What If My Car Accident Injuries Don’t Show Up Right Away?

What If My Car Accident Injuries Don’t Show Up Right Away? is a post from: http://www.personalinjurylawyercalgaryinc.ca/

Car accidents are a traumatic experience for anyone. If you are involve in an accident and are currently pursing compensation from the other party, there are few things you might want to consider when it comes to your injuries, your health and your rights. The trauma caused after a car accident may not be apparent right away due to the adrenaline and endorphin our bodies produce when we are involved in traumatic experiences. These chemicals send us in our flight or fight mode and pain may not reveal it self for days or weeks later. If this is your issue here are a few tips to guide you through your process.

Soft Tissue Injuries

What are soft tissue injuries? Soft tissue injuries occur when there is trauma or damage to any muscles, ligaments and tendons thorough out the body. These forms of injuries may take time to present themselves, but when they do it will be in one of the forms:

• Strains- Results from injury to tendons or muscles. Most commonly in the lower half of the body, but car accidents can send your whole body jerking around violently. Be vigilant to your whole body.
• Sprains- Caused by a stretch or tear to the connective tissues also know as ligaments
• Contusions- Or bruises to the muscles, ligaments or tendons. Bruises are formed when the blood pools around an injury.

There are several other forms of soft tissue injuries such as Tendinitis, Stress Fractures and Bursitis. All these injuries may result in pain, swelling and loss of mobility. Symptoms such as these can be detrimental to the injured party in many ways, especially if these injuries don’t show up for days, weeks or months after the initial accident.

Concussions

Brain injuries are extremely difficult to self diagnose after a car accident. Many may feel the initial dizziness may be from the shock of what just occurred, but like with athletes theses types of injuries may lay dormant for days or weeks. The sudden force of an accident can send the brain rattling around in your skull. The most common brain injury sustained from an accident is the concussion. Here is a list of the most reported concussion symptoms:

• Nausea
• Dizziness
• Confusion/Cloudy Thinking
• Headache
• Blurred Vision

Concussions can lead to temporary loss of consciousness or something more severe such as a coma. This type of injury is even more dangerous because of the harmful outcomes that can arise from a late developing brain injury.

What Steps Do I Take

This should go with out saying, but after any kind of accident your first stop should be to a hospital. It is very important to get your initial injuries on record. This could help you if other injuries being to develop in the days or weeks following accident. With every new symptom seek out medical attention from your doctor or an emergency room visit. Having every new symptom documented creates a time line of your injuries and makes your case easier to prove and could increase your compensation.

It is tempting to want to settle your claim right away or the insurance company may be pushing you to settle. Yes, you may receive your money sooner, but you may also have lost out on money as well. In these cases the insurance adjuster wants you to take home a smaller check, that is why they push. Waiting to settle is highly recommended in car accident cases. Staying in close contact with your doctor is one of the best ways to determine when you should begin the settling process. Do not sign a release until you have been cleared by your doctor on all injuries sustained immediately following an accident and the injuries that manifest in the weeks afterwards. You can not go back and add injuries once the release has been signed.

If you follow these tips, navigating the injury and settlement process will be a little smoother.