If you suffered any injuries after a car accident, even if you consider them to be minor, you should seek medical attention and evaluation immediately. Not doing so could compromise your immediate and long-term health making it difficult to relate future treatment and pursue adequate compensation from the negligent party. Moreover, car insurance companies could deny your claim if you do not provide evidence of having visited a medical professional within a specific amount of time following.
If you suffered injuries in a car accident, an experienced car accident attorney at The Law Offices of Lucas & Magazine can help you navigate the claims process, make sure you get the necessary and deserved medical treatment, and ensure that your legal rights remain protected. Contact our legal team today for a free consultation at 727.849.5353.
Adrenaline Can Mask Pain After a Car Accident
Most individuals involved in a car accident suffer from some kind of shock or adrenaline rush immediately after the accident. When our bodies generate a high amount of adrenaline and endorphins, we may only feel a limited amount of pain or no pain at all despite suffering from severe, or even life-threatening, injuries.
However, even if you feel as if you do not have any injuries at the accident scene or shortly thereafter, you could be suffering from a serious injury and should always visit a medical professional for a full medical evaluation. A day or so after the accident, when the effects of the adrenaline rush wear off, you may feel more and more symptoms. At the very least, you should seek medical attention when you are starting to feel symptoms such as pain anywhere in your body, confusion, neck pain, neck stiffness, or headaches.
You Could Have a Delayed Onset Injury
One reason to seek prompt medical attention after a car accident is the possibility of a delayed onset injury. “Delayed onset” means an injury shows no symptoms at the scene of the accident. Injuries with a delayed onset can be challenging to identify immediately following a car accident and need a thorough medical evaluation from a doctor or other medical professional.
Unfortunately, going about your life as usual with a delayed onset injury can seriously damage your health, or even cause death. Prompt medical treatment is critical for some serious delayed onset injuries such as internal bleeding, organ damage, and traumatic brain injury, for example. Some of the most common medical conditions with delayed symptoms can include the following:
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
According to the Mayo Clinic, a TBI can remain undetected for days or even weeks. Some of the symptoms of a TBI can include persistent headaches, dizziness, drowsiness, mental fog, changes in character, insomnia, nausea, and clear liquid appearing from the nose and ears.
Whiplash
Whiplash can be a common injury in rear-end accidents due to the rapid back-and-forth movement of the head during impact. In some cases, whiplash symptoms can be severely delayed. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), the so-called “late whiplash” syndrome can show up as late as six months after suffering an injury in a motor vehicle accident.
Abdominal Injuries
It is possible for serious abdominal injuries to remain undetected for some time. If you were recently involved in a car accident and now have abdominal pain or swelling, you should seek medical advice immediately.
Herniated Discs and Other Back injuries
A slipped disc, nerve damage, torn muscles, or damaged ligaments will eventually cause pain once the adrenaline rush has worn off after an accident. If left untreated, these injuries can result in serious or even lifelong complications.
Emotional Injuries
Emotional injuries after car accidents are often underestimated. However, mental disorders can have a detrimental effect on all aspects of a victim’s life. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), may not show up until triggered by some event unrelated to the accident. If you find yourself suffering from anxiety, depression, insomnia, and other emotional symptoms after a car accident, you should seek professional help.
Failure to Seek Medical Immediate Evaluation Could Lead To Loss of Compensation
One of the major reasons for seeking immediate medical attention after an accident, in addition to protecting your health, is protecting your legal rights and right to compensation. Waiting too long to see a doctor or other medical professional, could make your claim for damages unnecessarily complicated or even impossible. If you do not have adequate and timely proof of your injuries, such as a medical report dated close to the car accident, insurance companies may try to minimize or deny your claim completely.
The insurance company could argue that the reason for your delayed doctor’s visit is that your injuries are insignificant. They may also claim that your injuries stem from an unrelated event or pre-existing condition, rather than the car accident in question. When it comes to a lawsuit, if you do not have a medical report clearly showing your injuries’ connection to the car accident, you make lose the ability to receive the amount of compensation you would have had a right to obtain under the law.
When Should I Visit a Medical Professional After a Car Accident?
If you did not receive medical attention at the accident scene, you should visit a doctor or medical professional as soon as possible thereafter. This is true even if you feel only minor pain or stiffness, as this could point to a more serious condition. While injuries can potentially take weeks to fully manifest, medical professionals have a variety of tests that can diagnose many conditions you may not even know you have after a car accident. Receiving a complete medical evaluation after a car accident not only gives you a better chance for recovering adequate damages after an accident, but you could also receive prompt treatment and protect your health or even your life.
The Experienced Pasco County Attorneys at Lucas & Magazine Can Ensure Your Legal Rights Remain Protected
Even if you did not immediately seek medical attention after a car accident, our compassionate and experienced car accident attorneys in New Port Richey, FL could still help you recover compensation if another’s negligence or carelessness caused your injuries and losses. While we generally recommend that you seek medical attention as soon as possible, having failed to do so does not mean that you cannot file a claim for compensation.
Delaying medical help can, however, make it more challenging for you to prove your case and fight for a full settlement package from an insurance company. Our seasoned car accident attorneys have years of experience in helping car accident victims fight for fair compensation and receive the justice they deserve. Our legal team can pursue everything you are entitled to and protect your best interests both in and out of court.
Call The Law Offices of Lucas & Magazine today to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with our legal team: 727.849.5353.
