Don’t Assume All Injuries Are Present At An Accident
Brian O Sutter
Personal Injury
When a traffic accident occurs, there’s obviously a lot of chaos that has to be dealt with. Sometimes this chaos is also accompanied by injuries, blood loss and the need for immediate medical attention. During such a hectic period, it’s very easy for a lot of things to get lost in the attempts to restore order. This is especially true if there are already some noticeable injuries such as cuts, bruises or even broken bones.But one very important thing that all injury victims in an accident should consider is, as unpleasant as it may be to think about, the injuries may not be “over” yet. It’s medically possible that there are further injuries on the way even after the accident has occurred.
Not Everything Is Immediate
For example, the most obvious and well-known type of “delayed reaction” injury is a concussion. A concussion doesn’t have to be as obvious as a bump to the head, although that’s certainly a red flag for medically examining someone. If a sudden movement causes the brain to impact against the inside of the skull, for example, that’s not going to leave a visible lump or injury on the head, but, with the passing of hours, or days, it can certainly develop into a concussion without proper medical treatment.
There are many other soft tissue injuries that can also develop over time that may not be immediately apparent in the aftermath of an accident. Muscles, and other tissue, for example, don’t show up on X-ray exams, so if a muscle has been pulled, or traumatized in a specific way, such as the neck muscles for whiplash, this is, once again, something that may not show visible symptoms upon an immediate medical exam. However, after enough time has passed and the traumatized tissue has time to “set,” the real muscular damage may become more apparent as mobility becomes difficult and pain more apparent.
Remain Receptive
This is why it’s important, after an accident, to not just keep an accounting of the injuries that were sustained during the impact. Remain observant and receptive to other symptoms that may evince themselves later down the line. If you felt “fine” at first—other injuries aside—but then notice you are experiencing, dizziness, nausea, or new aches and pains in your limbs that you weren’t before, do not ignore these warning signs. Get further medical evaluation and find out whether or not you are showing symptoms of additional injuries that are only now coming to the surface.
In some cases, “delayed injuries” such as traumatic brain injury, for example, can cause more significant—even permanent—damage to you that goes far beyond the cuts and bruises you’ll eventually recover from. This is why it’s so important to, after an accident, make sure you don’t immediately settle with the other driver’s lawyers or insurance company based on the injuries you’re presently aware of. A good personal injury lawyer can make sure you get what you deserve even for later developments like traumatic brain injury.