Traffic accidents happen every day, so much so that some victims avoid a professional medical examination afterward because they don’t feel any injuries. It is possible to survive a car accident without injuries, but victims often suffer injuries that do not cause pain for several hours or days. If you experience a car accident, you should always receive a complete medical examination to identify injuries you cannot yet feel.
Delayed onset injuries can cause ongoing pain and discomfort, and may even progress into fatal injuries without proper treatment. The sooner that you receive professional medical care after an accident, the sooner you can identify and treat injuries like these, avoiding long-term suffering and harm.
Head and neck injuries
Head and neck injuries are common in car accidents, particularly when one vehicle rear-ends another vehicle. If a victim receives a blow to the head during the accident or suffers damage to their spinal column, these injuries often remain hidden for some time.
A blow to the head may cause a mild brain injury, but the injury may not produce symptoms for up to two weeks, These injuries affect the victim’s mental abilities and even their personality, and can seriously impact their personal and professional lives.
Spinal injuries often involve pinched or severed nerves, which may not cause any pain or discomfort for hours or days. However, once the victim begins to feel discomfort or pain, the condition of the damaged nerves has often worsened.
Internal damage
If an accident damages a victim’s internal organs or causes internal bleeding, the victim’s life is in danger. Internal bleeding and organ damage can both lead to painful deaths for a victim, and may not cause pain until the victim is already in danger of losing their life.
A site of internal bleeding may easily develop an infection without proper medical care, and this infection can quickly move from the site of bleeding to any other part of the body, through the circulatory system. If the infection spreads to enough of the victim’s body, the victim enters sepsis and may die.
On the other hand, a partially damaged organ typically continues to function normally while the body attempts to repair it, and, if the body succeeds, then the victim may never realize they suffered the injury in the first place. If the body cannot heal the organ, however, then it will shut the organ down entirely, and other organs will shut down also. Organ failure is a painful and slow way to die, and can be avoided with proper medical care immediately following the injury.
Protecting your rights during recovery should be your top priority in the aftermath of a car accident, even if you do not feel any injuries. Keep your rights secure through the strength of the law in Colorado, to ensure that you have the tools and guidance you need to recover and move forward.