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A car accident can happen in seconds, but the physical effects may last much longer.
Some injuries are immediately apparent. A person may experience severe pain, bleeding, limited mobility, or another obvious symptom at the accident scene.
Other injuries are less obvious.
You may walk away from a collision feeling shaken but relatively normal, only to develop neck pain, headaches, stiffness, dizziness, back pain, or other symptoms hours or days later.
At Skousen, Gulbrandsen & Patience, PLC, we believe Arizona accident victims should prioritize their health after a collision. Understanding common car accident injuries and recognizing that symptoms are not always immediate can help people make informed decisions about seeking appropriate medical care.
Medical documentation can also become important if an injury results in an insurance claim or personal injury case.
Every accident and injury is different.
After a frightening event, your attention may initially be focused on immediate concerns. You may be checking on passengers, moving away from traffic, speaking with law enforcement, exchanging insurance information, or trying to understand what just happened.
Some symptoms also take time to become noticeable.
For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explains that signs and symptoms of a mild traumatic brain injury or concussion may appear immediately or may not appear until hours or days after the injury.
This is one reason feeling relatively normal immediately after a crash does not necessarily establish that no injury occurred.
Pay attention to your health after an accident and seek appropriate medical evaluation when you experience concerning symptoms.
Motor vehicle collisions can cause many different injuries depending on factors such as the direction and force of impact, vehicle type, use of restraints, and the person's position inside the vehicle.
Potential injuries can affect nearly every part of the body.
Some of the injuries frequently associated with motor vehicle crashes include:
A collision that appears minor based solely on vehicle damage should not be used as a substitute for evaluating a person's physical condition.
Neck injuries are commonly associated with car accidents, particularly rear-end collisions.
A sudden impact can cause the head and neck to move rapidly. This can injure muscles, ligaments, and other structures in the neck.
Symptoms may include:
Not every person experiencing neck pain after an accident has the same injury. Medical professionals can evaluate the symptoms and determine what testing or treatment may be appropriate.
Some people notice discomfort immediately. Others may experience increasing stiffness or soreness after leaving the accident scene.
This delayed recognition can create confusion for accident victims who initially believed they were uninjured.
If symptoms develop after the collision, do not ignore them simply because you did not report severe pain at the scene.
A traumatic brain injury can occur when an external force disrupts normal brain function.
A person's head does not necessarily have to strike the windshield or another visible surface for concerns about head injury to arise after a collision.
The CDC explains that concussion symptoms can affect how someone feels, thinks, sleeps, and behaves.
Potential symptoms identified by the CDC include:
The CDC also notes that some symptoms may not appear until hours or days after the injury.
Because traumatic brain injuries can be serious, accident victims experiencing concerning neurological symptoms should seek appropriate medical care.
Some symptoms after a head injury can indicate a need for emergency medical care.
The CDC identifies concussion danger signs that warrant immediate emergency attention, including symptoms such as a worsening headache that does not go away, repeated vomiting, seizures, unusual behavior or increasing confusion, loss of consciousness, weakness or numbness, slurred speech, or significant difficulty waking.
This article cannot determine whether a particular symptom represents an emergency.
If you believe you or someone else may be experiencing a medical emergency after a car accident, seek emergency medical assistance rather than waiting to see whether the condition improves.
Back injuries can range from muscle strains to more significant injuries affecting discs, nerves, vertebrae, or other structures.
Symptoms may include:
Some symptoms can interfere with work, sleep, driving, exercise, and ordinary daily activities.
Medical evaluation can help determine what is causing the symptoms and whether diagnostic testing or additional treatment is appropriate.
More serious collisions can cause fractures and other orthopedic injuries.
Depending on the accident, injuries may involve the:
Some fractures are obvious at the accident scene. Others may require imaging before they are identified.
Orthopedic injuries can also involve joints, tendons, ligaments, and other structures even when no bone is broken.
Treatment can range from rest and immobilization to physical therapy or surgery, depending on the injury.
Soft tissue injuries affect muscles, tendons, ligaments, and related structures.
Examples can include sprains and strains.
These injuries can cause:
One challenge with soft tissue injuries is that they may not be visually obvious.
A person can experience significant discomfort even when there is no visible fracture, wound, or other outward sign of injury.
That is another reason the absence of an obvious injury at the accident scene does not necessarily establish that someone is physically unharmed.
Motor vehicle collisions can also cause injuries to the chest and internal organs.
