Car Accidents are Exciting
Not "exciting" in the fun sense, more from a physiological perspective.
Sometimes athletes get injured during a game, and they continue to play without noticing the injury until the game is over. That is because their bodies are generating adrenaline and endorphins. These two chemicals operate to super-charge our bodies and even block pain.
Most car accidents will create a similarly heightened level of excitement. Your body will generate adrenaline and endorphins, which means you feel increased energy and (possibly) a lack of pain. Just because you feel fine immediately following a car accident, that doesn't necessarily mean that you are fine. Once the release of those chemicals subsides, the pain from any car accident injuries could start to set in.
Soft Tissue Injuries After a Car Accident
A soft tissue injury refers to damage done to parts of the body other than bone. Muscles, tendons, and ligaments are considered "soft tissue."
Car accidents, even low-speed ones, generate a lot of force. Drivers and passengers often come to a sudden stop right along with the vehicle in a car accidents; or they may get thrown around the passenger area. This places a lot of stress on joints and other vulnerable areas of the body.
Perhaps the most common -- if not the most recognized -- type of soft-tissue injury is “whiplash.” This refers to an injury to the neck muscles when the head is suddenly, and forcefully, thrown forward and then back.
Soft tissue injuries typically result in pain, swelling, and reduced mobility, but these symptoms may not show up immediately. They can take days, even weeks, to manifest. In addition, soft tissue injuries are not visible on an X-ray. This makes them more challenging to diagnose and document. Getting proper medical treatment is the key first step, at or even before the first sign of pain or discomfort (more on this below).
Concussions After a Car Accident
Your brain is well-protected by your skull and the fluid inside of it. However, if you strike your head, or your body is violently jolted, your brain may strike the inside of your skull with great force. If this happens during the course of a car accident, you may sustain a concussion.
Concussions can be very serious, and the symptoms do not often show up immediately. Sometimes the symptoms are obvious (such as disorientation or even loss of consciousness), but they can also be more subtle. Here is a list of concussion symptoms:
- clouded thinking
- inability to concentrate
- difficulty remembering new information
- headache
- blurry vision
- nausea
- dizziness
- lack of energy, and
- abnormal sleep patterns (sleeping more than usual or less than usual)
If you exhibit any of these signs following a car accident, you may have a concussion; and you should seek medical attention.
See a Doctor After a Car Accident
Following a car accident, you should see a doctor if you feel any level of pain and discomfort. It may even be a good idea to get checked out even if you feel fine. Your doctor will be in the best position to determine whether you sustained any serious injuries in the accident. Your doctor can also give you advice on monitoring symptoms of potential injuries, including the sorts of red flags to watch out for.
If you end up making any sort of injury claim after the accident, it's crucial to be able to document the fact that you sought medical treatment within a reasonable amount of time. If you wait too long to see a doctor, the insurance adjuster is going to argue that you couldn't have been all that injured.
Continue Treatment Until You're Told to Stop
After a car accident, if your doctor diagnoses an injury and begins treatment, continue the course of treatment until your doctor releases you from it.
There are two main reasons why it is important that you follow through with your treatment. The obvious reason is that your doctor is in the best position to determine how seriously you are injured, and to prescribe the best treatment for you -- to help you recover more quickly, and to make you as comfortable as possible while you are recovering. The second reason: your doctor's records of your visits are the best way to document and verify the nature and extent of your injuries, as well as the course and duration of your treatment. This verification is essential if you later make a car accident injury claim. Medical treatment and medical bills are a large component of damages in a personal injury case.
We will Review Your Doctor's Treatment Record With You
If you're being treated for injuries stemming from a car accident, ask your doctor for copies of your medical records. I will Read them over with you, and you may have to ask your doctor to correct any errors that we may find.
When reviewing your records, we request that you specifically pay attention to the description of your car accident. This is usually part of the first entry in the records. Did the doctor get it right when describing the accident, or did she misunderstand the facts? Does the report say that your car was struck on the passenger's side, when actually the impact was on the driver's side? Does it say that you were going around 35 mph when you were really going 25, as it says in the police report that was prepared after the accident? Discrepancies like these need to be identified and corrected, since insurance adjusters and defense lawyers who are on the other driver's side will use them to try to prove that the accident didn't happen the way you say it did.
Also make sure that the medical records accurately state your symptoms.
Finally, check to make sure that your doctor got your medical history right. If your doctor has written that you have a history of neck problems like the one she is treating, but you've never had any neck problems in the past, or the doctor's notes don't tell the complete story, you need to have that information corrected or clarified. If you make an injury claim, the defense always looks at your medical history to find something (such as a pre-existing condition) that they can point to as the "real" cause of your current symptoms. So, make sure that your medical history is accurate, especially when it comes to pre-existing conditions.
I obtained my Bachelor of Psychology and studied Doctor of Pharmacy prior to obtaining my LL.B. and choosing law as my ultimate career. Thus, retaining me as your personal injury lawyer and reviewing your medical reports with me, you can rest assured that your Statement of Claim would be written by a lawyer who would fully understand and highlight any injury which you sustained as a result of your accident or slip and fall.