When a car accident occurs, those involved often find themselves in a heightened state with endorphins and adrenaline kicking in at sometimes inordinate levels. Because of this, individuals may find themselves feeling more energy when they otherwise wouldn't and no pain when they otherwise would.
As a result, many times a victim of a car accident feels few or no symptoms directly thereafter. And symptoms don't become readily noticeable until their hormone levels return to normal.
Soft tissue injuries (injuries to areas other than the bone) are quite often the result of auto collisions.
In a collision, a vehicle impacting another vehicle or a person at even a low rate of speed can cause massive damage. Soft tissue injuries (damage to ligaments, muscle and tendons) don't show up on x-rays. So should you suffer these kinds of injuries after an accident and not immediately feel pain or other symptoms, you might feel like you dodged a bullet.
The problem is those injuries often do become apparent sometimes weeks, perhaps even months, after an accident occurs. And the steps you take immediately following the collision make dictate your legal rights when they do.
Often times, an auto insurer will present an offer for settlement to you immediately after an accident and request you sign a release of claim. In the above case, you can see that an individual that did accept an immediate offer and sign such a release would have lost any claim for medical damages to cover the injuries that appeared weeks thereafter.
Immediately following a car accident, victims should always see a physician for a full medical examination. Often, concussions can manifest themselves well beyond the date of the accident or show symptoms we miss like slight disorientation or confusion or fatigue.
A doctor can advise how to monitor your symptoms (or the lack thereof) and for how long after the accident.Should you file a claim months down the line without having sought medical treatment directly following the accident, your claim might lose merit as a result.
It's important that you discuss issues like these with an experienced personal injury lawyer who can advise on steps to take to document your injuries and medical treatment and negotiate damages on your behalf.
The attorneys at Panio Law Offices have a wealth of experience handling personal injury cases and we've one millions in damages for our clients.
If you have any questions about a car accident claim or collision injury damages, please call (708) 928-8680. We can help.