UPDATED 7/1/2020
A personal injury after car crash can be devastating and debilitating. Sometimes those “little” post car accident injuries can turn into a lifetime of pain and suffering. Every personal injury after a car crash should be taken seriously and you should seek medical services.
You can ask any auto accident lawyer about how personal injury after car crash has left many of their clients in terrible financial positions and really changed their lives. If you are hurt in a wreck, it is important that you take any injuries related to a car crash seriously.
The Mistakes People Make
When you are in a car accident, your body goes into shock. Adrenaline is released that can mask pain. One of the most common mistakes people make at the scene of an auto accident according to a highly respected car accident lawyer, is that they do not seek medical help. They make statements to the authorities at the scene that they feel “fine”. An auto collision injury does not always manifest itself right away.
Unfortunately, many injuries that are relative to car crashes are not immediately felt. It can take up to 48 hours to feel the true impact of a personal injury in a car crash. Many people become overwhelmed by the property damage and are thinking about the auto repair, like their broken windshield, but are not thinking about how it was their head that broke the windshield.
Your health and safety have to be the priority. Auto glass repairs can be managed later on, getting your head checked out to ensure that there are no signs of serious closed head injuries needs to be done right away. Being injured in car accidents can be incredibly serious. Getting your injuries assessed after you’ve been hurt in a wreck is crucial to establishing a claim later on. More importantly, it can literally save your life.
Putting off getting yourself checked out can result in a tragic situation. Automobile accident attorneys often hear horror stories about how a car accident victim was fine one minute then they passed away the next because they had internal injuries that were never addressed.
Additionally, if you make the mistake of not getting medical help that you need for a personal injury in a car crash your own personal medical insurance may not cover the costs down the road. You want to be sure that you get any suspected injuries checked out right away.
Urgent Care Can Be an Option
If you do not want to get in the ambulance at the scene of the accident, it is perfectly okay to drive to the urgent care and get medical help there. An urgent care center can be a great option because the wait is shorter than the emergency room and you can get most of the same testing.
If you do not feel like you are that claiming injury after car accident, or you even think you are okay, it is still best to get yourself checked out for several reasons including:
- The sooner you start treatment that quicker you will heal. Getting your injuries identified so that treatment can start means you can be on the road to recovery quicker.
- You need a paper trail for your personal injury claim.
- Injuries that are not identified and left untreated will come back to haunt you.
Some of the most dangerous injuries are the ones that are not apparent. For example, closed head injuries are not noticeable because they are inside your skull. You do not bleed and in some cases you do not even bruise but the injury to your brain is very much present.
Getting diagnosed early on can mean getting to the medical supply store quickly to get the assistive devices that you need. For example, crutches to lean on while your sprained ankle heals can mean a quicker healing phase.
Most Common Personal Injury After Car Crash
There are some common personal injuries after a car accident that many people experience. The type and the degree of personal injury after car crash that you suffer is relative to several variables including:
- Speed at the time of impact. Speed plays a tremendous role in the severity of the auto collision injury. Oddly enough you do not have to be going at a high rate of speed to experience severe injuries. Going 25 MPH can be enough to result in a fatal car accident. Of course, the faster the speed the higher rate of fatality and severity of the injury.
- Which part of the car is hit. If you are hit head on, the injuries can be focused on the face and legs. If you are T boned or hit from the side, the injuries can be widespread and including internal organ damages.
- Your position in the vehicle. Whether you are the driver, the front seat passenger or the backseat passenger also will play a role in the injuries that you sustain.
The most common car accident injuries are head and brain injuries followed by neck and back injuries. Third on the list are injuries to the ankles and legs, with facial injuries (broken jaws) in fourth place. Some post car accident injuries are immediately noticeable, easy to diagnose, and obvious, other injuries are not.
Whiplash is one of the most common personal injury after a car crash you can suffer. It occurs typically in a rear end accident. A rear end accident is when a driver in another vehicle hits the rear end of your vehicle. This type of accident causes your body to be propelled at great force forward. The seat belt will pull you back abruptly which “whips” your body back and forth.
Neck and back injuries from a car crash can be difficult to diagnose. Treatment can be just as difficult to perfect. If there are no breaks than it is assumed that it is muscle and soft tissue damage. Treatment for these types of post car accident injuries can take months, sometimes years, and in some cases your neck and your back are never the same.
Other post car accident injuries like closed head injuries are also difficult to diagnose and can have life long negative implications. Even the experts know little about brain injuries to effectively treat them. The brain is still very much a mystery.
