It’s common for people who have been in a car accident to simply walk away from the scene, think they’re fine, and refuse medical attention. Unfortunately, it’s also common for serious injuries to not be immediately apparent. In many cases, symptoms of a more serious injury won’t show up for days or weeks after an accident.
Studies have proven that severe injuries don’t always have instant symptoms
Studies have concluded that just because the symptoms of an injury didn’t become apparent right away, that doesn’t mean that the injury wasn’t severe. It’s also true that people can have symptoms from their injury for months after their car accident. In fact, one study showed that 75% of accident victims didn’t have symptoms for at least six months after their accident.
If you believe you’re injured, don’t delay getting treatment
If you think you may have been hurt in an accident then you need to get medical treatment right away. Not only do you want to make sure that you’re healthy and safe, but if you delay getting treated then it could hurt your personal injury case. The plaintiff may try to argue that if it was such a serious injury you would have gone to the doctor earlier, that something else caused the injury after the accident, that you’re not actually heart, or that you don’t need treatment but are only getting it to try and prove your personal injury case.
Getting released from the emergency room doesn’t mean that you’re fine
If you visited the emergency room after an accident, they diagnosed you with a broken bone, set your case, and released you, would you assume that you were okay? Many people would, but remember that the emergency room is there just for emergencies. They’re not there to diagnose ongoing health issues and they may miss an injury to the spinal cord, a head injury, or another issue that doesn’t always present right away.
Don’t ever tell the police or the other party that you’re fine
After an auto accident, you don’t want to tell the police or anyone else at the scene that you feel fine. You certainly don’t want to lie, but you can simply tell them, “I’m still in shock from the accident. I’ll have my doctor give me a full checkup.” This helps assure that if you are injured and you do have to pursue a personal injury case, the other side can’t use your statements of being fine against you.
Have you been injured in a car accident?
If you’ve been hurt in an accident then we urge you to get medical attention. If you believe that you were not at fault and someone else was, then Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas may be able to help you get the compensation you’re entitled to. Call us today at 909-982-0707 for your free case evaluation.
