When a car accident occurs, you may think that you don’t need to get medical care. This can be especially true if you do not have visible injuries, or if your injuries seem slight. Often, not seeking medical care is a recipe for greater harm in the long run and difficulty proving fault for your injuries.
Some injuries are obvious – a gash that is bleeding, or a broken arm, for instance. However, some of the most debilitating injuries are those that are less visible. One of the most commonly overlooked injuries after a car accident is a mild traumatic brain injury.
If you do not seek out professional medical care after the accident, it may be days or weeks before you realize that you have been legitimately injured. At that point, a diagnosis may be more difficult, meaning treatment may not be as effective.
You also run the risk of diminishing you ability to seek fair compensation for you injury, because the longer you wait for a diagnosis, the easier it is for the defendant in an injury claim to assert that the injury was not suffered in the accident.
There‘s nothing mild about brain injury
The term mild TBI is misleading. This class of injury is only mild compared to other forms of brain damage, which can cause coma, paralysis, and death. Contrastingly, a mild TBI is less severe, but still quite serious.
If you received a mild TBI in an accident, don’t let anyone tell you that it is not a real injury. Mild TBIs can cause ongoing headaches, dizziness and even seizures. They can also diminish your ability to concentrate at work, and scramble your comprehension so that normal conversations don’t make sense. They may also cause you to be irrationally irritable and unable to remember things well.
On top of all this, the effects may last up to a year if left untreated. Suddenly, a slight blow to the head becomes a major problem, capable of destroying your career and your relationships.
If you have suffered an injury in an accident, seek medical attention as soon as you can, and be diligent about following your medical care provider’s orders. In order to give yourself the best chance at receiving a fair settlement in an injury claim, you must take steps now that lay a good foundation for you claim.
It‘s dangerous to go alone
Mounting a strong personal injury claim depends on building a strong team behind yourself. You’ve already suffered enough from the accident, there is no need to stack the deck against your own success by not enlisting the help of a qualified attorney. With proper legal guidance from an experienced attorney, you can build a strong case and protect your rights throughout the process.
