What if My Car Accident Injuries Appear Late?

Most car accidents are traumatic events. After all, there’s a lot of force involved when a car hits (or is hit by) something.

• Even seemingly minor accidents can lead to significant harm, but sometimes injuries don’t appear immediately.
• The most common types of car accident injuries followed by soft tissue injuries, concussions, and back injuries.
• It is important to monitor and treat potential injuries for the sake of your health and ability to receive financial compensation for your injuries.

Soft tissue damage after a car accident

Soft tissue injury refers to damage that occurs to parts of the body other than bones. Muscles, tendons, and ligaments are considered “soft tissue”.

Car crashes, even those at low speeds, generate a lot of force. Drivers and passengers often stop suddenly along with the vehicle; or they can be thrown around the passenger area. This puts a lot of stress on the joints and other vulnerable areas of the body.

Soft tissue damage often results in pain, swelling, and reduced mobility, but these symptoms may not manifest immediately. They can take days or even weeks to manifest. In addition, soft tissue damage cannot be seen on x-rays. This makes them more difficult to diagnose and document. Getting appropriate medical treatment is an important first step, at or even before the first sign of pain or discomfort (see also below) after a car accident.

Concussions after a car accident

Your brain is well protected by your skull and the surrounding fluid, but if you hit your head or your body is hit hard, your brain can come into contact with the inside of the skull with great force. If this happens during a car accident, you may experience a concussion.

Concussions can be very severe, and symptoms often don’t appear right away. Disorientation or even loss of consciousness are obvious symptoms, but other signs of a concussion can be more subtle, including:

• cloudy thoughts
• inability to concentrate
• Difficulty remembering new information
• headache
• blurred vision
• nausea
• dizzy
• lack of energy, and
• abnormal sleep patterns (sleeping more than usual or less than usual)

Seek prompt medical attention if you experience any of these symptoms after a car accident.

Back injury and back pain after car accident

The human spine is a complex system consisting of bones, muscles, nerves and other soft tissues. So even a small bump can easily lead to a back injury, whether damage to the bones (vertebrae), muscles, tendons, discs, ligaments or nerves in the neck (cervical vertebrae) , upper back (chest) or lower back (back level).

Besides pain, there are other signs of a back injury, such as:

• reduced mobility
• muscle spasms
• difficulty walking, standing or sitting,
• headache
• hard body
• headache

Other common symptoms of a back injury include numbness and tingling.

Numbness and tingling after a car accident

Depending on the severity and nature of the injury, late-onset injuries will sometimes first manifest as numbness and/or tingling. This is especially true of the back and extremities of the body (arms, legs, hands and feet). These feelings may be the result of:

• deep cuts cut nerves
• significant impact on tissue causing nerve compression
• a herniated disc in the back or neck that can compress or push on a nerve
• damage to muscles, bones, ligaments, or tendons that put pressure on nerves

Numbness and tingling may be the first observations associated with delayed-onset car accident injuries. But other sensations may follow or be accompanied by numbness or tingling, such as:

• pain along the arm, leg, or back
• muscle weakness
• stinging sensation, and
• uncontrolled muscle twitching.

See a doctor after a car accident

After a car accident, you should seek medical attention if you experience any degree of pain and discomfort. Might even be a good idea if you feel fine. Your doctor will be in the best position to determine if you suffered any serious injuries in the accident. Your doctor can also give you advice on watching for symptoms of potential injury, including the types of red flags to watch out for.

If you end up with any type of injury claim following an accident, it is important that you document the fact that you sought medical treatment within a reasonable amount of time. If you wait too long to see a doctor, the insurance adjuster will argue that you can’t get injured that much.

No immediate settlement

After a car accident, the other driver’s insurance company may contact you and try to get you to sign a statement canceling any claims you may have. The insurance company may even offer you a stipend to entice you to sign the release.

You should wait until you have been fully evaluated by a medical professional before signing anything that the adjuster puts in front of you. You should also wait long enough to make sure that all car accident injuries have fully manifested. Your doctor can help you determine how long this should last. If you sign a discharge paper, and then an injury occurs, you cannot go back to your insurance company and ask them to pay for your medical treatment. You waive your legal right to pursue such compensation when you sign the release.

What If My Injury Returns After the Settlement?

Despite your best efforts and precautions, it is possible for pain or injury to persist or return after you have resolved your legal claims related to the vehicle accident. a little bit. In most cases, this will limit you from suing the at-fault driver or the car insurance company for additional compensation. However, there can still be legal options and arguments, including claiming that a legitimate release was obtained by coercion or fraud, or suing another party that is not part of the scheme. arrange.

Get help after a car accident

To make sure your auto accident claim is in the hands of someone with experience, talk to an auto accident attorney who can assess your situation and take the right steps. to ensure the most favorable outcome, including filing an auto accident lawsuit.