Be Aware of These Delayed Car Accident Injuries

Car accident injuries are estimated to be the 8th leading cause of death worldwide.

They can be quite severe, but sometimes you won’t be aware of them right away. There are various delayed symptoms that you might only notice some time after you’re injured in a car accident. Being aware of what they are will help you identify them so that you can seek treatment.

For a rundown of some common delayed car accident injuries to be aware of, keep reading.

Headache

This is one of the most common delayed injuries that people experience after a car accident. Fortunately, they’re usually harmless and will go away on their own. Sometimes, however, they can be an indicator of something worse.

In bad cases, you might experience headaches due to a serious concussion, blood clots on the brain, or another injury to your head or neck. Your skull is very hard and durable, but your brain isn’t.

If you hit your head during a crash, your brain can impact your skull. This can lead to things like bruising, bleeding, swelling, and damage to the brain tissue.

These can all be very serious, so if you do experience headaches after a crash, you should see a doctor. Even if you’re not too worried, it’s better to be certain that it’s not something too bad

Head injuries could potentially be fatal, so even if you feel fine after a crash, you might not be. This may even be the first symptom you experience, so if it happens, make sure you get it checked out.

Neck and Shoulder Pain

Whiplash is another common car accident injury that can result in bad neck and shoulder pain. Sometimes this pain will set in immediately, and others it may take several days to appear.

You might slowly start to feel some pain and stiffness seeping in. If this happens, make sure you see your doctor. They’ll likely suggest an MRI or an X-ray so they can properly assess your injuries.

It may turn out that the pain is due to a spinal injury. If this is the case, you’ll need immediate treatment.

Back Pain

Like neck and shoulder pain, this can occur right away or after a few days. There are several things that can cause back pain such as:

• A soft tissue injury
• A herniated disc
• A spinal injury
• A sprain
• Whiplash

Any one of these can result in extreme pain and might affect your mobility. If you start to notice symptoms, you should go to your doctor right away. Things will likely get a lot worse quickly, so you want to be able to get treated as soon as possible.

Numbness

Whiplash doesn’t always result in a neck or back injury, but can sometimes cause numbness. Rather than feeling a lot of pain, you may feel much less. It can also create a tingling feeling in your arms and hands.

This can happen if you’ve sustained an injury or damage to the nerves in your spinal column. While it might not feel as bad as other injuries due to the lack of pain, it’s still something you should get treated as soon as possible so that it doesn’t develop into something worse.

Abdominal Pain

This is something that people generally don’t associate with a car accident, but it’s more common than you might think. If you experience abdominal pain, it may be from internal bleeding. This can occur due to the pressure from a seatbelt during a crash.

Some common signs of this are dizziness and fainting, and you may even be able to see deep purple bruising on your abdomen. This is another type of injury that can take several days to notice. Internal bleeding can be potentially life-threatening, so you need to seek treatment immediately if you think you might have it.

PTSD

Physical injuries aren’t the only issues that can arise from car crashes. The trauma can result in PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), not only for those involved but even for witnesses.

This is something that often appears subtly and then slowly gets worse. It can affect how a person functions from day to day and may impact their quality of life. It’s often difficult to tell if you’re suffering from PTSD, so if you think there’s a chance you might have it, you should see a professional.

Legal Action

If you’re injured in a car accident, physical pain isn’t the only problem you’ll face. You might have to take time off work and could be facing some sizable medical bills. For an accident that wasn’t your fault, this can feel incredibly unfair.

A car accident lawyer may be able to help you with this. In many states, the driver who’s at fault will be held responsible. As such, their insurance company will need to pay compensation to cover the vehicle damage and any personal injury costs.

Depending on the circumstances of the accident, it may be difficult to determine which driver is at fault. Check out this article to find out more on car accident settlements.

Dealing With Car Accident Injuries

Car accident injuries are something you shouldn’t ignore. Even if it takes several days to feel any symptoms, things could still be quite bad – possibly even life-threatening.

Whatever injuries you think you might have, you should see your doctor so that they can diagnose you and begin treatment. You may also want to seek legal assistance to help cover the costs of your healthcare and the damage to your car.

For more health-related articles, check out some of our other blog posts.