So, you got involved in a minor car collision. You checked yourself for scratches or wounds, and your car for any car crash symptoms, but found nothing. You decided to skip the doctor’s visit and went home to rest, instead.
A few weeks later, you experienced terrible pain in your back — and found out you had whiplash. Worse, you had to pay for medicine and rehabilitation out of your pocket. The insurance carrier of the other driver in the accident didn’t believe your injury resulted from the crash and refused to pay for it.
That’s the ugly truth when it comes to late-appearing car collision injuries. Many insurance companies assume crash survivors are exaggerating or even fabricating their delayed symptoms. The longer the period between the crash and your diagnosis or emergence of symptoms, the harder it becomes to prove it was the accident that caused the injury.
If you’ve been in an auto accident, it’s best to get a full check-up right after. The doctor may find injuries before symptoms even manifest, and this can help your insurance claim. But even if you’ve been to a doctor and gotten a clean bill of health, you still need to watch out for delayed injury symptoms such as the following:
Stomach Pain
Terrible stomach pain after a traffic collision can be a symptom of internal bleeding or internal injuries. These injuries may cause stomach pain hours or days following a car crash and require emergency (and costly) treatment. Make sure to stay alert for any pain in your abdominal area after a car accident.
Back Pain
Pain in the back area days or weeks after a car accident may be a symptom of whiplash, herniated discs, or spinal injury, according to pain management doctors in Wilmington, Delaware. If you experience numbness or tingling along with the pain in your back, you may have pinched nerves.
If untreated, these back conditions may cause long-term pain and mobility challenges. Seek treatment and secure medical records for insurance claims as soon as you notice back pain after a crash.
Headaches
A concussion, neck injury, blood clot, or whiplash may cause dizziness or headaches. These symptoms, however, may not appear right after the accident. And while headaches can have various causes, make sure to seek medical attention if you were involved in a traffic collision days or weeks before.
Plus, be aware of the risk of traumatic brain injury (TMI). Hitting your head during a collision can cause bruising of the brain or brain hemorrhage, which may not be visible at the time of injury. Over time, a headache may be a sign you have suffered a TMI.
Emotional Distress
While several physical symptoms of an auto accident injury may be delayed and subtle, the emotional impact of a crash can be much harder to detect. After the accident, you may frequently feel tired and upset, and assume the problem is just because you’re under a lot of stress in your busy life.
If you experience panic attacks, flashbacks, sleep disturbances, or intense feelings of sadness, anger, or distress days or weeks after the car accident, it is best to see a doctor and find out if you have PTSD. You can also include this emotional trauma in your car accident injury claim.
Delayed car accident injury symptoms present a lot of problems not only on insurance claims but on your health, as well. Never skip medical evaluation right after the accident, and when you experience the symptoms listed above days or weeks following the crash — no matter how minor the symptom is.
