Have You Been Injured In A Car Accident? What Should You Do?
It's not uncommon for victims of car accidents to minimize their injuries.
I think its human nature.
We feel pain (which certainly means we were injured) but we don't do anything about it, don't go to see a doctor, hoping that it will get better.
We trust that it will get better.
If we make an appointment to see a doctor its acknowledging that we're hurt, and that's scary.
I can't tell you the number of times I've had patients come in weeks or even months after an automobile accident, in lots of pain.
I ask them "How did it start?", and they tell me how it started with their accident.
My next question is often "Well, why didn't you do something about it?".
The response I often hear is "I thought it would go away".
Auto accident injuries should not be ignored.
Auto accident injuries shouldn't be ignored for a number of reasons.
First and foremost, to maximize the chances of complete healing of your injury, you need to tend to it right away.
Don't wait.
This would be obvious to anyone if we were bleeding.
We'd run to the nearest Emergency Room or doctor to stop the bleeding.
Similarly it is important to tend to your auto injuries as quickly as possible to maximize the healing.
Your body enters a critical window of time after any injury.
The more that you do during this time period to support the healing process, the better off you're going to be.
Not attending to your injuries increases the likelihood that you could suffer chronic pain in the future, and you don't want that.
Many auto accident victims are rightfully thankful to be able to walk away from their accident.
We thank our lucky stars, etc.
Relieved that we are still alive, that we don't have any fractures or cuts, that we are able to walk, we assume that we've survived the accident and are going to be fine.
Fortunately, in most cases this is true.
Only 3-5% of car crash victims develop acute symptoms afterward.
Acute refers to severe pain and swelling.
Naturally this varies depending on the accident.
But it is surprising how low end collisions with little or no damage to the car can (and do) cause injuries.
The most common complaints after a car accident are:
The sudden jolt of the collision whips the head and neck backward and forward.
Often times it happens so fast we barely remember it.
We are able to get out of the car, we're not bleeding and we assume everything is fine.
Then perhaps later in the day, the next day or even the following week our neck becomes stiff and sore.
Or we experience any of the other symptoms listed above.
Then you know that you are experiencing a whiplash injury.
But there was hardly any car damage.
If there wasn't much damage to your car, you may think that you couldn't be injured.
Unfortunately, researchers find that this is not the case.
Whether or not your car had a lot of damage has very little to do with whether or not you were injured.
To quote Rene Calliet, M.
D.
author of numerous books including "Whiplash Associated Diseases" (2006), "Numerous injuries result from vehicular accidents even when the impacts are not very big and there is minimal damage to both vehicles.
"So if you have any signs of injury, see a doctor who has experience with whiplash injuries to be evaluated.
The last reason to see a doctor about a possible injury.
It is important to document any possible injury as soon as possible after an auto accident.
This is true for legal reasons in addition to the fact that you want to heal your injury as quickly as possible.
If you wait a week, two weeks or a month it looks like it's no big deal.
And this is not the message that you want to send to your insurance company.
It is in your best interest to have any injury documented as quickly as possible.
Having said that, if you've waited a week, two weeks, a month or several months, and are still suffering from complaints related to your accident, still see a doctor to have them evaluated.
Going late is better than never.
I think its human nature.
We feel pain (which certainly means we were injured) but we don't do anything about it, don't go to see a doctor, hoping that it will get better.
We trust that it will get better.
If we make an appointment to see a doctor its acknowledging that we're hurt, and that's scary.
I can't tell you the number of times I've had patients come in weeks or even months after an automobile accident, in lots of pain.
I ask them "How did it start?", and they tell me how it started with their accident.
My next question is often "Well, why didn't you do something about it?".
The response I often hear is "I thought it would go away".
Auto accident injuries should not be ignored.
Auto accident injuries shouldn't be ignored for a number of reasons.
First and foremost, to maximize the chances of complete healing of your injury, you need to tend to it right away.
Don't wait.
This would be obvious to anyone if we were bleeding.
We'd run to the nearest Emergency Room or doctor to stop the bleeding.
Similarly it is important to tend to your auto injuries as quickly as possible to maximize the healing.
Your body enters a critical window of time after any injury.
The more that you do during this time period to support the healing process, the better off you're going to be.
Not attending to your injuries increases the likelihood that you could suffer chronic pain in the future, and you don't want that.
Many auto accident victims are rightfully thankful to be able to walk away from their accident.
We thank our lucky stars, etc.
Relieved that we are still alive, that we don't have any fractures or cuts, that we are able to walk, we assume that we've survived the accident and are going to be fine.
Fortunately, in most cases this is true.
Only 3-5% of car crash victims develop acute symptoms afterward.
Acute refers to severe pain and swelling.
Naturally this varies depending on the accident.
But it is surprising how low end collisions with little or no damage to the car can (and do) cause injuries.
The most common complaints after a car accident are:
- Neck pain
- Neck stiffness
- Headache in the back of the head
- Back pain
- Numbness or tingling in the arms, hands
The sudden jolt of the collision whips the head and neck backward and forward.
Often times it happens so fast we barely remember it.
We are able to get out of the car, we're not bleeding and we assume everything is fine.
Then perhaps later in the day, the next day or even the following week our neck becomes stiff and sore.
Or we experience any of the other symptoms listed above.
Then you know that you are experiencing a whiplash injury.
But there was hardly any car damage.
If there wasn't much damage to your car, you may think that you couldn't be injured.
Unfortunately, researchers find that this is not the case.
Whether or not your car had a lot of damage has very little to do with whether or not you were injured.
To quote Rene Calliet, M.
D.
author of numerous books including "Whiplash Associated Diseases" (2006), "Numerous injuries result from vehicular accidents even when the impacts are not very big and there is minimal damage to both vehicles.
"So if you have any signs of injury, see a doctor who has experience with whiplash injuries to be evaluated.
The last reason to see a doctor about a possible injury.
It is important to document any possible injury as soon as possible after an auto accident.
This is true for legal reasons in addition to the fact that you want to heal your injury as quickly as possible.
If you wait a week, two weeks or a month it looks like it's no big deal.
And this is not the message that you want to send to your insurance company.
It is in your best interest to have any injury documented as quickly as possible.
Having said that, if you've waited a week, two weeks, a month or several months, and are still suffering from complaints related to your accident, still see a doctor to have them evaluated.
Going late is better than never.