Delayed Onset Injuries Common After an Auto Accident
Immediately after a car accident, your body may enter a survival mode, which causes a release of adrenaline and epinephrine. During an adrenaline rush, as it is often called, your body releases hormones that help focus your attention on survival and increase blood flow to vital organs. This causes your body not to focus on any pain it might feel, which can mask the severity of your injuries at the scene. Furthermore, certain injuries may not manifest until a few days after an accident even though the crash caused them. The following delayed onset injuries commonly arise after car accidents:
- Headaches
- Whiplash, a type of neck or shoulder stiffness and pain
- Back pain caused by damage to ligaments and nerves
- Abdominal pain, including deep bruising, a sign of internal bleeding that an emergency room should immediately treat
- Confusion and loss of motor skills, signs of traumatic brain injury that an emergency room should also immediately treat
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
Accordingly, even if you do not believe a car accident severely injured you or damaged your car, immediately seek medical treatment. An emergency room is your best choice if you experience any head or abdominal pain. Furthermore, the resulting medical records may form an essential part of your legal case—even if you were seriously injured, without sufficient medical records you can’t prove your claims.
Because Florida is a no-fault state, putting your health first after a serious accident can always provide your personal injury attorney with the documentation necessary to show that your injuries meet the legal standard for recovery of compensation known as “threshold.”
Four categories of injuries in Florida meet the threshold standard:
- Significant and permanent loss of an important body function
- Permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability
- Significant and permanent scars or disfigurement
- Death
