Those involved in a severe motor vehicle crash often need an ambulance ride to the hospital. The victim’s injuries are obvious, with cuts, broken bones or worse. However, injuries are not always so obvious. Victims may have even called 911 or helped others, but medical evaluation during the days following the crash may identify additional delayed injuries.
Injuries that can be hard to identify at first
A victim will naturally be sore the day after the incident, but the pain may not go away or even increase over time. Examples of this include:
- Emotional damage: Trauma from the incident can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety or depression. It can also indicate a brain injury.
- Concussion: Victims may have hit their head or had their head violently shook, resulting in a concussion. Symptoms include seeing spots, confusion, blurry vision, headaches, memory loss, loss of coordination, nausea, or fatigue.
- Whiplash: Torqueing the head and neck can lead to neck, back or shoulder pain. It should go away, but it could turn out to be chronic.
- Herniated disks: The back may be sore, but the cause can be spinal discs pushing against nerves. It can cause extreme pain, weakness, numbness or tingling.
- Internal injuries: Slamming against safety restraints can still cause damage or trauma to internal organs even if there is no bleeding.
- Leg injuries: Instead of an obvious broken bone, it can be torn cartilage in the knee, severe ankle sprains or toe sprains.
- Soft tissue injuries: This includes strains, sprains and bruising to muscles, tendons and ligaments. They may not seem severe, but these injuries can be painful and long-lasting.
Be careful about signing anything official
The injuries may seem minor, but it is unwise to sign a settlement or liability release quickly. Instead, it is wise to seek medical help for any injuries suffered in a crash. Depending upon the diagnosis and treatment, it may be necessary to hold a reckless party responsible for the injuries and trauma.