A car accident is a dramatic experience that leaves many people feeling stunned and overwhelmed. After this particular incident, the first action people usually take is to check themselves for any worrying signs of a potential injury. And many tend to think just because they’re not bleeding and don’t show any bothersome symptoms that they are fine. This is actually not true, as some injuries usually take time before they develop and this is also when a person realizes that they could be seriously injured. Pursuing a car accident claim for your injuries is a fantastic option to consider once you find yourself with any injuries. On the other hand, hiring a car accident lawyer is another great way to ensure your claim meets state law requirements.
Different Ways Your Body Can Hide Potential Injuries
Every motorist who’s not keen on the road can easily cause a massive accident that can leave one and other people with substantial body injuries. What started as a smooth and peaceful journey, eventually transitions into a complete mode of shock and panic for everyone. In order to adjust, the body can feign pain by reducing blood flow, stimulating hormones, and increasing heart rate. This is why most healthcare providers advise people to immediately seek treatment after a car accident, even if they may just have mild symptoms or feel fine.
The adrenaline rush that sets in following a car accident tries to cope with the stressful situation by releasing a hormone called adrenaline. The body produces this hormone every time it encounters an abrupt and shocking turn of events, which it tries so hard to escape from.
An adrenaline rush function in the body is as follows:
- Boosts body strength for sometime
- Sharpens one’s focus
- Alters the pain threshold of a person
The rush of adrenaline that a person experience causes them to believe that they didn’t sustain any potential injuries from the accident. This is because the adrenaline rush usually masks these symptoms and thus tricks people into believing they’re not hurt.
Below are some symptoms of an adrenaline rush:
- An increased heart rate
- Increased brain speed
- Shallow breathing because of the relaxation of the airways
- The rerouting of blood toward muscles, resulting in an episode of severely shaking limbs.
- Light entering the eyes, which also subsequently affects the pupils.
An adrenaline rush tries to warn you that danger is imminent, so you should be very careful. Although an adrenaline rush can delay symptoms of your injuries, it doesn’t last that long like many people think. Thus, a person goes into a state of shock as a consequence.
This shock is often coupled with trauma and also leads to a sharp drop in blood flow through the body. Shock also means that the organs are not receiving sufficient oxygen as they should and, therefore, it’s important to seek medical attention straight away. Failure to immediately seek medical treatment could result in severe organ damage or failure and sometimes even death.
Below are some signs that show a person could be in shock:
- Nausea feeling or vomiting
- A bluish tinge to the fingernails or lips
- Changes in behavior or mental state
Different Kinds of Potential Injuries With No Visible Symptoms
After the adrenaline rush fades away and a person is treated for shock, some injuries may remain hidden in the body. Some of these injuries with delayed symptoms are highlighted below.
Whiplash
This kind of injury occurs mainly due to a rear-end car accident, though it can occur in other types of accidents as well. The rapid movement of the head back and forth can severely attack the neck. In consequence, Whiplash results in torn or stretched muscles, ligaments, and tendons in the neck. Signs of possible whiplash, like swelling or bruising, may not develop until much later following the accident. While it’s very likely for a person to have a sore neck soon after an accident, the soreness may gradually turn into a severe stiffness over time.
Some frequently reported cases of whiplash may include:
- Muscle spasms and numbness in arms
- Ringing in the ears (tinnitis)
- Blurred vision among other vision problems
- Spinal cord injury may also occur, hence doing an X-ray, MRI, or a CT scan would be advisable for patients.
Concussion
The CDC (The Centers for Disease Control) defines a concussion as a blow, bump, or jolt to the head or penetrating head injury that impairs normal brain function. A person suffering from a concussion may develop mild symptoms that one can easily ignore. Some symptoms may take time before they appear and thus anybody who complains of a headache after a car accident could likely have a concussion. Patients who show possible signs of a concussion after an accident should seek medical treatment straight away to avoid health complications.
Some concussion symptoms may include:
- The patient appears dazed and confused
- The patient may be slow to answer simple questions
- The patient may lose consciousness, even for a short period.
Internal Bleeding
According to research, internal bleeding is among the most dangerous forms of silent injuries in the world. A patient may experience stomach problems, but there’s usually no clear sign that indicates a person is bleeding internally. Therefore, a licensed medical professional should be consulted right way for effective diagnosis and treatment. A physician may order imaging tests, such as a CT scan or X-ray. It’s also important to note that internal bleeding can easily bring more severe health complications in a patient if not treated straight away.
Allowing other people to take you to a hospital from around your area is also a brilliant idea. At least this way you’d receive the best medical care and patient experience possible, as well as have all the valuable evidence you’d need to pursue litigation. If the injuries you’ve sustained are due to the negligence of another motorist, you may be liable for compensation for all the losses incurred. These include, among others, lost wages, medical bills, and pain and suffering. Otherwise, a car accident attorney could help value your claim and make sure you receive the compensation you deserve.
Some symptoms of internal bleeding may include the following:
- Fatigue or severe weakness
- Low blood pressure
- Dizziness
- Chest pain
- Nausea
The Statute of Limitations
Some countries might give you about 2 or 3 years to file a car accident claim or to pursue civil action against the responsible party. Although this may sometimes seem like such a daunting and lengthy process, things can be rushed particularly when you’re dealing with drugs and other procedures. For injuries with delayed symptoms, most states’ legal time limit is usually one year and this time starts the moment these injuries were initially reported. If you’ve sustained injuries due to the negligence of another motorist, make sure you seek medical help right away and also ask a car accident attorney to determine your case in order to receive a high compensation.
