As soon as you are involved in a car accident, the first priority is to have your health and general condition evaluated by a professional emergency medical technician at the scene or in the hospital. In the case of less serious car accidents, it is still important to evaluate your own health to make sure you do not suffer a head, spine or neck injury. The problem with these types of injuries is that they can become obvious or get worse as time goes on. So it may seem like you are fine after a car accident, but then you may start to develop symptoms later at that point towards neck and back injuries.
There are signs and symptoms to look for, as well as tips for learning how to identify the difference between vague muscle pain and tenderness and an actual serious injury. Read on for a post-accident health assessment guide and information on filing a car accident injury claim for injuries and damages sustained in a serious collision.
Checking your health
Once you have been involved in a car accident, whether it is your fault or not, you should seek immediate medical attention. When a car accident occurs, authorities are usually alerted almost immediately; either by someone involved in the accident or by a bystander. The police will ask if you or your passengers should go to the hospital if it is not obvious or obvious that someone is injured. You can perform this assessment yourself, or you can simply have an EMT review it at the scene of the accident or in the hospital.
You can choose to travel by ambulance for a faster trip to the hospital in an emergency, but for less serious and less obvious injuries, you can choose to take it yourself or have a loved one drive you. In other cases, you may feel that you are not injured enough to receive professional medical care and miss out on the opportunity to go to the hospital entirely. Once you are familiar with how to assess your own condition after an accident, you can make a responsible decision to seek further medical assistance or to take care of yourself.
Here are some symptoms to look for immediately after a car accident, as well as in the days that follow:
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Headaches
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Migraines
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Neck pain or tenderness
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Labored breathing
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Incrise of cardiac frecuency
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Mental confusion
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Pain or tenderness in the lower back
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Pain in the neck or spine
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Difficulty standing
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Pain when sitting
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Swelling of the neck, back, or head
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Redness or abrasions on the body
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Nausea or dizziness
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Blurry vision
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Speak slurred
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Bleeding
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Broken bones
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Immobility
Any of these symptoms could be a sign of a more serious injury or internal damage. If you experience more than three of the above symptoms, it is strongly recommended that you go to the hospital or request an EMT upon seeing an accident. Concussions are one of the most common and overlooked head injuries that result from car accidents. And the problem with this type of injury is that a person may appear fine at first, only to later suffer dire consequences and deterioration in health as a result of a careless head, brain, or spine injury.
File a car accident injury claim
Contact a licensed personal injury attorney for information on how to file a car accident injury claim against a negligent party who caused you or a loved one serious harm after a car accident or collision. You may be entitled to compensation.
