The adrenaline rush following a car accident can mask injury symptoms. It can take hours or even days for injuries to present themselves. For this reason, it is important to always seek medical treatment following an accident. This will also help document your injuries.

About Car Accident Injuries

During the impact of an accident, the brain bounces back and forth inside the skull. This can cause bruising, bleeding, and tearing. Immediately after the accident, the person may be confused, not remember what happened or have nausea, blurry vision, or dizziness. The person may appear fine at first but show symptoms hours or days later. One does not have to lose consciousness to suffer a concussion. Other injuries can be delayed as well.

Common Injuries

The most common injuries are soft tissue damage, concussion, back injuries, neck pain, and mental or emotional distress. It is important to recognize the symptoms of each and be aware of the presentation after an accident.

Soft Tissue Damage

Soft tissue damage occurs when your muscles, tendons or ligaments are damaged due to external trauma. A common way this happened in car accidents is due to whiplash, bruising, sprains or strained muscles. Symptoms include inflammation, stiffness in the affected area, skin discoloration, along with sensitivity to weight on the tissue.

A blow to the head during a collision can cause the brain to hit the inside of the skull. A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury that results from a blow to the head during a collision, causing your brain to hit the inside of your skull. A headache, dizziness, confusion, and fatigue tend to start immediately after an injury but resolve over time. Emotional symptoms such as frustration and irritability tend to develop later on during the recovery period. Other people may miss many of the signs and symptoms since people may appear healthy even though they act or feel different. Many of the symptoms overlap with other conditions, such as depression or sleep disorders.
Symptoms after the accident include disorientation, loss of equilibrium, headache, mood swings, irritability, diminished responsiveness, light, and sound sensitivity, and eating and sleeping pattern disturbances.

Back Injuries

Back injuries are very common in car accidents. Any damage to the spinal cord can cause significant nerve damage. Patients may experience the reduced sensation of and control over their arms, hands, legs, feet, and other body parts, while more serious forms of spinal damage can leave patients permanently paralyzed. Another common car accident injury is a herniated disk. This tends to be less severe than spinal damage or head injuries, but can still cause significant problems. Patients often experience numb or tingling sensations, muscle weakness, and arm or leg pain. There can also be a reduced range of motion and difficulty breathing or balancing.

Whiplash is the most well-known accident injury. A sudden movement of the head and neck can cause serious neck muscle and ligament damage. Generalized neck pain and swelling are also fairly common. It is also not unheard of for patients to suffer temporary vocal cord paralysis after a car accident. Typically, the symptoms of whiplash and other neck injuries may appear several hours or a few days after an auto accident. Minor neck injuries heal in a month, however, severe ones need medical treatment to heal. Symptoms include pain in the upper back, neck and shoulders, dizziness, headaches, blurred vision, and sleep disturbances.

What many don’t realize is that a severe car accident is traumatizing. It can cause victims to experience emotional or mental distress. This can cause post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These symptoms are not apparent right away. Many don’t admit to emotional distress or seek treatment. Then, the mental anguish builds. This causes anxiety, mood swings, depression, reckless behavior, hopelessness, unnatural fear, changes in eating or sleeping and nightmares.

Free Consultation

It can be shocking after car accident injuries to learn how expensive, time-consuming and frustrating the process can be. For many, pain does not present itself at the scene of the accident, however, the debilitating pain begins a day or two later. This can be difficult for many Americans who do not have health insurance or disability insurance.  Therefore, it can be difficult to receive medical attention or income while out of work.
At The Michael Brady Lynch Firm, our dedicated staff is skilled in complex litigations like vehicle accidents. Our consultations are free and without obligation. Let our two decades of experience get justice for you.