Common Injuries After Accidents That Don’t Show Symptoms Right Away
When people experience car crashes, slips and falls on public property, work-related incidents, and other natural or human-caused accidents, they usually fail to recognize the full extent of their injuries. Several factors influence how each individual perceives and responds to post-accident physical and emotional changes, including the cause of the event, their reactions to it, and any related distractions and disruptions. Additionally, symptoms from common hidden injuries often mirror normal physical sensations.
Why Don’t People Notice Symptoms Immediately?
A person with injuries from a minor accident might believe that any immediate symptoms are merely minor aches and pains that will just fade with time. A wide range of “in-the-moment” emotional responses like anger, fear, frustration and shock can affect how quickly they address potential medical problems, especially after moderate or severe accidents caused by negligence of one or more other parties. Initial adrenaline, a natural pain reliever, and extreme fatigue can slow a victim’s recognition of physical and mental changes as well.
Even accident remediation efforts that disrupt normal daily life and schedules can cause many people to misunderstand that they’ve suffered one or more serious injuries, including filing claims with an employer for workers’ compensation or an insurance provider, setting future health evaluation and treatment appointments, and speaking with a knowledgeable personal injury lawyer. Also, some injuries simply don’t cause noticeable symptoms.
Yet, a hidden injury that goes untreated for too long can cause severe complications. The hours and days following an accident are critical in terms of receiving the best medical care. Instead of coping with an acute health problem for a few weeks or months after an immediate diagnosis and treatment, an accident victim might experience a lifelong debilitation because they didn’t receive timely care.
What Are the Most Common Hidden Accident Injuries?
Sudden collisions and movements can cause external or internal trauma. Post-accident disruptions can also cause emotional trauma, especially disruptions from medical care, health recovery and legal efforts to address losses. The following physical injuries are the most serious:
Brain-Related Damage
Most people immediately think of concussions when discussing head injuries. A direct blow to the head isn’t always the source of a concussion. Although intracranial fluid surrounds the brain and protects it somewhat from any impact, a sharp or extreme movement of the head during an accident can cause the brain to displace the fluid and hit the skull bone. The brain can swell or bleed from an injury or as a result of high intracranial pressure from a blow or skull fracture. Common symptoms include blurry vision, brain fog, confusion, headaches, light or sound sensitivity, memory issues, nausea or vomiting, overwhelming fatigue, tinnitus, and sleep disturbances.
Organ Injury and Bleeding
A person’s body can’t function properly when one or more other major organs beyond the brain, like the heart, kidneys, liver, and lungs, suffer even mild damage. Yet, a person might only experience breathing difficulties, diffuse or sharp abdominal pain, shoulder or back pain, nausea or vomiting, or a spot-specific swollen or tender sensation.
When blood vessels become damaged anywhere in the body, the blood can leak out slowly. A bleeding-related injury can also occur deeply enough that signs of the leak don’t immediately show up on the surface of the skin. Internal bleeding can result in death. Common symptoms include a bruise that darkens, never fades or spreads, dizziness or faintness, lasting or unusual fatigue or weakness, or pain in the abdomen, an appendage or the lower or upper back.
Soft Tissue Problems
Soft tissues include cartilage, ligaments, membranes, muscles, tendons and even the spinal cord. Any injury to any soft tissue, especially in areas that have joints, can cause an accident victim to experience mobility difficulties and pain for a long time. Many people fail to realize that soft tissue problems happen in places beyond common sites like the neck, as is the case with whiplash. For example, they might have unseen bleeding, damage or swelling in their ankles, elbows, knees or wrists.
Symptoms commonly take time to develop. An injured person might experience increasing breathing difficulties, headaches, numbness, pain, stiffness, swelling, tenderness, tingling or tightness. Depending on the site of the injury, they might also experience behavioral changes, confusion, memory difficulties, pain or pressure in the abdomen or chest, severe fatigue or weakness, or strange patterns of bruises.
Why Is Speaking to a Lawyer Vital?
The lengthy time necessary to heal from these types of injuries often interferes with a victim’s earnings, relationships, and other aspects of daily life. Some people never recover enough to return to their pre-accident full and meaningful lives. They might experience permanent cognitive, emotional or mobility limitations. Many victims lose everything and must start over.
A personal injury lawyer can help a victim or their representative determine if they have a worthwhile claim of negligence against one or more parties and outline all legal rights. A lawyer also reduces harmful stress by fielding questions, handling all important communications and documentation, performing legal research, gathering evidence, filing claims, and advocating for the victim with doctors, insurers and the courts.
