Did you know that injuries resulting from a car accident do not always show themselves immediately? Even serious injuries may not be immediately apparent after a serious crash, which means that you or a loved one could walk away from a car accident thinking you did not suffer harm, only to feel pain or other symptoms days or weeks after the incident.
In some cases, accident victims may not even associate the pain they feel with the accident because it comes well after the incident occurred. However, it is important to pay attention to any signs of injury if you were in a car crash recently.
Are delayed signs serious?
It is not unusual for some people to think that their injuries are not serious if they did not feel pain at the time of the crash or if their abilities did not suffer right away. Unfortunately, even if symptoms do not show up until later, they could still point to serious injuries, including the following:
- Abdominal pain that shows up days after an accident could point to internal bleeding, especially if accompanied by dizziness, headaches, bruising, lightheadedness or fainting.
- Having headaches days or weeks after an accident could also point to a concussion or other serious head or brain injury.
- A tingling sensation or numb feeling in arms, hands or other extremities could be a sign of neck or spine damage, including to the nerves.
- While tingling could point to a neck injury, pain in the neck could also act as a sign of whiplash, which is the injury that presents with delayed symptoms most often after a car accident.
- Delayed back pain could mean that you suffered serious injuries to your ligaments, muscles, vertebrae or other parts of your back.
Though you may want to brush off any of these signs or symptoms as feelings of residual stress from the accident, it is always wise to having any concerning signs or pain checked by a medical professional. Let the doctor know you were recently in an accident, even if weeks have passed.
Can you seek compensation for delayed injuries?
Though you may experience delayed symptoms for the injuries, they still resulted from the car accident. If another driver caused the incident that led to your harm, you could seek compensation for those and other damages. In such a situation, it may be in your best interests to work with a Texas attorney experienced in personal injury cases.