Even If the Cause of a Crash Is Obvious, Your Injuries May Not Be

Imagine you are driving home after work. You slow down to stop for a red light and suddenly, everything goes black. You come to and realize another driver hit you from behind.

These situations are unfortunately common thanks to unsafe behaviors like distracted driving and following too closely. In fact, more than a million rear-end collisions occur every year. However, while it may be obvious who is to blame for these crashes, the extent of the damage they cause can be much less clear.

Late-onset injuries

You may or may not feel your injuries immediately after a crash. Some injuries take days or weeks to develop or get to the point where they are serious. You can also be too distracted to take note of your physical condition right away. You might be panicked and trying to get your car fixed, take time away from work and figure out what needs to happen to report the accident.

Chronic injuries

Pain and injuries after an accident can seem minor initially. You might assume your headaches, back pain and heightened stress levels will eventually get better and go away with some rest and aspirin. Oftentimes, they do.

However, some accident-related injuries do not go away; they persist and may even get worse over time. These types of chronic conditions can be very painful and problematic, and they can be very difficult to treat.

Non-visible injuries

Broken bones, burns and lacerations are obvious; injuries like post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety may not be. These injuries can plague crash victims long after the incident, but it can be easy for people to overlook them because they are not visible to the naked eye. Understand, though that they can still be very serious.

Even if you think a rear-end collision was minor, it is critical that you pay close attention to any symptoms you experience. Do not minimize them or assume they will go away on their own, because this could make matters worse. Instead, you will want to seek medical attention. If your injuries prove to be serious, you can discuss your options for pursuing compensation with an attorney.