If you’ve been in a car accident in Douglasville, Georgia, you are not alone. In 2017, there were nearly 4,300 car accidents in Douglas County, of which a third resulted in injuries, according to the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.
No matter how severe your injuries are, it is important to understand the steps you should take to receive adequate medical treatment and compensation for your injuries if you are eligible.
What Are Common Physical Symptoms After a Car Accident?
The symptoms you experience after a car accident vary greatly based on the severity of the accident. In general, some of the most common aftereffects of a collision include:
Headaches
You may experience headaches or migraines after a car accident if you bump your head on the steering wheel, window, or interior of the passenger cabin. Additionally, headaches may occur due to mild traumatic brain injuries like concussions. Nerve injuries in the head and neck, including from whiplash, can also cause headaches.
Anxiety
Getting into a car accident can cause you considerable anxiety for numerous reasons. Managing car repairs and insurance claims can cause you to feel anxious. You may also experience anxiety over injuries or prolonged disabilities you’ve suffered from the accident.
Emotional Trauma
A car accident can cause emotional trauma, including when you witness a friend or family member suffer severe or fatal injuries in a car crash. Emotional trauma can also occur when a car accident victim suffers severe permanent disabilities, disfigurement, or scarring that causes embarrassment or prevents them from completing daily tasks or activities they enjoy.
Concussion
Car wrecks frequently cause mild traumatic brain injuries such as concussions. Concussions cause temporary brain function changes that last several days or weeks. Although concussion symptoms typically resolve on their own, car accident victims who sustain concussions should watch for persistent or worsening symptoms, which may indicate a more severe brain injury.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
The traumatic nature of a motor vehicle accident can cause crash victims to develop post-traumatic stress disorder. Symptoms of PTSD after a car accident can include depression, anxiety, increased stress levels, nightmares, flashbacks, survivor’s guilt, and avoiding anything that triggers memories of the accident.
Shoulder or Neck Injuries
The force of a collision can damage nerves and soft tissues in the shoulders and neck, including ligaments, tendons, muscles, and cervical spinal discs. Crash victims can also suffer broken clavicles or dislocated shoulders.
Spinal Cord Injury
A severe car crash can inflict spinal cord injuries, which often result in some degree of paralysis depending on the severity and location of the injury on the spinal cord.
Whiplash
Whiplash occurs when tissues in the head, neck, and shoulders suffer microscopic damage as the head and neck violently whip back and forth or side-to-side due to the force of a collision. It can cause chronic pain, weakness, or numbness in the shoulders, arms, and hands.
Neck, Back, or Shoulder Pain
Stresses or strains on bones, soft tissues, and nerves in the neck, shoulders, and upper back can cause symptoms such as radiating pain, muscle stiffness, weakness, numbness, or spasms.
Injury to the Joints, Tendons, or Muscles
A car accident victim may suffer dislocation of joints or damage to ligaments, tendons, and muscles, including sprains, strains, or tears.
Muscle Tension
Injuries to muscles and surrounding nerves can cause muscles to become tight or experience spasms, potentially requiring treatment with muscle relaxers or pain relievers.
Nerve or Tissue Damage
The force of a car collision can put straining or tearing forces on nerves and soft tissues, potentially causing strains that can result in severe pain until the injury heals. In serious cases, these injuries may result in permanent tearing or damage.
Stress
Many people experience significant emotional stress after a car accident, including when dealing with the steps they must take to handle insurance claims and vehicle repairs. Sustaining injuries in a car accident can also cause stress from lingering injuries or financial concerns if injuries prevent them from working.
Bruising
Bumping around the passenger cabin or getting hit by airbags or flying debris can cause bruising or contusions. These occur when blood vessels beneath the skin burst, and the bruise forms from subsequent clotting.
Internal Injury
A car crash can also inflict damage to a person’s internal organs, including collapsed lungs, liver or kidney damage, and stomach or intestinal perforations. Internal injuries can also cause internal bleeding that can become life-threatening if not promptly treated.
Numb or Tingling Sensations
Nerve damage or pinching of the nerve roots that exit the spinal column due to herniated spinal discs can cause numbness or tingling sensations that radiate down the arms or legs into the hands, feet, fingers, or toes.
Psychological Issues
The trauma of a car accident can cause a person to develop various psychological issues, including depression, anxiety, PTSD, or new phobias involving driving or riding in a vehicle. Psychological problems can also result from traumatic brain injuries.
Pain in the Abdomen or Stomach
Although seatbelts save lives by restraining car occupants in their seats, they can also inflict injuries to the abdomen and stomach, especially when drivers or passengers wear seatbelts in the incorrect position. Abdominal pain may result from bruising or may represent a symptom of severe, potentially life-threatening internal injuries.
Swollen Extremities
Injuries to soft tissues in the arms and legs can cause inflammation and swelling that makes it painful to move extremities or reduces the range of motion in joints.
Tinnitus
Loud noises in a car crash can cause a person to develop tinnitus. This condition causes a person to perceive a frequently occurring or constant ringing, buzzing, rumbling, or roaring sound. Cases of tinnitus following a car accident may resolve over time – although in some cases, tinnitus may become permanent.