Seat belts save lives and reduce the risk of serious injury, but the forces involved in a significant collision can still cause injuries.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration emphasizes that seat belts are one of the most effective ways to protect vehicle occupants in a crash.
Even when someone is properly restrained, a severe collision can create substantial forces on the body.
Internal injuries may not always be visible from the outside. This makes appropriate medical evaluation particularly important when someone experiences significant pain, difficulty breathing, weakness, dizziness, abdominal symptoms, or other concerning changes after a crash.
The primary reason to seek medical care is your health.
A doctor can evaluate symptoms, determine whether diagnostic testing is appropriate, recommend treatment, and monitor recovery.
Medical care also creates documentation.
Records may show:
That documentation can become important if you later pursue an insurance claim related to the accident.
A car accident injury claim may require establishing a connection between the collision and the injuries for which compensation is being sought.
Medical records can help document that connection.
Suppose someone reports neck pain shortly after a rear-end collision, receives an examination, undergoes appropriate diagnostic testing, and continues treatment as medically recommended.
Those records provide a timeline of the person's symptoms and treatment.
Compare that with a situation where no medical records exist for months after the collision.
An insurance company may question whether later-reported symptoms were caused by the accident or arose from another event.
A delay does not automatically mean an injury is unrelated to the collision. It can, however, create additional questions that may need to be addressed with medical evidence.
Having a previous medical condition does not automatically mean a car accident caused no additional harm.
Someone may already have neck pain, back problems, a previous orthopedic injury, or another condition before a collision occurs.
The relevant question may become whether the accident caused a new injury or worsened an existing condition.
Medical records from before and after the collision can become important in evaluating that issue.
Accident victims should be accurate about their medical histories.
Trying to hide a prior condition can create credibility problems. Clear medical documentation can instead help distinguish pre-existing symptoms from changes occurring after the collision.
Do not assume that symptoms must be unrelated to the accident simply because they were not obvious immediately.
As the CDC explains in the context of concussion, some symptoms can appear hours or days after an injury.
If you develop new or worsening symptoms after a collision:
Do not exaggerate symptoms, but do not minimize them either.
Accurate information helps medical professionals evaluate your condition and creates a clearer record of what occurred after the accident.
Whether you need medical care is a healthcare decision that depends on your symptoms and circumstances.
From a practical standpoint, serious or concerning symptoms should not be ignored simply because you hope they will disappear.
Waiting can create two separate problems.
First, an untreated injury may become more difficult to manage.
Second, a long gap between the accident and medical evaluation can make it harder to document when symptoms developed and whether they are connected to the collision.
Your health should remain the priority.
After a serious accident, medical care can become complicated.
You may see several providers, receive bills from different facilities, undergo diagnostic tests, attend therapy, and fill prescriptions.
Keep organized records when possible.
Useful documentation can include:
This information can help create a more complete picture of the financial impact of an injury.
Some injuries resolve relatively quickly.
Others require long-term treatment.
A serious car accident injury may involve:
This is one reason resolving a serious injury claim before the medical situation is sufficiently understood can create problems.
An early settlement offer may not account for treatment that becomes necessary later.
Before accepting a settlement, accident victims should understand what rights they are releasing and whether the extent of their injuries has been adequately evaluated.
An attorney does not diagnose injuries or decide what medical treatment someone needs.
Those decisions belong to qualified healthcare professionals.
An attorney's role is different.
Depending on the case, a car accident attorney may help:
At Skousen, Gulbrandsen & Patience, PLC, we look at both the circumstances of the collision and the documented effect the injuries have had on our clients.
Common car accident injuries can range from temporary soreness to serious injuries requiring surgery, rehabilitation, and long-term care.
Some injuries are immediately obvious.
Others are not.
Neck pain, back pain, concussion symptoms, soft tissue injuries, and other problems may become more noticeable after the initial shock of the collision has passed. The CDC specifically recognizes that some concussion symptoms may not appear until hours or days after an injury.
If you experience concerning symptoms after an accident, seek appropriate medical attention. Your health comes first.
Medical documentation can also become important if you pursue compensation for injuries caused by another driver.
At Skousen, Gulbrandsen & Patience, PLC, we represent people injured in motor vehicle accidents throughout Phoenix, Mesa, and communities across Arizona. Our attorneys can investigate the collision, review available insurance coverage, document accident-related damages, and help clients understand their legal options.
If you were injured in an Arizona car accident and have questions about pursuing compensation for your injuries, contact our legal team to discuss your situation.
Photo by Quintin Gellar