Beware of Delayed-Onset Symptoms After a Car Accident
Headache, back pain, or abdominal pain that develops several days after a car accident could be a sign of a serious, or even life-threatening condition; therefore, it is important to get a medical examination immediately after an accident, even if you feel fine.
You know how, after your first strenuous workout after a long period of not exercising, you feel fine immediately afterward, but sore the next day? This can happen not only without muscle strain, like one might experience after unusually challenging physical exercise, but also after a traumatic injury, such as in a car accident. In fact, some painful, and even disabling or life-threatening, injuries do not begin to show symptoms until a few days after the accident. If you are involved in a traffic accident, you should go to the emergency room or doctor’s office to be examined on the same day of the accident, even if you do not have any visible injuries. Then you should contact a Murrietacar accident lawyer.
Is it Just a Headache or Something Worse?
If you get a severe headache one or two days after a car accident, it could be a sign of a concussion. The symptoms of concussions can last for weeks or months, and they include headaches, vision changes, mood disturbances, poor concentration, sleep disturbances, and impaired memory. The most severe concussions, calledtraumatic brain injuries, are even worse and can cause permanent symptoms. The headache might also be a sign of intracranial (inside the skull) bleeding, which is life-threatening unless you seek prompt medical attention.
Back and Neck Pain After a Car Accident
Back pain or neck pain, likewise, might start a few days after a car accident and last a long time. It could be the result of a soft tissue injury, such as whiplash injury, or it could be something even more severe. Herniated discs and nerve damage can cause pain, numbness and weakness in the back and legs, and even with treatment, recovery takes a long time and is expensive.
Internal Injuries
Just because you do not see any blood does not mean you are not bleeding; injuries to internal organs are not visible from the outside. The first symptom is usually abdominal pain that starts a day or more after the accident. Internal injuries require emergency surgery and are life-threatening without prompt treatment.
Early Diagnosis and Treatment are Best From a Medical and Legal Perspective
If you suffer any of the above injuries, prompt diagnosis gives you the best chance of a full recovery and of avoiding serious complications. This is why you should be examined in an emergency room right after an accident; X-rays, ultrasounds, blood tests, and other diagnostic tests can identify these injuries before symptoms start, so you can get treatment before things get worse. From a legal standpoint, prompt diagnosis of accident-related injuries helps you provide clear evidence that your need for medical treatment is a result of the accident, not a pre-existing illness or injury.
Contact a Murrieta Car Accident Lawyer
A car accident lawyer in Riverside County can help you if you suffered serious injuries that only began to show symptoms a day or more after the accident. Contact Gibbs & Fuerst LLP in Murrieta, California to set up a consultation about your car accident case.