Managing Partner
Although car accidents routinely result in serious injuries, not all injuries are readily apparent. In fact, due to a variety of factors, including the surge of adrenaline experienced during a car accident, many people walk away from car accidents feeling perfectly fine. However, these same people often experience symptoms hours—or even days—later. Unfortunately, this delay causes many people to attribute their symptoms to something other than their car accidents—leading them to forgo medical treatment and placing them at risk of serious complications. In this article, we discuss common delayed symptoms of an injury after an accident.
Headaches
Also referred to as post-traumatic headaches, headaches are common accident symptoms. Although they can occur immediately, headaches can also take hours or days to develop. Delayed headaches are often linked to concussions, whiplash, and other traumatic brain injuries.
Stomach Pain
The force of an auto accident can result in blunt trauma to the abdomen, and this can be life-threatening if it isn’t treated promptly. However, stomach pain doesn’t always occur immediately, particularly when it is linked to organ damage or internal bleeding.
Neck Pain
Neck pain after an accident is often linked to whiplash, soft tissue injuries, and spinal cord damage. Whiplash occurs when the head is jerked back and forth suddenly, resulting in significant strain on the neck and back. However, pain or tenderness in the neck following an auto accident often takes a while for symptoms to arise.
Back Pain
The impact of a collision can put extreme pressure on the spine, and it can result in a variety of back injuries. Lower back pain is especially common following an auto accident. However, back pain following a back or spinal injury isn’t always immediate. Back pain from a car accident is often linked to herniated discs, cervical vertebrae fractures, compression fractures, and spinal cord damage.
Numbness and Tingling
Finally, numbness and tingling are additional symptoms that can occur well after an accident occurs. Several types of injuries can result in numbness and tingling, including herniated discs, spinal cord damage, and nerve damage. In addition, these symptoms are sometimes precursors to long-term neurological damage, paralysis, and other serious conditions.
The Bottom Line
Due to the possibility of delayed symptoms, you should seek immediate medical attention if you’ve been involved in an auto accident. And this applies even if you do not believe you’ve been injured. When it comes to car accidents, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
Contact a Long Island Car Accident Attorney
At the distinguished law firm of Dell & Dean, PLLC, we help car accident victims obtain compensation for their injuries. When you come to us for assistance with your Long Island auto accident case, we will do everything possible to obtain a successful result in your case. Please contact us to arrange an initial case evaluation with an experienced Long Island car accident attorney.
