What You Might Not Know About Car Accident Injuries

If you’ve been involved in a serious car accident that wasn’t your fault, you may feel lucky that you were able to walk away at all. Serious car accidents can leave injuries that present themselves right away, but they also leave lasting impacts that can be both physical and mental, and can even result in chronic conditions. If you’ve been seriously injured in a car accident, you need to make sure that you are focused on the path to recovery, which means looking not just at the immediate treatment you may need, but what the future will hold. Having an attorney to help you map out the big picture is vital to helping you from becoming overwhelmed by the process.

Adrenaline Can Mask the Severity of Some Injuries

Adrenaline is a powerful thing. After a serious accident, your body produces a surge of adrenaline which serves as a coping mechanism to allow you to function in the moment. Adrenaline can get you out of the car and talking to first responders. However, many car accident victims take this initial surge of adrenaline as a sign that their injuries were not severe. They even make statements indicating they feel fine and don’t need medical treatment. The problem is that in the hours and days after the accident, adrenaline levels subside. When adrenaline levels dip, the true extent of your injuries, including injuries that may have been masked initially, will start to manifest. As inflammation settles in to the injured parts of your body, the real injuries will present themselves and for the first time you realize that your injuries are far more serious than you first thought. It’s important for car accident victims to understand and acknowledge the adrenaline effect and get treatment based on the severity of the accident, not on how they may be feeling at the moment.

What are the Most Common Injuries After a Car Accident?

Broken bones and lacerations are easy to see immediately after a car accident, but the majority of serious injuries are hidden. The most common injuries after a car accident include:

• Flexion/Extension injuries – this is commonly referred to as “whiplash” because of the whipping mechanism that causes it. But this is stretching and tearing of muscles and ligaments in the neck or back  that can lead to pain, stiffness, severe headaches, muscle spasms and injury to the nerves that innervate the spinal column. Without treatment, symptoms from a flexion/extension injury can linger for several months, and in many cases become permanent.
• Head Injuries – concussions or traumatic brain injuries are the most common. The force of an accident causes the brain to bounce around inside the skull, which can cause internal bleeding and bruising of the brain. Concussions are treatable, but can be very serious and need immediate attention. Left untreated, they can lead to very serious debilitating conditions resulting in chronic headaches, personality changes, and functional deficits.
• Back Injuries – any damage to the spine, which is common after the jarring impact of a car accident, can result in chronic back pain from herniated or bulging discs, injuries to the facet joints in the spine, or microtears to the muscles. These injuries can cause pain, numbness or tingling in the limbs, and loss of function in your arm, legs, and some organs.

What Symptoms Should I Watch for After a Car Accident?

Any pain is a red flag, but in addition to soreness and stiff muscles, make sure to be on the lookout for anything that doesn’t feel right. Numbness and tingling in your arms (hands) and legs (feet) and/or loss of function or loss of bladder control can be a sign that a nerve is impinged. Confusion, dizziness, blurred vision, and headaches are all signs of head trauma. Trouble moving your neck and spine can indicate damage to ligaments. You may see more bruising in the days after the accident, which can indicate internal injuries. Even if you did seek immediate medical attention, you should be on the lookout for any additional symptoms and make sure to get follow up care right away.

Seeking Medical Attention Immediately After a Car Accident is Important

When adrenaline is surging and you aren’t feeling the full extent of your pain and injury, it’s easy to want to avoid the stress of an emergency room visit and insist that you’re fine. This is almost never a good strategy, for several reasons.

• Immediate Treatment is the Best Way to Ensure Full Recovery

When your injuries can be immediately assessed, your medical team can form a plan based not only on what you tell them, but what they see in your scans, X-rays, and outward injuries. If you wait, even only a few days, you have lost the most crucial period in getting treated.

• What Delaying Medical Care Says to the Insurance Company

Delaying Medical Care Indicates to the Insurance Company that you were not seriously Injured.

Let’s say you were in a serious car accident that was not your fault, and you are able to walk away, even telling first responders that you are fine. Within a few days, your muscles, ligaments, and soft tissue start showing the full extent of the damage, and you find you can’t get out of bed, let alone go on with your daily life. You seek treatment and medical bills start to accumulate, which you share with the insurance adjuster. However, the insurance adjuster uses the initial delay of treatment as proof that your injuries were not severe. Instead of accepting the medical reports, they begin to challenge every part of your claim. This can delay your settlement and can even reduce your ability to get fair compensation.

• Delaying Treatment Can Make the Emotional Recovery Harder

You may think you’re fine, but there is a psychological impact after a serious accident, and delays in addressing your injuries can make this impact more profound. When you receive immediate treatment, you start the path to recovery immediately.

A Car Accident Attorney Can Help You Get the Compensation You Need

Car accident injuries can result in long-term recovery. In addition to the initial medical bills, you may need medication, physical therapy and emotional support. That doesn’t even address the impact on your quality of life or ability to work. After being injured in a car accident, you need compensation to move forward and recover. While this should be a straightforward process with the insurance company, the reality is that it isn’t always that way, and an attorney can be there to support you and get the process moving favorably for you.

If you’ve been seriously injured in a car accident that wasn’t your fault, contact Arthur Law Firm right away (419) 782-9881 for a free consultation. Our experienced team can help guide you through the recovery process. Your financial security is important to us. Call now to discuss your case.