Delayed Pain And Injury After A Car Accident: What Should You Do?

Considering the force involved during a car crash, sustaining severe injuries doesn't come as a surprise. If you're involved in a car crash and still make it home, you should be thankful since many people end up in morgues or emergency rooms.

Nevertheless, the fact that you don't experience any pain after the accident doesn't necessarily mean you aren't injured. Sometimes injuries can take hours or days before manifesting. In such an event, the victim might be in danger since the delayed pain can indicate a severe or life-threatening injury.

This is why, after an accident, it's important to seek immediate medical attention, not only for your well-being but also for establishing a record of your injuries. Additionally, contacting experienced accident lawyers is equally important. An accident lawyer can help ensure that your rights are protected and that you receive the necessary compensation for any injuries sustained, even if the pain emerges later. For example, car accident lawyers have the expertise to navigate the complexities of insurance claims and legal processes, giving you the peace of mind that your interests are safeguarded in such critical situations.

That said, it's essential to seek treatment immediately after an accident, regardless if you experience pain. The doctor will perform some tests to determine if you've sustained internal injuries and treat them accordingly.

What Should You Do If You Experience Delayed Pain?

As already stated, the first step following a car crash should be to seek medical help. However, if you bypassed this step since you thought you were fine but now experiencing pain days after the accident, you should seek treatment immediately. 

After a car accident, the body experiences an adrenaline rush. The adrenaline masks the pain until the mind has recovered from the stress. Once the adrenaline has reduced, your body begins to experience pain.

Besides that, if you sustain internal bleeding, it's important to note that it can go unnoticed for days before you start experiencing pain. Therefore, seeking treatment after a car crash is vital since only then can you determine if you've sustained injuries that might threaten your well-being as time goes by.

Importance Of Seeking Treatment After An Accident

After a car accident, you can sustain visible and invisible injuries. Many people seek treatment right away if they sustain visible injuries. If the injuries are not visible, most people ignore the importance of seeking treatment.

Unfortunately, assuming you're fine since you don't experience pain or visible injuries. Not taking action can lead to severe health issues, such as brain injuries, blood clots, or death. With that in mind, seeking treatment is vital as soon as you're involved in an accident.

A medical examiner will determine if you have internal injuries and provide professional advice on dealing with the accident's aftermath. Consulting a medical professional will also be handy when filling a personal injury case.

What Are The Symptoms Of Delayed Pain And Injury?

While delayed pain and injuries might begin to manifest hours or days following an accident, they don't come announced. Among the common symptoms that you might be experiencing delayed pain and injuries include:

• Headaches: Headaches resulting from a car crash might take days before manifesting. Unfortunately, headaches are a sign of a potentially severe injury, such as head injuries, blood clots in the brain, or concussion. Don't hesitate to seek your doctor's intervention if you experience mild or severe headaches days after a car accident.

• Back Pain: Back pain points out injuries to ligaments, muscles, damaged vertebrae, or injured nerves. A great number of people involved in a car accident will feel pain in their back immediately. But there may be some scenarios where the back pain will not manifest right away as the body's way of coping. Therefore, it is always best to get checked by a professional and get proper treatment whether or not you feel any back pain.

• Numbness: Numbness that leads to the loss of feeling in some body parts also indicates a severe injury yet to be determined. In most cases, numbness can result from neck or spinal column injuries. Also known as whiplash symptoms, it's believed that some individuals involved in car crashes may not experience numbness right away due to the adrenaline rush.

• Shoulder, Neck Pain, And Stiffness: Neck injuries might include whiplash, which might be severe; hence it may require further assessment using x-rays or CT scans.

• Abdominal Swelling Or Pain: Abdominal pain might indicate internal bleeding that might be fatal. Other symptoms of internal bleeding include dizziness, purple bruising, and fainting. Internal bleeding is dangerous and might not show symptoms until too late.

• Behavior Change: Car accidents can cause brain injuries that might result in the victim's behavioral change. In such a case, an individual might experience clouded memory, hearing and vision issues, depression, or personality change. It's, therefore, essential to seek medical attention if you think you or your loved one might have sustained traumatic brain injury before it's too late.

Delayed pain after a car accident can vary from one person to another. Also, they can take more than a few days to show. Therefore, the point is getting checked immediately after the accident to get timely treatment.

Conclusion

Delayed pain following a car accident is an injury that may take more than 24 hours to manifest. It can indicate a life-threatening condition, such as blood clots and internal injuries. If left unattended, delayed pain can be the beginning of a lifetime disability or cause death.

Therefore, everyone involved in a car accident must seek treatment immediately after the incident to determine if they've sustained injuries that might take a while to manifest. Immediate medical treatment is the only thing that can reverse injuries that might cause delayed pain.