An auto collision injury can be devastating and the effects can often be felt many years after the original injury. For example, you are in a car crash and your back is injured. That back injury can affect how you live your life moving forward for years to come. The amount of weight you can lift may be forever changed, how you exercise, and more.
It is not unusual for an “old” injury to flair up years down the road. You can often hear people complain about how their backaches when it is raining out, or when there is cold winter weather. Many of those aches and pains come from injuries that were sustained in a car accident.
Other Fallout From a Personal Injury After Car Crash
Unfortunately dealing with the physical pain and suffering is not the only thing you will have to deal with after you sustain a personal injury. Many people that experience a personal injury after a car crash wind up dealing with financial problems, job loss, depression, and in some cases personal relationship problems.
If you were hurt in a wreck you may not be able to continue to work at your present job. For example, if you work in an industry where heavy lifting or bending is involved and you suffer a back injury, you physically may not be able to perform that job anymore.
Losing your income to a personal injury can cause a great deal of stress for both you and your family. Relationships can become strained. Many personal injury victims wind up battling depression and other mental health issues. Because of this, a car crash injury claim can include mental as well as physical injuries.
Personal injuries can take a toll on your physical well being, finances, and mental health. Having the support of an experienced attorney on your side can help to take some of the stress out of the situation. Getting professional help to manage the situation is the best way to navigate the situation.
A personal injury attorney has the experience that you need to help you to understand what you can expect and how to protect yourself after a car accident bodily injury claim. It can be the help that you need to get through this personal injury and come out on the other side with your lifestyle intact.
Moving Forward After a Personal Injury After Car Crash
When you have been injured during a car crash, the first thing you should do is get medical help, the next thing you should do is call an experienced personal injury lawyer. A personal injury lawyer can ensure that you get the medical care that you deserve for your injuries, the compensation that you need, and help you navigate the entire process after filing a car wreck injury claim.
Of course, if you have been charged in an accident that is relative to a DUI, and have been injured as well, you will want to get a DUI lawyer on the case as soon as you pay that bail bond service to get you out of jail. An attorney is a great ally to have when you have been in a car crash whether you are charged in the accident or you are a victim.
A lot of people find the process of managing a car crash injury claim difficult. The insurance companies are not really helpful nor are they there to ensure your rights are protected. An attorney that specializes in personal injuries can step in and help you get through the toughest parts of the personal injury accident claim process.
Many people have the same questions about a personal injury after a car crash including:
- Will my medical bills be paid? In every state, there are laws in place that protect car accident victims, including coverage for their medical bills. While the insurance companies are not happy about paying for medical costs, they are bound by law to do so. An attorney will fight for your right to the best in medical care for your injuries.
- How long does it take for the personal injury claim process? There is no set time limit to settle a personal injury claim. There are several factors that can affect how long it takes for your personal injury claim to be settled including the severity of the injuries, if the fault of the accident is being disputed, and how long it takes you to reach Maximum Medical Improvement (read more about that below).
- The expertise of your personal injury attorney. Insurance companies love to low ball claimants and try to bully them into taking less of a compensation package then they deserve. An attorney that is experienced can push back and move your claim forward faster.
Maximum Medical Improvement or MMI is basically a statement from your doctor saying that you have reached the improvement of your injuries that are medically possible. Your personal injury after car crash will not get any better. MMI is an important part of your car accident bodily injury claim because it is used to figure out the amount of compensation that you are entitled to.
For example, let’s say that you broke your ankle in a car crash and had some ligament damage that required surgery. A year after the accident and a years worth of physical therapy your MMI is 45% loss of use in the joint. That information is used to figure out the level of compensation that the insurance company has to pay you.
MMI can take some while to determine. A personal injury after car crash can take a long time to treat. Medical professionals like to try everything possible to return you to 100% after being hurt in a wreck, but they rarely can. Of course, each treatment that is attempted and every therapy that is required has to be given a fair amount of time to try.
If you have the right personal injury attorney on your side, you will enjoy open communication and they will explain to you in detail why it is so important to wait for the MMI to be presented by the medical professionals.
Settling your personal injury accident claim is a process. You have to be patient to ensure that you do not sell yourself short on your settlement. A personal injury after car crash heals in its own time. You do not want to rush your personal injury after car crash decisions.
Get Help After a Personal Injury After Car Crash
Don’t delay getting help after being injured in car accident. Get the medical help you need first, then hiring a personal injury attorney it is the best way to ensure the outcome that you deserve. Don’t try to manage a personal injury after car crash on your own. When claiming injury after car accident, make sure you retain the best legal help you can afford.