Concentration and Memory Issues
Symptoms of traumatic brain injuries can include concentration or memory issues, including amnesia of the accident, difficulty forming new memories, or trouble concentrating or following instructions. Physical pain and medication side effects may contribute to these cognitive difficulties. Such impairments can hinder daily activities, work performance, and overall quality of life. Medical intervention and cognitive rehabilitation may be necessary to aid recovery and improve cognitive function.
Dizziness
Traumatic brain injuries suffered in a car accident can also cause dizziness, balance issues, or vertigo. Although dizzy feelings usually resolve in a few days or weeks as mild traumatic brain injuries like concussions heal, persistent dizziness may represent a symptom of a more severe issue, such as internal injuries or bleeding.
Blurred Vision
Blurred vision after a car accident may result from traumatic brain injuries or injuries to the head or eyes, such as burst blood vessels, damage to the lens or retina, or pressure on the optic nerve.
These symptoms might develop immediately after the crash or they may develop days or weeks later. Many of these symptoms could be related to the stress of the accident, but they could also be a sign of a serious unseen injury such as a concussion or other traumatic brain injury. When in doubt, it is best to have a doctor evaluate your symptoms.
How Long Does Pain Last After a Car Accident?
Some minor pain may go away within a few hours or days, but other injuries may cause lasting pain that could impact you for months or longer. Treating injuries promptly can promote faster healing and help you feel relief from pain sooner.
What Are the Most Common Injuries of Car Accidents?
The specific nature of injuries varies greatly based on the speed and angle of the crash, the types of vehicles involved, where and how you were sitting when the crash occurred, and many other factors. Injuries could include:
- Bruising
- Head injuries or concussion
- Whiplash
- Cuts or gashes
- Airbag injuries
- Broken bones
- Internal organ damage
- Emotional trauma
There are many ways a car accident can cause injury. The violent impact of the collision, being pinned inside the vehicle, being cut by broken glass, hitting your head or another body part inside the vehicle and many other factors can all cause injury. It is also common to have bruising or pain on the chest, ribs, or abdomen from the seat belt.
While a seat and shoulder belt may leave bruising after a crash, a shoulder belt restraint system still protects vehicle occupants from much more severe injuries and should always be worn while driving or riding in a car.
Do I Need to Go to The Doctor After a Car Accident?
Seeking prompt medical treatment is important. A doctor will be able to thoroughly evaluate the extent of your injuries and develop a treatment plan.
Even if your symptoms seem minor, it is a good idea to go to the doctor after an accident for a medical assessment. A trained medical professional may recognize the symptoms of an injury before it’s apparent to you. Some symptoms can indicate a more serious yet unseen injury.
The doctor will listen to you describe your symptoms and then may perform tests such as an x-ray, MRI, neurological exams, or other tests to identify potential injuries.
A doctor’s report also documents your injuries and may serve as supporting evidence if you need to file a personal injury claim. If you wait too long to visit a doctor, the insurance company may question the connection between your injuries and the vehicle accident. It will be harder to prove that your injuries were a result of that accident if you don’t see a doctor promptly.
Why Do Some Car Accident Symptoms Not Show Up Until Later?
While you are exchanging insurance information and speaking with police immediately after the accident, you are most likely feeling stress and may not be aware of all the injuries you have sustained. Your body produces adrenaline to give you energy in stressful situations. The rush of adrenaline can mask pain. When it wears off a few hours later, you may start to notice pain you didn’t feel initially.
Since car accidents happen quickly, the occupants of the vehicle are often not aware of everything that happened. For this reason, it is not uncommon to find bruises and other injuries after an accident without knowing exactly how they were caused.
If you develop new symptoms several days after your accident, don’t hesitate to contact a doctor. Headaches or dizziness can occur several days later and can be a sign of traumatic brain injury.
Abdominal pain or an upset stomach could be a sign of internal bleeding. Back and shoulder pain from a herniated disc, spinal damage, soft tissue injury, or whiplash can also develop over time. These types of injuries can cause lasting damage when they go untreated, so it is important that you are evaluated by a doctor sooner rather than later.
How Long Can I Expect Physical Recovery to Take?
The time it takes for you to recover will depend on the extent of your injuries. Some things you can do that may help reduce your recovery time are:
- Seek medical treatment immediately
- Follow your doctor’s instructions and treatment plan and keep follow-up appointments
- Stay committed to physical therapy if prescribed
- Reduce stress
- Eat healthy
Many people may be afraid to commit to long-term treatment such as physical therapy because they think it is too expensive. You may not be aware that if someone else was at fault for the accident, you may be owed compensation for all your medical expenses, including these types of long-term treatments.
Even if it is determined that you were partially or fully at fault for the accident, your own Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance will likely cover some of your medical expenses.
Contact a Douglasville Car Accident Attorney
It is important that you reach out to an experienced car accident attorney who can help you understand your options for compensation so that you can seek the money needed to make a full recovery. Do not delay in contacting an attorney, as the statute of limitations for a personal injury claim in Georgia is just two years. The attorneys at Sherrod & Bernard, P.C., have been offering excellent service to clients since the law firm was founded in 1992. We will listen to your concerns and help you pursue the full compensation you need to recover from your accident. Contact us today at 678-905-7503 to schedule a free consultation.
