A car accident can happen any time that you are on the road, and even relatively small accidents can cause serious injuries. Unfortunately, many victims of car accidents leave the scene believing that they did not suffer any injuries and they never receive important medical care. Traffic accidents often cause injuries that may not cause pain for several hours up to a few weeks.
If you or someone you love recently experienced a car accident, it is wise to receive a full medical examination from a qualified medical professional as soon as possible. Your examination may identify hidden injuries before they grow worse, potentially avoiding unnecessary suffering and costly treatment.
Protecting your physical safety
Delayed pain injuries come in many forms. Some injuries, such as whiplash, are extremely painful, but rarely cause ongoing health problems. Others, such as internal bleeding and organ damage may turn into fatal conditions that lead to a painful death. Without proper diagnosis and intervention, hidden injuries can make working and performing daily tasks difficult or nearly impossible, in addition to harming the victim.
Other delayed pain injuries include damage to a victim’s spinal cord and head injuries, which both may cause serious long-term complications for victims. Damage to a victim’s spinal column may pinch or sever nerves, causing local or general pain, tingling, burning or numbness.
A head injury may leave a victim with difficulty focusing or frustrating and dangerous personality changes that may impact their work and home life. Without proper diagnosis and treatment, a head injury may destroy a victim’s work and personal relationships, which is difficult to undo.
Protecting your safety is only one important part of receiving medical care, but it is ultimately the most important. The longer you wait to receive proper medical care, the greater the danger to yourself and others.
Protecting your rights after an injury
A medical examination not only protects your physical safety, it also creates important medical documentation that may help protect your rights. Depending on the circumstances of your accident, you may need to file a claim to seek fair compensation for your suffering and losses.
Medical documentation serves as a strong foundation for an injury claim. You may require costly medical care, and may also miss important income or suffer other financial losses because of these injuries. With a strong injury claim and a Covington personal injury attorney on your side, you can focus on your physical recovery while resting assured that your rights remain protected throughout your recovery and beyond.