Why did my doctor link whiplash and a somatoform disorder?

Whiplash can be a confusing injury to suffer. Hopefully, you have already undergone treatment from a professional here in Wichita to help recover from your soft tissue injury. But maybe, you are still experiencing pain and symptoms of whiplash. Your doctor probably told you that your whiplash will be healed within 6-8 weeks, but it’s been longer and now your doctor is saying your whiplash is healed and you have a somatoform disorder. What is a somatoform disorder and how does it relate to your whiplash injury?

A somatoform disorder is when someone claims certain symptoms that suggest an injury, but can’t be fully explained by a general medical condition. In other words, doctors are taught that whiplash only lasts 6-8 weeks, so when their patient is still complaining of whiplash symptoms after that time period, the doctor may decide it’s all in the person’s head.

However, whiplash injuries can last longer than 6-8 weeks and can even be permanent. Also, in order to be diagnosed with a somatoform disorder, the patient must meet certain criteria. The majority of whiplash victims do not meet these criteria. Because modern medicine has no way of proving a soft tissue injury, the doctor can easily point to a somatoform disorder when they have no other explanation of why their patient is still suffering from whiplash.

It’s important to remember that a soft tissue injury can be very serious and if you have permanent whiplash, you might face a long road of medical treatment. You may have been told that it’s all in your head, but it’s not. To prove this to your insurance company and receive compensation for your medical expenses and other harms and losses, you need someone with experience fighting big insurance companies.

If you have had a Kansas car wreck injury or whiplash injury that was not your fault and need medical treatment, you need an experienced professional who can help you get back on the road to recover. Call us today at 316-269-1414 or visit our contact page here. Our Kansas personal injury attorneys will provide you a free initial consultation and if we take your case you don’t pay a dime unless we recover money for you. Even then we only take a percentage of the total amount of your recovery.

If you have questions on what you should be looking for when you are making a decision to hire a Kansas personal injury lawyer, read our article located here.

Ray Hodge & Associates proudly represents victims and their families across the state of Kansas, including Wichita, Andover, Derby, Goddard, Haysville, Mulvane, Rose Hill, Newton, El Dorado and Hutchinson. Call today for a free consultation all over the state of Kansas. We have proudly served clients in Sedgwick, Butler, Sumner, Harvey, Kingman and Reno Counties.