Can car accident injuries show up later?
Injury from a car collision generally shows up right away, although some may take a few days to show up. A life-threatening injury or delayed injuries may develop for weeks before a person learns it was caused by a recent automobile accident. This is due to the fact that some injuries, such as those to the internal organs, may not immediately manifest symptoms. People can confuse a symptom with a mild illness.
How long after a car accident can injuries appear?
Pain, symptoms, and injuries after a car collision might appear hours, days, or even weeks later. A large rush of adrenaline and endorphins occurs in our systems following a stressful incident such as a car accident, which might cause delayed symptoms. These substances might be released immediately after an injury, masking pain symptoms.
Late-appearing car injuries may happen. You’re not in the clear just because you feel fine after a car accident. Keep a close watch on yourself in the days and weeks after the event, and call your pain management doctor if you have any new pain or injury symptoms for medical treatment.
What causes late-appearing car accident injuries to happen?
While serious common injuries will be immediately apparent following a vehicle collision, some injuries may take longer to manifest. When the body is shocked by an accident, endorphins are produced, which cover pain and other damage symptoms. In order to thoroughly analyze the impact of the injury on your body, you must let these endorphins wear off. If you feel intense pain after some week, this might be a late-appearing car accident injury.
Most Common Types of Car Injuries That Often Appear Late
Whiplash
When the head and neck swing rapidly forward and backward as a result of a vehicle accident, whiplash injury occurs. The cervical spine’s soft tissues, nerves, vertebrae, and spinal discs are stretched and damaged by violent motion. Neck muscles discomfort and stiffness, trouble moving the neck through its entire range of motion, shoulder pain, and headaches are all common whiplash symptoms.
Concussion
In a vehicle accident, a concussion develops when the head is violently shaken, causing the brain to bounce about inside the skull and have traumatic brain injuries. The movement causes harm to brain cells as well as soft tissues. Consciousness loss, headaches, nausea, and tiredness, dizziness, mental fogginess, disorientation, memory issues, attention and focus problems, and loss of balance are all part of the list of concussion symptoms.
Soft-tissue injury
When the soft tissues are stretched, ripped, or damaged after a vehicle collision, sprains, strains, and contusions occur. Pain, swelling, soreness, muscular spasms, intense shooting pain, and a restricted range of motion are all common symptoms.
Spinal Injuries
Vertebrae, spinal discs, nerves, spinal cord, and soft connective tissues of the spine can all be injured or damaged in a vehicle collision. Back pain, stiffness, muscular spasms, spinal mobility loss, numbness, and tingling are some of the most common symptoms.
Read More: The Life-Altering Significance of Getting Your Spine Evaluated After a Car Accident
Slipped Disc
When the inner, jelly-like fluid of a spinal disc pushes on the outer ring of the disc, the disk presses down into the spinal canal, creating a slipped disc. It happens when the jelly-like fluid seeps into the spinal canal through a rupture in the outer ring. It can happen as a result of a hard collision in an automobile accident. Back or neck discomfort is generally the first symptom of a slipped disc.
Tips on What to Do After Auto Accident Injuries Suddenly Appear
Check for symptoms
Because no two incidents are the same, predicting what to expect physically is impossible. Following a vehicle collision, you should be aware of a number of physical and emotional symptoms that may not emerge immediately, such as soft-tissue injuries, which might take hours or days to manifest into pain. It is important not to dismiss delayed symptoms such as abdominal pain, neck pain, back pain, numbness and tingling, headache, memory loss, or excessive sleepiness.
Consult with your insurance provider
To file an insurance claim for injuries, you need to know how long you have to stay in the hospital following a vehicle accident. In some states, you have a limited time from the date of the accident to bring an automobile accident case. However, the longer you wait to seek medical help, the more difficult it will be to prove your case for personal injury.
Inform your personal injury lawyers
Your insurance company, or the insurance company of the at-fault motorist, will assist you in paying for your medical expenses. However, delayed pain and other symptoms following an injury are frequent, and proving to an insurance company that new ailments are connected to the same event can be difficult. Even if the insurance company agrees to cover the additional medical expenses, it’s a good idea to consult a car accident lawyer before signing anything.
When should I go to a doctor for my late-appearing auto accident injuries?
If you’ve been in a vehicle accident and have any signs that you may have been wounded or that something isn’t quite right, you should visit a doctor straight away and seek medical attention. Severe injuries, such as broken bones or head trauma, must be examined and treated very away. Any sign of pain should be seen by an experienced accident doctor for a proper treatment plan.
Need help with late-appearing car accident injuries? Book an appointment at Stridewell
Stridewell recognizes that a vehicle accident may result in a lot of duties, worry, and even misery. With the amount of paperwork, you may not be able to notice the late-appearing car accident injuries that you have. In case that happens, book an appointment ASAP with a trusted accident and injury clinic in Phoenix. Our facility is multi-disciplinary in that we provide diverse treatments under one roof.
Read Next: How to Deal With Lower Back Pain After Car Accident
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