See a doctor after an accident even if you are not in pain
On Behalf of O’Malley Tunstall PLLC | Feb 11, 2020 | Personal Injury
If you recently experienced a truck accident, you may have hidden injuries that do not cause pain. Truck accidents can cause catastrophic or fatal injuries that you can’t see or feel at first. Even if you don’t see any signs of an injury after a truck accident, it is still wise to go to your doctor as soon as possible. Your doctor can give you a complete medical examination, looking for evidence of delayed pain injuries.
Many accident victims assume that they do not have injuries because they don’t feel any serious pain after an accident and don’t see any bleeding. They may even think to themselves, “If I feel pain later, I’ll go to the hospital.” This is a dangerous response to a serious personal event. If you wait until you feel some pain to go to a hospital, the injury causing your pain may be much worse by the time a doctor diagnoses it.
Deadly painless injuries
Two of the most dangerous injuries that commonly occur in truck accidents are partial organ damage and internal bleeding. Without immediate medical attention, both of these injuries can lead to death. For instance, if an internal organ suffers damage in a truck accident, the victim’s body will try to heal the organ by itself. While the victim’s body works to heal the organ, they may not feel any pain. If the organ does not heal, however, the body may shut it down, leading to other organs shutting down as well. Soon, the victim may be in complete organ failure.
If a victim has internal bleeding, too much blood may be lost, which can lead to a sudden loss of consciousness. Alternately, a small internal injury with only a little bleeding can lead to a full-body bacterial infection. Without proper treatment, small wounds may grow into large infections that can travel through a victim’s bloodstream to other parts of the body, including the brain.
Without a full medical examination, you may not realize you suffered either of these injuries until you are in serious medical danger. For your sake and the sake of those who care about you, it is always wise to seek proper medical care as soon as you can after an auto collision.
Other painless injuries
Not all delayed pain injuries are deadly, but many of them can cause serious complications and pain once symptoms set in. Some truck accident injuries may not cause pain for several hours or days, such as:
- Soft-tissue damage, often called whiplash
- Spinal column damage
- Pinched or severed nerves
- Head injuries
Each of these injuries occurs commonly in truck accidents, with symptoms that may make a victim’s life and work difficult or impossible. By seeking professional medical care immediately after an accident, you can potentially avoid unnecessary suffering while also creating important legal documentation. Even if you did not feel any injuries at the scene of your accident, if another party is liable for the accident, they may be responsible for your injuries.
Protect your own recovery and rights by getting the medical care you need quickly and using high-quality legal resources and guidance if you need to build a strong legal claim for compensation.