You may feel fine after a car accident besides a few cuts and scrapes. This false sense of being fine may make you refuse medical treatment.
Unfortunately, this could be a huge mistake. During many accidents, even minor ones, victims experience delayed injury symptoms. Part of this is because of the adrenaline pumping through your body after an event like an accident, which masks some of the aches and pains that would otherwise be obvious.
Putting off medical care may result in your injuries getting worse, or the insurance company for the at-fault party claiming you weren’t injured at all, which may impact your ability to recover compensation.
Types of delayed injury symptoms you may experience
A few hours, days or even weeks after being involved in a car accident is when you may first experience symptoms of an injury. Some of the most common delayed symptoms that occur include:
- Headaches
- Shoulder, back or neck pain
- Numbness and tingling in your arms, legs, feet or hands
- Abdominal pain
While these symptoms may not seem like a big deal, you should remember that a headache may be a sign of a TBI (traumatic brain injury), tingling in your arms or legs should be caused by nerve or spine injuries and abdominal pain could be the result of internal organ damage or internal bleeding.
Seeking medical care right after an accident will ensure these issues are found and that they don’t have the chance to get more serious.
Protecting your rights after an accident
Seeking medical care immediately after an accident will ensure injuries you may have sustained are detected and provides documentation of what happened and when your injuries occurred. This is beneficial if you file a lawsuit against the at-fault party and can help you obtain fair compensation for your losses.
