You should visit a doctor after an accident to receive a professional diagnosis about the state of your injuries. Accidents can cause hidden injuries to your body and mind, which can affect how your attorney negotiates your compensation. Consequently, you should be careful about these seven hidden injuries you can develop after an accident.
1. Neck and Head Injuries
A rear-end collision might create a significant force that can throw you forward and pull you backward. When this force concentrates on the upper side of your body, your head and neck can snap back and forth.
The violent push might cause whiplash, an injury from ligament, or muscle damage. Whiplash is usually unnoticeable at first after the accident. You might develop headaches and neck discomfort after a few days, which might signify that you suffer the consequences of whiplash.
2. Brain Injuries
Impact damage concentrated on the head can cause more than head injuries, as the force might travel to the brain and affect it. Traumatic brain injuries cause concussions, which gradually develop severe symptoms when left unchecked.
The symptoms of a concussion include headaches, migraines, confusion, slight memory loss, nausea, dizziness, and tinnitus. A concussion can develop with or without losing consciousness, and the symptoms might occur much later after the accident.
3. Chest and Shoulder Injuries
A seat belt is a safety mechanism that protects you during an accident. However, it is another injury source that might result from impact damage. Since the safety belt tightens when exposed to a high force that can push your body forward, the belt pushes against the area where it wraps around. Therefore, the impact force will affect your chest and shoulders. You might develop some aches and discomfort after the experience, which might not be immediate after the impact.
4. Back Injuries
Your back might experience some trauma concentrated on your spine or nerves. Spinal injuries might cause paralysis and numbness, which can slowly develop as the injury settles into your spine after the accident. Nerve damage occurs when the nerve tissue experiences impact or penetration damage, which can develop pain and discomfort in the affected areas.
Also, severe damage to the soft tissue that supports your spine might cause a herniated disc. Disc herniation happens when vertebrae get dislocated from their correct position in the spine. Disc herniation can irritate surrounding tissue and cause pain to travel to your limbs, like the arms and legs. In severe cases, the vertebrae might get damaged and open up, causing pain around the affected area.
5. Joint Injuries
Another safety mechanism that might injure your body is the airbag. When the airbag deploys, the force can pressure and damage soft tissue on your joints like ligaments, cartilage, muscles, and tendons. The damaged tissue might lead to permanent scarring and disfigurement if left unchecked.
6. Internal Injuries
One of the most common injuries that is hard to detect is internal bleeding. Internal bleeding occurs when a blood vessel ruptures inside your body, but the blood does not flow outside since the skin is not punctured. Internal bleeding does not develop apparent symptoms and will need an accurate physical exam to discover since it might be a life-threatening injury.
7. Psychological Injuries
An accident might not only harm your body but could also harm your mind. The mental strain that develops after an accident can cause depression, trauma, anxiety, and phobia. These psychological injuries might develop due to the accident experience. You will need a professional consultation with a psychiatrist to receive medical therapy.
A doctor’s visit will provide documented evidence of the injuries you developed after the accident. It will legitimize your claim should you seek additional compensation if your injuries become severe. Consult an attorney to leverage this evidence in your compensation claim. Contact us at The Jaklitsch Law Group for personal injury representation.
