As experienced by a Brown Law, P.L. employee
Maureen Brown, Office Manager/Marketing Representative
We at Brown Law, P.L. have been handling Personal Injury claims for Orlando/Kissimmee and surrounding areas for several years. Brown Law, P.L. wants to be your Orlando/Kissimmee Personal Injury Attorney.
I must admit that of the many accident injuries that come into our office, neck injuries are most common. I must also admit that because we hear of so many, I have always been skeptical of this type of injury as being the real thing. That is until it happened to me.
I was on my way, of all things, to a chiropractic/medical clinic to meet with a new client who had been rear ended in an accident, whose car was totaled, and who was not in good shape.
I was coming up on a major intersection on John Young Parkway, right by the 417 in Orlando, Kissimmee. All of the traffic was slowing up as it usually does there (I was in the far left lane) and I saw in my rear view mirror that the guy behind me was going at the same rate of speed (somewhere between 30-40 mph) and not slowing down. I remember saying, "Please God, No..." and then the young man behind me hit me. I could not believe it. I had 30 minutes until appointment time with the client and here I was the victim of a car accident, hit from behind, myself. The young man got out of his car, phone in hand (guess what he was probably doing while driving) and approached me with, "Ma'am why did you slow down when the light was green?" To which I said, "Sir did you not see the line of cars in front of me slow down and their back end lights displayed as they were doing so?"
I could not even think about my phone, as I was completely distraught. I got all of his insurance and license information and he got mine. I did not call the police, which I do not recommend, as I had so little time to get to the client and did not want to be a no show. I knew the young man had hit me and from behind, so culpability for the accident was clear. I had tremendous damage to my car, but it was still drivable. I pulled over after the exchange of information because something was hanging from my car. A nice man pulled over and helped me tie it up. I found out later that much of the exhaust system was damaged. My car actually had $7000.00 worth of damage.
As I say, I was pretty shook up so wasn't feeling much but a lot of anxiety. I continued on to the clinic. I talked with the manger first and told her what happened and she asked how I was feeling. I told her I had a little tenseness in my neck. She told me it would not be wise for them to examine me or do anything to my neck as it may have just been hurt. They gave me BioFreeze to put on it, which gave it instant relief and said I would probably be sore the next day. I still do not believe this is going to happen to me. I am just thinking, I am anxious and tense and I will be fine.
The next day, I woke up and my neck was a little sorer, but I was trying to ignore it. All of this happened on a Thursday. By Monday, my neck is feeling worse and I went back to the clinic.
It has been 3 months now and after continuous massage and stretching exercises, and heat therapy, an MRI shows a herniated disc and a bulge, I am pretty sure was not there before the accident.
Needless to say, I am now a believer of real neck pain following a car accident, particularly a rear end collision. I have always considered myself an empathic person, but let's just say, I am even more so where my clients who come into the office with neck pain are concerned.
I am still undergoing treatment and have made some progress. Even though Brown Law, P.L. wants to be your Orlando/Kissimmee Accident Attorney, I pray this never happens to you.