingency fee arrangements are a very good thing for accident plaintiffs. They not only lower the barrier-to-entry for hiring a skilled car accident attorney, but they also incentivize the attorney to work to maximize the compensation they secure for the client. It’s a sensible incentive dynamic. After all, the attorney only gets paid if the client gets paid — and the higher the payout they get for the client, the more the attorney gets paid, too.
Contact 1-800-THE-LAW2 for a Free Legal Consultation
If you’re feeling dizziness after a car accident, then you could be entitled to sue for damages due to post-traumatic vertigo and any other injuries that you might have sustained in the accident. That being said, navigating the legal process isn’t always straightforward. In cases where the injuries are murky and difficult to quantify, you’ll want the assistance of an experienced car accident lawyer who knows how to build a persuasive legal argument using supportive testimony from experts.
We can help connect you.
Contact 1-800-THE-LAW2 for a free legal consultation with a qualified local car accident lawyer in our network. During this initial consultation, you’ll be able to discuss your case in detail and get professional advice on how to proceed so as to achieve the best possible outcome. If you decide against moving forward with our network attorney, that’s okay — there’s no obligation to continue. So pick up the phone and call us today to get started.
We look forward to assisting you.
