Accidents can be traumatic, and the stress, confusion and adrenaline that follow afterwards don’t make things any easier for you. Even serious injuries can be hard to manifest immediately after the accident. Pain can delay due to the adrenaline rush and only manifest hours or days later.
“The most common injury after a car accident is the soft tissue injury followed by whiplash.”
Car accidents can also lead to long term injuries which get worse with time, even weeks later. One common injury that takes time to manifest is traumatic brain injury (TBI), which can remain asymptomatic for a few weeks after the accident.
Minor injuries can turn chronic later on, turning out to be life-threatening. This is why it is vital that even after being handled by emergency medical services, you need to get time to see a qualified medical doctor to diagnose these conditions the right way and monitor your health.
Let us look at some of the conditions that come with delayed symptoms.
Pain in Your Stomach
Abdominal pain after an accident usually points to soft tissue injuries that should be ignored. In some cases, this might mean internal bleeding that might require surgery.
Internal bleeding after a blow to the stomach might manifest hours or days later. Associated symptoms include numbness, weakness and dizziness.
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Severe TBI can cause headaches that manifest long after the accident has happened. Head injuries aren’t easy to diagnose because the symptoms don’t manifest immediately. You might feel okay for weeks, only for a severe headache to hit you when you least expect it.
Because these injuries are hard to diagnose and the symptoms take time to manifest, you need to visit a qualified medical doctor immediately after the accident and work with him to handle any subsequent symptoms.
Whiplash
This injury comes about when you hit your head against a hard surface such as the dashboard or steering wheel. This impact forces the head forwards, and then when you stop, the head is forced backwards. This jolts the brain, making it hit the inside of the skull at high speed. Symptoms of the injury might not show up for several days, weeks or even longer.
Signs that you suffered whiplash in the accident include persistent headaches and neck and back pain. You might also experience vision problems and dizziness, weakness and numbness.
Spine Injury
This is another injury that takes time for it to manifest. Make sure you get to a good doctor to evaluate the spinal injury before heading home. If you experience back pain, weakness and balance problems, head to the doctor without delay.
Concussions
If you or a loved one has been in an accident and you start noticing changes in behavior a few days or weeks after the accident, then your brain might be telling you something. Concussions from a car accident come with personality changes and depression, vision problems, and memory loss.
Why Should You Work With a Car Accident Lawyer
Many accident victims feel that since they don’t feel any pain after the accident, then they are fine. This usually happens when the accident has been minor. But by now, you know that some conditions mask the pain till a few days or weeks later before it manifests. This is why you need to visit a doctor early enough to be assessed and start the treatment process.
Lawyers understand this aspect of accidents and will guide you on what to do and which form of treatment to seek. Hire a competent car accident lawyer that will guide you on what to do and what not to do after a car accident to enjoy maximum compensation.