When you are still recovering emotionally after you have been in a car accident, you may think you are lucky to have gotten away without any physical injuries as well. However, the situation can be fairly misleading immediately following a car accident. Especially when adrenaline is running high, you may have no idea that you have suffered from any injuries at all. Especially with soft tissue injuries, they may take hours or days to show up. On the other hand, internal bleeding can also be incredibly difficult to spot until your adrenaline surge has worn off. While some of these injuries may not be life-threatening, others, like brain damage or internal bleeding, can be the difference between life and death.
Why are injuries so hard to detect sometimes?
As noted above, one of the reasons that injuries can be hard to see after a car accident is because you may have a rush of adrenaline that masks these injuries. Further, if other people were involved in the car accident or you have other passengers who were injured, you may find that your concern for others outweighs any of the pain you are experiencing, no matter how severe.
- Soft tissue injuries. Soft tissue injuries are extremely common after car accidents, including minor fender benders. When this is the case, you may not even notice the pain. Whiplash is one of the most common types of soft tissue injuries and while you may think that you have gotten away unharmed, whiplash can show up hours or days after the accident.
- Brain injuries. Brain injuries are also notorious for cropping up days after the accident. If you do not get medical attention immediately, you may not realize the minor headache you have or the nausea you are experiencing after the accident is actually related to a brain injury. A lawyer, like a car accident lawyer from a law firm like Ward & Ward Law Firm, knows that if left untreated, a brain injury can result in severe, permanent, and even fatal damage.
- Back/spinal injuries. Back and spinal injuries are also common after an accident and you may find that as the days wear on you are unable to move freely like you used to. If there is damage to your spinal cord, this could mean that your brain is unable to send the proper messages to the rest of your body.
Getting into a car accident can be serious. If you are concerned about going to the doctor and think that you might be wasting time or money, think again. Your doctor will be able to help you with your medical records when it comes to filing your claim and you may not realize that they are giving you life-changing (or saving) services when you get there. Reach out to a local law firm for more information on what you should do after a car accident.