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The symptoms and consequences of a delayed injury

On Behalf of | Sep 10, 2021 | Personal Injury

The headache gradually got worse. You do not quite comprehend this. After all, it was just a minor crash between your vehicle and another at an intersection. At least, that is what you thought. However, now you realize that that likely was not the case.

You are experiencing delayed injury symptoms, and some may prove fatal. Immediately seek medical attention before you do anything else. Delayed injury symptoms may lead to serious medical complications such as bleeding on the brain or internal bleeding. Just because you walked away from a collision unscathed does not mean you are OK.

May include headaches and numbness

A delayed injury symptom may not surface until hours, days, weeks or even months after an incident such as a motor crash or slip and fall. The pain and other developments often gradually worsen. Among the common signs of delayed injury include:

  • Back pain: Your lower back felt the brunt of a collision in which another driver rear-ended your car. The stiffness was not immediate, but by the next morning, you sensed something amiss. You may have a damaged vertebrate or sustained injuries to ligaments and muscles.
  • Dizziness, fatigue and headaches: These are the likely symptoms of a concussion or serious traumatic brain injury. Whether you struck your head on pavement after being struck by a car or took a spill on your bicycle, you may have bleeding on the brain. Prescription drugs, rest and surgery are potential treatments.
  • A dramatic personality change: Irritability, depression mood swings represent another sign of a serious head injury. Medical care and therapy may help treat this situation.
  • Swelling and pain in the abdomen: A significant bruise on your torso represents a potential sign of internal bleeding. The heart, liver, lungs and spleen may be the source of this bleeding. Any of these injuries, if not treated, may lead to death. Some people even die in their sleep.
  • Tenderness in the shoulders and neck: Such pain often is a sign of whiplash, usually after a rear-end collision. If not treated, whiplash may lead to chronic neck pain and long-term complications.
  • Numbness: A whiplash injury may lead to a victim losing feeling in his or her arms and legs, too. That numbness also may represent more serious complications such as nerve damage.

Please do not take risks with your health. Delayed injury symptoms must be taken seriously. Your life and livelihood may be at stake.