The moments after a car accident often bring chaos and confusion. While some injuries are immediately obvious—such as broken bones or deep cuts—other serious conditions can hide beneath the surface, waiting days or even weeks to reveal themselves. Delayed injuries can be just as severe as immediate ones, but waiting too long to seek medical care could affect your right to seek compensation. Seek assistance from an experienced car accident lawyer in Cincinnati as soon as possible after experiencing a collision.
Common Types of Delayed Accident Injuries
Your body’s natural response to trauma, including the surge of adrenaline and shock, can mask pain and other symptoms that signal potentially severe injuries. As stress hormones subside, hidden injuries often surface, revealing the full extent of the accident’s damage:
- Whiplash and Neck Injuries: The sudden force of impact can strain neck muscles, ligaments, and tendons, leading to stiffness, headaches, and restricted movement that may not appear for days after the accident.
- Traumatic Brain Injury: Even without direct head trauma, the brain can suffer injury from rapid acceleration and deceleration, causing delayed symptoms like confusion, memory problems, and mood changes that emerge over several days.
- Back and Spinal Cord Issues: The compression of spinal discs or damage to supporting muscles may present as minor discomfort before developing into serious pain, numbness, or mobility problems.
- Internal Bleeding: What starts as mild abdominal discomfort can indicate life-threatening internal injuries that require immediate medical care. Without treatment, this damage can be fatal.
How Delayed Injuries Impact Your Car Accident Claim
Delayed injuries create unique challenges in car accident claims, especially when dealing with insurance companies. Many insurance adjusters view delayed injuries with skepticism. They may claim that your injuries stem from unrelated events or pre-existing conditions rather than the accident itself. Insurance companies often exploit any gap between the accident date and when you first report symptoms to minimize their liability.
The insurance company may also offer a settlement before you know the full extent of your injuries. Accepting this early offer can cause major hardship in the future; you will be financially responsible for future medical expenses, ongoing treatment, and long-term care needs that fall outside the scope of the settlement.
How to Properly Document Delayed Injuries for Your Case
If you develop delayed injuries after a car accident, you still deserve a fair settlement that addresses all of your current and future needs. To build a strong case, it is important to take the right steps from the start.
Start by filing a police report at the scene, regardless of how minor the collision may seem. This official record establishes the basic facts of the incident and proves you took appropriate initial steps to document the event.
Seek immediate medical evaluation, even without obvious injuries. This baseline medical record serves two purposes: it allows healthcare providers to identify potential issues before they worsen and creates documentation linking any future symptoms to the accident. Keep detailed records of all medical visits and seek follow-up care if any new symptoms develop. After receiving care, contact a car accident lawyer who can represent your case.
Speak to a Cincinnati Car Accident Lawyer Today
Do not let insurance companies pressure you into settling before you understand the full extent of your injuries. At Monge & Associates, we protect your right to compensation for both immediate injuries and delayed ones. Contact us at (513) 224-5591 to speak with our Cincinnati car accident attorneys.