Why You Should ABSOLUTELY Go See A Doctor

It was a moderate impact.  All my airbags deployed, the SUV that hit me was overturned, and my favorite car was totaled.  HOWEVER, right after the wreck, I got out of my vehicle and walked around and helped pull the other people out of their (overturned) vehicle.

Anybody looking at the scene with me walking around would have assumed I was fine, but here's the thing about car wrecks - Most people who suffer "soft tissue" injuries have no idea how injured they are until well after the wreck.  There are several reasons, but the major reasons are (1) adrenaline can mask a lot of pain; and (2) injuries to muscles and tendons just take longer than a broken arm to start hurting.

Because I was familiar with these types of injuries, I did go to the hospital.  The hospital took various scans, but such scans done in an ER (X-Rays and CT Scans) mostly will only show things like broken bones.  In my case,  these scans showed that I had some arthritis in my neck and lower back (not shocking considering my age).  But the scans did not show that I had strained ligaments and tendons, which I had.

The next morning, my neck hurt...a lot.  So did my lower back.  I immediately started physical therapy, and within about 6 weeks, my injuries had healed.  I handled my personal injury claim myself, and I didn't ask for a gigantic settlement, because my injuries had largely healed.  In short, both I and the person that hit me (and his insurance company) were better off because I sought and obtained immediate treatment.

I can almost guaranty you that if I hadn't had the experience I have with car wrecks, I would not have gone to the hospital.  I would have toughed it out.  And I would likely still be in pain these many months later.  It might have even turned into permanent injuries.

Here's What A Delay In Treatment Means:

If you've read this far, you can see that delaying treatment can be bad for your health.  But it can also be bad for your case, because if you delay treatment for even a week, the insurance company for the bad driver will claim that there was a "gap" in treatment, meaning that either (a) you weren't really hurt; or (b) if you WERE hurt, you made it worse by not seeking treatment, so that's your fault, not the fault of the person who hit you.

I know many clients that have come to me a month after a wreck are in bad shape.  They are in bad shape physically, and their cases are in bad shape also, because they "didn't want to make a big deal" out of it.  Some of these people had nerve damage by the time they came to see me, and some of that damage is permanent. 

Don't tough it out after a wreck.  Be smart and healthy.