Surviving a terrifying car accident causes a rush of adrenaline and other stress hormones as the body’s means of coping with an emergency. Adrenaline allows injury victims to take necessary, life-saving steps to protect themselves and others by temporarily masking pain. Sometimes a car accident victim who lacks visible injuries may think they’ve had a lucky escape without knowing they are injured. Other types of injuries don’t present symptoms until hours or even days after an accident when inflammation and internal bleeding cause pain or interfere with function.
Understanding common injuries with delayed symptoms is critical not only for recovering Austin car accident compensation for your damages later but also for ensuring the fastest possible care to address serious injuries.
Watching Out for Whiplash
Whiplash is one of the most common serious car accident injuries, with temporary debilitating pain and stiffness. It’s also an injury that often has delayed symptom onset. Whiplash can occur even in low-speed car accidents with little damage to a vehicle. This soft-tissue injury happens when the crash force of an accident causes the head to rapidly whip back and forth or side to side, overextending the neck and damaging the tendons and ligaments connecting the muscles to the vertebrae.
Symptoms of whiplash commonly develop hours or a day after an accident as inflammation begins to compress nerves. Symptoms include increasing neck and shoulder pain, stiffness, headache, ringing in the ears, concentration and memory problems, and tingling in the upper extremities.
Abdominal and Chest Injuries
When injuries occur to the upper body (thorax) in an accident, the symptoms may not become noticeable until internal bleeding or swelling causes pressure in the chest or abdomen. Common thoracic injuries discovered hours or days after a car accident include:
- Cracked or broken ribs
- Punctured lung
- Bruised diaphragm
- Soft-tissue injury to the shoulder
- Damage to the kidneys or intestines
Thoracic injuries sometimes occur in car accidents due to the pressure of the motorist’s body against the seatbelt. It’s critical to seek medical care as soon as possible if you develop symptoms of chest or abdominal injuries after an accident.
Traumatic Brain Injuries
One of the most serious injuries a motorist can suffer in a car accident is also one that often has delayed symptoms onset. A traumatic brain injury occurs due to blunt-force trauma to the head or from the rapid forceful shaking of the head during the accident which causes the brain to bump or twist against the inside of the skull.
A traumatic brain injury victim in Austin may not know they’ve suffered a concussion or a more serious brain injury with life-altering consequences until bleeding or swelling causes pressure to build inside the skull and begins to damage brain cells.
Back Injuries After a Car Accident
The spinal column is a critical portion of the body’s support system. It suffers serious trauma in an accident when the body is propelled forward and then snapped back against the seat. Back injuries like herniated discs, compression fractures, lumbar strains, and spinal stenosis might not be immediately noticeable but present symptoms later when inflammation from the damage begins impacting nerves, causing pain and stiffness.
How Can a Car Accident Attorney In Texas Help?
If you put off medical treatment due to delayed injury symptoms, it doesn’t mean you cannot recover compensation for your medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering, but your case may need a strong strategy with testimony from medical experts. Call Shaw Cowart LLP today so we can put our experience, resources, and access to medical experts behind your compensation claim.