You Could Have Injuries From Your Car Accident You Don’t Even Know About
Being involved in a car accident can turn someone’s life upside down. One second you may be driving back from work and the next thing you know you are dealing with a host of issues that spring up out of nowhere because someone was too busy checking text messages instead of the watching the road. It’s a perplexing situation for anyone but it’s important to remember that what comes first is your health.
Often when someone emerges from a car accident they will not immediately register any injuries they may have. Cuts and bruises may not start to sting and throb till you are back home and trying to figure out the trauma you were just exposed to. More serious injuries can also take some time to register for a number of reasons.
How can a car accident injury be delayed?
It may seem strange to suggest that a serious injury would not hurt right away when you are in a car accident but it is actually quite common. When someone is involved in an accident their body will typically react with a fight or flight response to the danger. No doubt you may have heard of people accomplishing incredible feats under intense stress, like a mother lifting a car to save her child.
That’s all because your body is pumping adrenaline which has a way of making you more focused, faster, stronger, and pain resistant. While it might seem to wear off once the accident is over, adrenaline can remain in your system and continue masking pain.
Another thing is that sometimes things like swelling or other damage reactions from your body may take a little time to build up to the point that it begins to register on pain receptors. For example, you may have been injured in the neck because of a collision with another vehicle and will feel fine for the next 48 hours until the swelling from the neck injury has built up to the point that it has begun to cause pain and discomfort.
Common Car Accident Injuries With Delayed Symptoms
Delayed Whiplash
The most common car accident injury that most people don’t begin to feel until a few days after is whiplash. Whiplash is when an immediate and violent jolt caused by a collision results in damage to the neck or the upper vertebrae of the back because the head is jerked in a whip-like motion, hence the name. Whiplash can take anywhere from 24 hours to even a week to start to register.
Delayed Soft Tissue Injury
This is more of a blanket term for damage to the muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Soft tissue injuries can occur all over the body from ankle sprains to lower back contusions. The nature of a soft tissue damage can vary greatly from person to person.
Delayed Concussion and Traumatic Brain Injury
A concussion is when the brain sustains damage because it experiences a powerful force that causes it to impact inside of the skull. It actually is a kind of traumatic brain injury (TBI). A TBI is essentially any injury to the head that causes damage to the brain. Traumatic brain injuries can vary greatly in cause, nature, and damage but are always serious. A concussion can take anywhere from a couple of days to even weeks to start to display significant symptoms.
Delayed Mental Health Issues
People can become so concerned with their physical health that they can overlook the damage that they can sustain to their mental health. Car accidents are traumatic events that can cause psychological complications. Post traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety can all be the result of a car accident. These illnesses of the mind are no less significant than an injury to the flesh because they too can impair our ability to function. Post traumatic stress disorder is a mental ailment that can be described as a difficulty in a person’s processing of traumatic events that leads to impairment through a variety of symptoms.
Delayed Symptoms From a Car Accident Injury
Neck and back pain are not the only things that someone can expect to experience from a car accident injury. Symptoms vary widely depending on the injury and their delay can also vary just as much depending on the intensity of the injury.
Delayed symptoms that one can experience from a car accident injury may include:
- Neck pain and stiffness
- Headaches
- Pain in the shoulder or between the shoulder blades
- Low back pain
- Pain or numbness in the arm and/or hand
- Dizziness
- Difficulty concentrating or remembering
- Fatigue
- Irritability and other personality changes
- Sensitivity to light and noise
- Psychological adjustment problems and depression
- Disorders of taste and smell
- Trouble sleeping
- Swelling
What do I do if I’m experiencing delayed car accident symptoms?
Experiencing any of the aforementioned symptoms in the days following a car accident can indicate that you have suffered an injury you were unaware of. If this is the case then you should immediately seek the aid of a healthcare provider so that you can be evaluated for these injuries. It is strongly advised that you see your doctor after experiencing a car accident regardless of whether you are displaying symptoms or not.
This is not just important for your health but also in the event that you seek compensation for your injuries from the responsible parties. Seeing a doctor to get your injuries documented as soon as possible improves the credibility of a car accident injury claim. The longer you wait, the less serious your injuries may appear to the insurance company or the court.
Just because your injury symptoms may have been delayed and you were not aware of your injuries for some time after an accident, does not mean that you no longer have a valid claim. You can still seek compensation for your medical expenses, lost wages, as well as your pain and suffering.
Seek an Experienced Minnesota Car Accident Lawyer
Contact Experienced Woodbury Minnesota Car Accident Attorneys
If you have been experiencing delayed symptoms after being involved in a Woodbury car accident, you could be entitled to compensation even if you didn’t report your injuries right away; after all, you didn’t have the symptoms the right away.
Consider contacting Sand Law about a possible car accident injury claim and how we can assist you in seeking compensation for your injuries. You primary concern should be recovery and we understand that balancing that with an injury claim can be difficult. Allow us to represent you and help secure a settlement you are comfortable with while you heal.
Sand Law LLC
7650 Currell Blvd #3140
Woodbury, MN 55125
(651) 291-7263
Sand Law, LLC