Following your involvement in an accident, some or your symptoms might go unnoticed. Any one of them might remain hidden for an unpredictable amount of time. What is the significance of that fact?
Understand the nature of the body’s response to any form of trauma
Following the occurrence of a traumatic incident, the body produces adrenaline and endorphins. Those chemicals trigger the fight or flight response, yet they also manage to numb any pain. The absence of pain becomes an inadequate indication of the degree to which any body part has been harmed. After all, a tremendous amount of force was created by the impact that created the collision-associated damage to the impacted vehicle.
Examples of late-appearing symptoms
Swelling, reduced mobility and stiffness; those could develop in an injured soft tissue. Damage to such a tissue would not show up in an x-ray. Clouded thinking, trouble concentrating, finding it hard to recall new information, having repeated headaches, experiencing blurred vision, nausea or dizziness; those could be signs of damage to the brain. Unless a doctor has prescribed a CT scan or an MRI, that damage could remain hidden, as per personal injury lawyer in Waterdown.
How an accident victim should deal with the appearance of such late-appearing symptoms
Report the symptoms’ appearance when meeting with a doctor. This should be a physician that has been told about the accident, and its potential effect on the patient with the late-appearing symptoms. You will need to learn how to monitor the symptoms’ signals. Discover the nature of any red flags that call attention to a potential problem.
Actions to avoid, if a strong impact appears to have left the impacted vehicle’s occupants free of any visible injury
Do not assume that the absence of any visible injury means that all of the occupants remain free of any damage to their body. Instead, arrange for each of those same occupants to get examined by a physician.
Do not be in a hurry to settle with the insurance company. Do not suggest that you have no reason to suspect an injury to any occupant. Instead, insist on delaying any negotiations until all occupants have reached the level of maximum medical improvement (MMI). It is best not to discontinue any prescribed treatment routine. Do not discount any emergence of unusual behavior, on the part of a seemingly injury-free occupant. That unusual behavior could be a sign that something is wrong with the same occupant’s body.
Do not hesitate to seek help from a lawyer. Work with both an attorney and a doctor, in an effort to gather more evidence. Keep a record of any monitored problem, or of the emergence of any red flag. Do not feel tempted to focus on resolving your case as quickly as possible.