It seems like you’d know for certain whether or not you were injured in a car crash, right? There’s no denying that your car is crumpled and your day is ruined!
But many car accident injuries aren’t immediately noticeable. They might be undetectable for days, weeks, or even months after the crash.
This is why it’s so important to get a doctor’s evaluation right away, then continue monitoring for new symptoms that become more noticeable following your California car accident. Here are some additional things you should know about delayed-onset injury symptoms.
How Long Does it Take for Injury Symptoms to Arise?
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), car accident injury symptoms frequently arise up to 5 weeks after a crash. Even after slow-moving accidents of less than 15 miles per hour, severe injury symptoms can become noticeable after a month or more.
This is due to the delayed effect of car accident injuries, particularly those that are deep within the body or are caused by swelling, scarring, or infections. At first, you might feel mild pain but within weeks, you’re in extreme pain and your movement has become quite limited.
Whiplash is an excellent example. The physical structure of the human neck is such that whiplash injury symptoms can take time to arise as the body copes with the neck being snapped back and forth. The injured person may go through a significant period of pain, swelling, and immobility that gets much worse before it gets better.
Which Symptoms Have Delayed Onset After Car Accidents?
Here at Sally Morin Personal Injury Lawyers, we frequently see our injured clients suffering from delayed-onset symptoms. If you’re in this situation, we have so much sympathy for you!
Below are some of the most common symptoms that tend to arise in the weeks or months following an accident.
Whiplash
As mentioned above, whiplash symptoms can take time to show up. Any good emergency care doctor should know how to properly identify and treat whiplash in injured people. You may also need follow-up care from a neck and spine specialist and/or a physical therapist.
Neck, Back, and Shoulder Pain
The body’s skeletal system is designed to protect your internal organs, but it’s still vulnerable to forceful impacts. You could have late-onset symptoms like swelling and pain within the neck, shoulders, back, and spine.
Abdominal Injuries
This might surprise you, but even a soft blow to the stomach can lead to severe outcomes, including a heart attack. What feels like a minor pain in your abdomen can lead to delayed-onset tachycardia, or heart rhythm disturbance, after the blunt-force trauma of a car accident.
Numbness and Tingling
Don’t ignore those tingly feelings of numbness in your hands or feet. This can be an indication of a pinched or damaged nerve that needs immediate medical attention.
Headaches, Concussions, and TBIs
A headache is another symptom that can arise long after a car accident happens. Again, never ignore this seemingly trivial symptom because it may be connected to a concussion or traumatic brain injury (TBI) that will have lasting effects if left untreated.
Emotional Trauma
People sometimes discount the mental pain and emotional trauma of car accidents, but these are serious symptoms that might take a while to accept and treat. It’s very common for car accident victims to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, nightmares, flashbacks, and behavioral changes.
What to Do About Symptoms That Arise Long After the Accident
After the crash, see a doctor with the expertise to treat people who have been in severe car accidents. Follow your doctor’s orders and save all of your medical bills.
This is the best way to protect your health and begin to build a case for car accident compensation. In California, you can start a claim against the person who hurt you.
Potential sources of compensation include:
- Existing medical bills related to the crash
- Cost of additional medical treatment for newly-arising symptoms
- Lost wages and earning capacity as you heal from the accident
- Vehicle/property losses
- Your pain and suffering, including emotional trauma
Here at Sally Morin Personal Injury Lawyers, we understand that you could be dealing with the aftermath of your accident for weeks or months to come. Contact us for a free consultation as soon as possible to support your recovery.
We Handle Your Personal Injury Claim So You Can Focus on Your Life
After an injury, contact the attorneys at Sally Morin Personal Injury Lawyers. We handle many areas of the law, including car accidents with delayed symptoms. We believe you should be able to focus on recovering while we handle the legal details.
We truly care about the people of California. Contact us today for a free online case evaluation.
