Car accidents are incredibly common, with hundreds of accidents occurring each day throughout the country. In some instances, car accident victims avoid a complete medical screening after an accident, for a number of reasons. Some victims do not feel any serious pain after an accident and prefer to wait and see if they feel better in the morning before seeing a doctor. Otters victims do not want to waste money on a medical screening to tell them that they don’t have any serious injuries.
Unfortunately, these are faulty reasons for avoiding potentially life-saving medical care. Car accidents often leave victims with serious injuries that they cannot feel for several hours or days afterward. Without a full medical screening, these injuries may continue to grow worse until the victim has a serious problem.
If you or someone you love recently experienced a car accident, seek a complete medical screening from your doctor as soon as you can. While it is possible to experience a car accident without sustaining any injuries, delayed pain injuries can cause painful, costly complications. If you want to protect yourself physically and legally, a full medical screening is a good place to begin.
Many types of delayed pain injuries
The term “delayed pain injury” covers a wide range of injuries. Some of these injuries are painful but not particularly dangerous, such as soft tissue damage, or whiplash. Whiplash may set in after several hours, causing immense pain and stiffness in the affected muscles. Commonly, whiplash affects the neck and back, but may also affect other muscle groups.
A blow to the head may not cause physical danger but can derail a victim’s personal and professional life, if they suffer a mild traumatic brain injury. These injuries can remain hidden for several weeks, and may make it very difficult for a victim to communicate with others or complete simple tasks. Without proper care, a blow to the head can easily wreak havoc in a victim’s life.
Other injuries pose a serious threat to a victim’s life, such as internal bleeding and organ damage. Even minor instances of internal bleeding can lead to a serious infection that may spread to a victim’s brain.
Similarly, partial organ damage may not cause any pain at first, while the victim’s body attempts to heal the organ using its natural processes. However, if the body cannot heal the organ on its own, it may shut the organ down completely. Once one organ is in organ failure, the other organs may also fail. Organ failure is deadly, and is also a very painful way to die.
Protecting yourself while you recover
Protecting your recovery begins with taking the right steps at the right time. If you have not yet received a full medical screening since your accident, make it a point to do so today. The sooner that you begin taking steps to protect yourself, the sooner you can begin building your personal injury claim, if it is is necessary. A strong, well-built claim helps keep your rights secure as you work toward a full recovery from your accident.
