A car accident disrupts your life suddenly, leaving you to deal with your pain and confusion in the aftermath. Sometimes, it seems like we walk away lucky and unharmed, only to start feeling symptoms days or weeks later. If this has happened to you, you may be wondering whether you are still eligible for compensation. Learn about delayed car accident symptoms, how long you have to file your accident claim, and how a skilled Michigan car accident lawyer can help protect your right to fair compensation after you discover a delayed injury.
What Are Delayed Car Accident Symptoms?
Whether you have a small ache emanating from your lower back, delayed neck pain after a car accident, or something more subtle, delayed car accident symptoms are real and need your attention.
Delayed injury symptoms refer to those signals your body gives you that something is wrong days or even weeks after the crash occurred. They are the telling signs of more serious injuries not initially felt, diagnosed, and treated following your accident. Even broken bones can be hard to detect initially in some cases.
This gap between the accident and the delayed symptoms and resulting medical care can interfere with auto insurance claims and the reaching of a fair settlement.
Common examples of delayed injury symptoms in accident victims include the following:
- Increasing or ongoing headaches, potentially indicating a TBI (traumatic brain injury), such as a concussion or worse. Such headaches may also be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, fatigue, dizziness, ringing in the ears, and slurred speech.
- Neck pain, which can indicate a whiplash injury. A stiff neck may be due to your holding it still to avoid pain from joint or disc damage. You can also experience shoulder pain as a result. Delayed whiplash symptoms are all too common following an accident.
- Tingling or a loss of sensation can indicate whiplash injuries, spinal injury, or nerve damage.
- Abdominal pain or swelling can indicate internal injuries, such as internal bleeding or organ damage.
- Back pain can indicate injury to the spinal cord, herniated disc, or damage to nerves or muscles.
- Disorientation, confusion, memory loss, or difficulty concentrating
If you begin to feel any of these delayed injury symptoms, seek medical attention as soon as possible, followed by scheduling an initial free consultation with a Michigan personal injury lawyer.
Why Does My Body Feel Weird After a Michigan Car Accident?
Following an auto accident, you are caught up in the aftermath, and your body may feel odd in some way. One cause for this is shock. Another common reason is often your body’s natural response of releasing a hormone known as adrenaline, causing the “fight or flight” condition. Either of these, shock or adrenaline release, can keep you from feeling the pain from actual injuries initially.
Feeling off can also be a sign of an injury. Discomfort in any area of the body can indicate soft tissue injuries such as bruising, strains, sprains, or tears. Many of these will not be visible injuries but will make you feel odd. If you feel mentally off, such as being disoriented, confused, or have difficulty concentrating, it may indicate a serious head injury, such as a TBI.
Signs You Should Go to the Hospital After a Michigan Car Accident
Following a Michigan motor vehicle accident, there are signs to look for indicating that a trip to the hospital emergency room is imperative. First, allow yourself to be examined by emergency personnel, such as EMTs or paramedics, who arrive at the accident scene. They will look for signs of potentially life-threatening injuries and often recommend you get examined by a medical professional.
You can also make a car accident injuries assessment of yourself and, if the following signs exist, go to the hospital as soon as possible:
- Pain, whether persistent or occurring when you move a certain way
- Headache
- Swelling
- Feeling confused or disoriented
- Loss of range of motion
- Discomfort when placing weight on any extremity
- Presence of large cuts, gashes, or lacerations, as these can become infected
Even if you are not feeling any pain or discomfort, you should go to the hospital because of the potential for delayed or unnoticed injuries. By doing so, you will also create medical records as early as possible of your injuries in case of future lawsuits. Filing insurance claims for eligible injuries often entails doing so within a set timeframe, so you will want to keep that option open should you need it.
How Long After a Car Accident Can You Feel Effects?
The truth about injuries following a car crash is that car accident victims can feel the effects for hours, days, and even weeks.
Not all effects of a car accident will appear immediately. While some do, commonly, you will feel the effects of the trauma as they gradually develop in the following 24-48 hours. Some may take days to occur before you notice them. These delayed symptoms will depend on the type of injuries you sustain.
How to Protect Your Michigan Auto Accident Claim in Cases of Delayed Injuries
When delays in injuries occur, there is always a risk to your Michigan auto accident claim.
These delayed injury cases are more difficult to prove. The insurance company and the defense side in a lawsuit will argue that some other event or crash that happened or may have happened between the time of the accident and the onset of injuries is the direct cause of those particular injuries.
