Nerve damage, concussions and other serious conditions often show only minor symptoms after an accident. In just a few months, they can develop into chronic pain, limited movement and a general diminished ability to engage in activities like work or leisure.
Following up on an accident injury claim long after the fact greatly complicates your ability to recover damages for these injuries. Therefore, all accident victims should get full examinations after their wreck, and they should consider their legal options for even a small injury claim with a San Francisco auto accident lawyer. Otherwise, their decision to be “laid back” about their accident results could catch up to them later, causing them to feel pain that lays them out when they could be out working or having fun.
Why “Minor” Car Accident Injuries May Not Be So Minor
Looking back to Isaac Newton’s second law of motion, the force of an impact on an object is equal to its mass multiplied by the total change in speed. So, a roughly 1.5 ton vehicle smashing into another, even at low speeds, can produce tremendous forces.
One method of estimating force calculates that a 160 lb driver would experience roughly 2 tons of force upon their body when wearing their seatbelt and colliding with an object at 30 mph. Just imagine a two ton weight being used to jerk your head, shoulders and neck forward while a fabric strap stops it, and you can see why small auto accidents can produce dramatic results. The forces act upon your entire body, exerting tremendous pressure upon sensitive joints like your spine’s upper cervical vertebrae. Accident victims may also have concussions or minor traumatic brain injuries, which can lead to brain swelling or tissue damage over time if left untreated.
What to Do for Minor Injuries After an Accident
Early intervention and examination by a medical professional is the only way to establish that lingering injuries are not the first appearance of symptoms for a more serious condition.
After you have been in an auto accident, report to your primary care professional as soon as possible and ask for a full series of tests related to your current symptoms. Explain your condition to your doctor in detail. Feel free to describe the nature of the accident in order to illustrate where your body may have felt the most force of impact. Ask your doctor to use detailed documentation for their exam, including any suspicions they may have for complications that could result from your injuries.
Also, most importantly, follow through with every single bit of your doctor’s recommendations. Even something as trivial as taking aspirin and drinking water can contribute to the healing process in significant ways. Looking at the other side of the coin, ignoring your injuries or disregarding your doctor’s recommendations can create a domino effect of complications down the road.
When You Need a San Francisco Auto Accident Lawyer
The ideal scenario for an injury claim following an auto accident is that every injury is promptly diagnosed and documented. With this evidence in hand, accident victims will have an easier time convincing insurance companies that their claim is valid and serious. If someone shows up to the doctor weeks after an accident, then the insurer can try to deny the claim by saying the injuries found were unrelated to the accident or were the result of the victim not seeking proper treatment.
Because of scenarios like this, reaching out to a San Francisco car accident attorney as soon as possible after an accident can be as important as seeing your doctor. The last thing you want is to discover that you have serious nerve damage or chronic pain weeks after your injury occurred and to have limited legal resource for recovering compensation.
If you have been in an accident and you suspect that minor injuries may be the first signs of more major complications, then see a doctor immediately and contact me for a free consultation to explore your options for recovery.