Anyone who has driven in Philadelphia can attest that the streets here are not the easiest to navigate. Between the many one-way streets and trolley tracks that cut through our metropolitan area, not to mention the other common risks of driving, car accidents are to be expected.
After an accident, you may think that you got away without any injuries if you don’t have any visible signs of harm and don’t feel any pain. Unfortunately, this does not always mean you are injury-free.
Car accidents present a very violent experience to their victims, and many of the injuries you might suffer in a car accident do not immediately cause pain. These are known as delayed pain, or delayed onset injuries.
Even if you think you were not injured, you should seek out professional medical help. If you have a delayed pain injury, you’ll be glad you did. Once you address any potential issues, you can speak with an attorney about proceeding with a personal injury claim to recover compensation for your injuries and any other losses from the accident.
There are several types of delayed onset injuries, and most of them do not indicate potentially fatal damage. However, any delayed pain felt in your abdomen may actually indicate very serious injuries that require immediate medical attention.
Whenever you experience pain in your abdomen after an accident, you may have internal bleeding or even serious organ damage. If you do not seek out professional medical attention to treat these injuries as soon as possible, you may die.
If you have delayed pain in your abdomen, please seek out medical attention today.
Delayed pain in the shoulders or neck may arise if the accident injured your shoulder or back musculature. Delayed soreness is possible in all of your muscle groups, but is most common in the shoulders, neck and back.
Similarly, if you struck your head during the accident, you may have mild brain damage in the form of a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). While it is probably not going to change your life entirely, mild TBIs can change your personality and cognitive functions significantly, and may last for up to a year after the injury. A mild TBI can act as a very destructive force if you do not seek out proper treatment.
Car accidents regularly cause trauma to the spinal cord, which can lead to many types of pain and discomfort. All of the nerves in your body run through the spinal cord, so any injury to the cord itself can affect you in surprising ways.
If the discs in your spine shift out of alignment or bulge out, nerves running through them may get pinched. Pinched nerves can cause severe pain or even numbness and tingling, often in your arms, legs or hands.
If you have any kind of delayed pain after an accident, do not wait to seek out medical attention before your injury has a chance to turn much more serious.