If you have a pre-existing condition that is aggravated, such as delayed lower back pain after a car accident, the defense will also attempt to dismiss it as not related to the recent crash and, therefore, you should not be able to recover any damages.
Steps to take after an accident that can protect the ability to file an insurance claim if you develop delayed symptoms include:
- When emergency personnel arrive, allow them to assess your injuries. Tell them of any symptoms you currently experience and changes to how you feel.
- Talk to your doctor right away. Make sure every complaint is documented.
- If you bumped something that hurts a little, mention it. Do not think that because one part of your body is hurt more than another part that this pain will stay that way or disappear eventually. It is imperative that you notify your doctor or other healthcare professional of every body part that hurts in any way. If the injury was of the type where symptoms often do not present themselves for some time, it will not be deemed suspicious and not impact a claim.
- Follow all recommendations by your healthcare professionals, including follow-up visits, physical therapy sessions, medications, and more.
- Collect all related medical records and documentation, including money spent on medical bills resulting from the accident.
While the time period for filing an injury claim extends beyond the immediate hours and days following an accident, the challenge is in compiling the required evidence to prove your claim. As such, always seek medical attention after a crash and also seek a free consultation and legal advice from a dedicated Michigan accident attorney.
The experienced Michigan personal injury attorneys with Matz Injury Law will work closely with your medical treatment team to see that a positive report results, relating the crash to the injuries that you now suffer.
Who Pays for My Medical Expenses After a Michigan Car Accident?
Following a car accident, medical expenses can quickly accumulate, leaving you wondering who exactly is going to pay for them all. This falls under your personal injury protection (PIP) insurance. If, however, you do not have your own car insurance to cover these medical expenses, they will fall under your spouse’s insurer or the insurer of a relative living at the same address as you.
In some cases, none of these options are available, and you will need to rely on the Michigan Assigned Claims Plan to assign a particular insurer to your case to pay those expenses.
Michigan’s auto insurance laws seek to protect you in this way. If you have questions or concerns pertaining to the payment of your medical expenses, seek legal advice from one of our injury attorneys.
How Long After a Car Accident Can You Sue in Michigan?
Understanding and meeting all deadlines for filing a car accident injury claim is another essential element of your case. For those seeking no-fault benefits, you have one year from the date of the accident to file. In many situations, filing for these benefits will be enough.
However, in some instances, you may need to file a personal injury lawsuit in order to recover rightfully deserved compensation. If so, the statute of limitations for filing is three years in the state of Michigan. To protect your rights and keep from missing important deadlines, call our office for a free consultation.
How Much Compensation Can You Receive in Michigan for Delayed Car Accident Symptoms?
In Michigan, you can file for compensation for delayed car accident symptoms, and this compensation can be for both economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages include those that easily are assigned a monetary value, lost wages, and medical bills. Per Michigan law, there is no limit to how much economic damages you can recover in your case.
Non-economic damages are those damages that cannot simply be calculated and include post-traumatic stress disorder and pain and suffering. These types of damages are limited in the state of Michigan. A Michigan auto injury attorney can help you calculate these types of damages.
When Should I Contact a Michigan Car Accident Attorney?
While spending time recovering from your accident and ensuring you are doing everything possible for your health will be your top priorities in the days ahead, you also should contact a Michigan car accident attorney as soon as possible. An important reason for this early contact is so your legal team can begin assembling documentation and begin the recovery process on your behalf.
How Does Matz Make the Difference?
Following a car accident, emotions may be running high, and you may be concerned about your finances going forward. You need an attorney who understands what you are going through and takes the time to listen to you and your concerns.
Matz Injury Law can make a difference in your case. Here are a few reasons why.
- Experience: The attorneys with Matz Injury Law have years of experience in injury cases and are here to guide you through the entire claims process.
- Lower fees: Matz Injury Law charges 22% less than the industry standard of 33%, so you keep more money.
- Work directly with a partner: As a small firm, our attorneys stay personally involved in all aspects of the case and will be available to speak with clients and answer any questions.
- Communication: We stay in contact with you concerning all aspects of your case.
Don’t Hold Off. Start Recovery Today.
Being in a car accident can bring with it threats to your health, finances, and peace of mind. If you or a loved one experienced delayed injury symptoms, don’t hold off on seeking medical care and speaking with a knowledgeable personal injury attorney.
Schedule a free consultation and case evaluation with the dedicated attorneys at the Michigan law firm of Matz Injury Law. Call 866-22Not33 or use the convenient online contact form to get started. From there, you will meet directly with a partner and learn the next steps to building a solid case and filing your claim.
