Auto Accident Injury: What If My Symptoms are Delayed?

Man at a car accident scene

Auto accidents could be extremely traumatic, even rear-end collisions. As accidents like these could impact both your physical and mental wellbeing. For minor accidents, victims might not even be aware that they’ve sustained an injury days or weeks following the accident. Various reasons exist as to why the body could fail to process physical injury right away so it is crucial for auto accident victims to keep track of their physical condition following the accident and this applies even if they don’t feel any pain at all, notes a well-known personal injury attorney in Salt Lake City.

The Effects of Endorphin and Adrenaline

The brain is wired to produce endorphins and adrenaline following a traumatic incident in an attempt to safeguard your body. This would flood your brain with energy to make it capable of doing what you have to do to protect your body. A side effect of this is you might block off any pain that you might have been feeling during the incident, which makes it hard for you to identify an injury that you might have sustained.

Damage to Soft Tissues

This refers to damage to soft tissues such as your muscles, ligaments, nerves, tendons, blood vessels, etc. In select instances, it might take days to weeks for damage to these structures to become evident. And because soft tissue damage doesn’t affect your bones, it would be much more difficult to diagnose without apparent symptoms. The problem is, left unaddressed; damage to the soft tissues would worsen and might become more difficult to treat, even untreatable.

Brain Damage

Man suffering from headache

Besides typical pains and aches, your brain might also sustain damage. Because your skull safeguards your brain, any excess fluids and swelling won’t be visible to the naked eye. Therefore, it’s critical that you pay attention to warning signs and get medical help right away once you feel any symptom. Common warning signs of brain damage are:

  • Persistent headache
  • Confusion
  • Lack of balance
  • Dizziness
  • Nausea
  • Blurred vision
  • Lethargy
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Short-term memory loss
  • Unusual sleep patterns

Important: Don’t Settle Right Away

After your auto accident, expect that the insurance provider of the other driver would contact you in an attempt to sign a release form stating that you’re giving up your right to file any claim against them. This tactic usually comes with a substantial amount of money. But you have to wait until your doctor has thoroughly evaluated you before signing anything that the insurance company rep offers you. Likewise, you must wait at least a couple of weeks to make sure that you don’t have any delayed symptoms if you felt 100% fine after the auto accident.

Otherwise, if your symptoms manifest later on, you won’t have the legal right to file a claim against the insurance provider and demand that they compensate you for your injury. This is because you waived your lawful right to seek compensation if you signed the release form. Make sure to discuss your options with an experienced personal injury lawyer first before you even talk to the insurance adjuster.