Insurance Companies 101
A car insurance provider may issue you a settlement so you may drop your claim fast at competitive rates. Sometimes the amount of cash you’re paid for injury is sufficient enough to cover all the medical treatment you may ever need in the future. However, it’s important to note that accepting this settlement offer could prevent you from pursuing further legal action later should your health or condition worsen.
This is because insurance company employees are tasked with protecting the company’s best interests above all else. This means if you spend more time at the hospital and, as long as you’ve agreed to the settlement offer, insurance companies won’t bother checking on you after your money gets finished. Also insurance companies are very competent, which means beating them at their own game would be extremely difficult.
Thus, it would be best to hire an experienced car accident attorney to deal with the insurance companies on your behalf and to ensure your financial future doesn’t go to waste. This would also bring you more peace of mind and remove any financial burden caused by the accident, knowing somebody somewhere is taking care of your best interests.
Benefits of Hiring a Car Accident Lawyer
Many car accident attorneys know very well about the tactics insurance companies usually employ to assign blame, delay, or even to deny a claim. A competent car accident attorney does all they can to ensure they secure a fair deal out-of-court. If the defense doesn’t agree with the new arrangements and to pay you the settlement you deserve, the car accident attorney is always ready to go to trial.
Moreover, car accident lawyers usually represent their clients like their lives depend on it and would treat you with the utmost respect that’s second to none. Whether you wish to know more about the process or about the status of your case, a car accident attorney makes sure you’re aware of every single detail.
Because each car accident case is different, even in the way they’re determined in court, it’s important to exercise patience in order to be awarded a high compensation. In other words, a car accident attorney guides you on pursuing civil litigation against anyone who’s responsible for your injuries and also aggressively represents you in court so you may get the compensation you’re worth.
Why You Should Fight for the Compensation You Deserve
With the crazy high numbers of licensed drivers around the world, every motorist has a duty to drive safely and to share the road in a responsible way to ensure people don’t get hurt or lose their lives altogether. Unfortunately, many motorists from different parts of the world are usually charged with reckless driving every day. Many frequent causes of accidents are due to distracted driving, drunk driving, drowsy driving, and poor driving habits as well as aggressive driving or road rage.
It only takes a second for a person’s eyes to lose track of the road, or for someone who’s driving while under the influence of alcohol to crash into your vehicle. Pursuing legal action against such drivers would make them be more careful on the road next time and thus the volume of car accident cases reported would drop significantly. Therefore, don’t hesitate to ask an attorney about your options for civil litigation following a car accident. Time is of the essence, which means you should act fast so that the claims process can start straight away. Otherwise, any delays could mean a missed opportunity for possible compensation.
A car accident attorney simply takes care of all your interests, particularly if you sustained delayed injuries from a dramatic road accident. And they ensure you don’t suffer any financial, physical, and emotional pain of any kind due to the negligent behaviors of another motorist. Many car accident attorneys also provide free-case evaluations, which means you have nothing to lose by choosing to visit a lawyer from around your area today.
Benefits of Filing a Legal Claim Early
The benefits of filing a personal injury claim early are many than most people think. Ideally, the sooner you pursue civil action against the responsible party, the more you’d likely increase your chances of getting a high compensation you deserve.
Below are some of the top benefits of filing a claim early:
Credibility
Filing a personal injury claim early is crucial because of the fact that you’d most likely be paid a high compensation you’re worth. The longer you’d take to file a claim, the more you’d cast doubt on people determining your case and thus could affect how much you should be paid for injuries. By acting fast soon after an accident happens, it could make people treat your case seriously and also work towards giving you the compensation you deserve.
Evidence
Evidence plays an important role in determining any car accident injury claim. But sometimes that same evidence may also vanish into oblivion as time goes by. A video footage carrying the evidence can be altered or go missing, and physical evidence can disappear the minute a person leaves the scene. Acting fast gives you and your attorney a good opportunity to collect as much evidence as possible to support your claim.
Witnesses
Eyewitnesses can come in handy when seeking valuable evidence in a legal claim. However, you should approach your witnesses fast as some may forget crucial facts that could make a big difference in your case. The more you act fast, the better the chance of hearing and gathering valuable evidence from witnesses.
How Long After Car Accident Can You Claim Injury?
After an injury, it’s important to find out how long it would actually take to receive the compensation you’re worth. More often than not, the amount of cash a person gets paid is based on a few factors, like how soon a person speaks with a lawyer and how competent an attorney is in representing clients.
This means the sooner a person acts and the more competent an attorney is, the more likely a person would receive the compensation they need. Otherwise, a car accident injury claim can take anywhere between weeks, months, and years to resolve according to a person’s needs and goals.
Some of the financial burdens a person would be compensated for include any financial loss they may have experienced in settling medical bills and dealing with any pain and suffering, lost wages, loss of enjoyment, as well as wrongful death.
Final Thoughts
After a car accident, the next thing you’d be worried about is concerning your recovery. And the financial hardships a person experiences after an accident can make healing particularly difficult. Pursuing a car accident for your injuries could help ease some of that financial burden and also give you more peace of mind as a consequence. It’s also important to be aware of time limits in place to ensure you don’t miss the opportunity to get sufficient compensation for your injuries. For more queries about how long after car accident can you claim injury, make sure you contact an experienced car accident lawyer from around your area. The faster you act, the better the chances of being awarded the maximum compensation possible.