Car accidents can be an extremely traumatic incident for both your body and your mind. Due to the high speeds most vehicles travel on the highways and roads, there is a great amount of force behind even a small fender bender. While some injuries are easily detectable at the time of the crash, others may not surface until a few hours or even a few days after the incident. There are a few reasons this can occur. Keep reading for more information on why it is extremely important to have yourself medically evaluated after a car crash.
Reasons for Delayed Symptoms
Adrenaline
If you have ever heard of athletes playing entire games after suffering an injury without noticing the pain or frantic mothers lifting cars off their children, those stories all have the same theme—they are filled with excitement and excitement does something incredible to the body. When your body is excited or scared, it releases an excess of adrenaline and other endorphins to super-charge the body and block pain. Some people report an increased amount of energy after a car accident, which is a symptom of an adrenaline rush. You may feel perfectly fine during the rush of all those chemicals, but after the initial flood leaves your bloodstream, you will start to feel pain.
Soft Tissue
Soft tissue injuries, otherwise known as whiplash, occur to the neck and back muscles when the head is suddenly forced forward and then backward. The symptoms of whiplash can take days or even weeks to surface. These injuries are difficult to diagnose, as they do not show up on an x-ray. If you were involved in a car accident, you should head to your local urgent care or see your doctor so they can document any injury that might arise from the accident.
Concussion
You can suffer from a concussion if your brain suddenly strikes the inside of your skull. The brain is encapsulated in protective fluids that help keep it from striking the inside of your skull. Symptoms of a concussion can be more subtle, they include:
- Disorientation
- Clouded thinking
- Headache
- Blurred vision
- Nausea
- Dizziness
Your first steps after a crash should be to see a doctor as soon as possible, no matter how minor the accident may seem. When you visit your doctor, you have a medical record of injuries in writing which makes it easier for you to build your case.
Don’t Settle, Contact a Greenville MS Injury Attorney
After a car accident, the insurance company will try to pressure you into settling right away. Some companies have used scare tactics claiming they have to “close their file” to get people to agree to a settlement. If you are noticing the symptoms of any of the above injuries days or even weeks after your accident and you are unable to reach an agreement with the insurance company, contact Harris Law Firm, PLLC. When you hire our Greenville MS injury lawyer, you can rest assured knowing you are backed by 30 years of experience. Give us a call 877-714-4171 to get started!