Reasons Why You Should Never Hesitate to Seek Medical Attention After a Road Accident

If you are involved in a serious car crash, the chances are emergency medical responders will come to the scene, assess your injuries and take you to the nearest medical facility for further medical attention. However, this may not be the case when you are involved in a less serious accident. Most people tend to head home without seeking medical attention after exchanging contacts with the other driver. This is a mistake that could be detrimental to both your health and car accident claim. Below are reasons why you should seek medical attention after a car accident, no matter how minor the injuries may appear. 

Medical records as evidence

Your accident lawyer can use your medical records as evidence to prove your claim. They also help in determining an appropriate award or settlement. While you may not want to focus on anything else other than recovering after an accident, you deserve fair compensation if the accident was a result of another person’s negligence. Medical records, transportation costs, and prescription records, among other records, help to prove the extent of your injury and justify your demand for compensation. 

Avoid unnecessary tussle with your insurer

Insurance companies try everything to invalidate claims, and they will be following your every step waiting for you to slip up. Common claims insurance adjusters make to deny paying out personal injury claims include failure to seek medical help immediately, and failure to follow doctor’s order. If you don’t seek medical help as soon as possible, your insurance company may try to use that to their advantage by claiming that you didn’t sustain the injuries from the accident. For instance, if you wait for one week until you seek medical treatment, there would be no way to prove that the injuries are a result of the accident. If you are attended to by a doctor, ensure you follow their advice to the letter. 

Invisible injuries

Sometimes the adrenaline rush after an accident may make you completely unaware of your injuries or pain. Your long-term health is of utmost importance and it is crucial to seek medical attention as soon as possible. While you may suffer some visible injuries after a car crash, some injuries take hours, days, and even weeks to manifest. Common injuries from car accidents that are not immediately apparent include: 

Head injuries

Skull fractures, concussions, and traumatic brain injuries are some of the deadliest injuries human bodies can withstand. While some of these injuries are evident immediately due to bruising or bleeding, some head injuries have delayed symptoms like amnesia, headache, mood swings. 

Whiplash

This is a neck injury that is caused by a forceful and sudden back-and-forth movement of the neck. Common signs of whiplash include neck pain, shoulder pain, neck stiffness, and loss of range of motion in the neck. These symptoms may take between one and several days to appear. 

Spinal injuries

You may have damaged your spinal discs, vertebrae, or neck ligaments, but symptoms can take days to appear. 

Endnote

There is a lot at stake after a car accident, including your health, and you have nothing to lose by seeking medical attention as soon as possible, even if you feel perfectly fine.