Should I Go to the Emergency Room After a Car Accident?

Should I Go to the Emergency Room After a Car Accident?The moments immediately following a car accident can be both vital and terrifying, especially when there are injuries involved. All parties involved in accidents can find themselves overwhelmed with the sheer volume of responsibilities and expectations placed upon them right after a collision occurs. Between exchanging information, contacting insurance companies, assessing damage and speaking to law enforcement, it’s easy to see how seemingly minor injuries and complaints can get a bit lost in the shuffle.

When a motorist feels physically fine immediately following an accident, they may feel unjustified in visiting an emergency room for assessment. However, visiting the ER after an accident can make a world of difference with respect to both an injured party’s health and safety as well as their ability to file a future legal claim. Let’s take a closer look at why it is so important for car accident victims to visit the ER after a collision and discuss how making an ER visit can help support a personal injury claim.

Visiting the ER: Why it matters

In some accidents, the need for medical intervention is obvious and immediate. When serious injuries occur, it’s generally easier for all involved parties to recognize the need for medical care and to take action in a timely manner. Not all accident-related injuries are this obvious, however. After a crash, our nervous systems tend to be in fight or flight mode, thus increasing the amount of adrenaline and other stress hormones present within our bodies.

These biological responses can impede our ability to recognize potential signs of an injury and lead us to put off seeking medical treatment. Over time, however, symptoms may become more obvious or severe, thus necessitating medical intervention after-the-fact. At best, these delayed responses can be inconvenient. At worst, they can be life-threatening.

Injuries like concussions and internal bleeding may not be readily apparent in the minutes or hours following an accident. However, if these conditions go unchecked or untreated, they can have severe consequences and may even result in death. For this reason, it is highly recommended that individuals involved in car accidents seek immediate medical attention at a local emergency room if they experience any of the following symptoms:

  • Neck pain
  • Back pain
  • Headaches or migraines
  • Blurred or reduced vision
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Abdominal pain
  • Tingling or numbness in the extremities
  • Confusion or difficulty concentrating
  • Slurred speech

These symptoms may be indicative of serious injuries like soft tissue damage, traumatic brain injuries, or internal bleeding. Rather than waiting for these symptoms to appear or worsen in the days following an accident, victims of motor vehicle collisions are often encouraged to seek medical assessment immediately after an accident to help mitigate the risk of developing serious health problems that will ultimately require more intensive intervention.

What to expect in an ER visit

Medical professionals are highly skilled and trained in what possible conditions to look for in a post-accident ER assessment. Medical professionals will typically conduct a thorough and comprehensive exam to look for the most common symptoms and side effects related to motor vehicle crashes, like concussions, internal bleeding and whiplash, among others.

Depending on your symptoms and the nature of the accident, the ER staff may order imaging and other tests like X-rays, CT scans and MRIs to get a clearer picture of what might be going on. These tests can help to identify broken bones, organ damage, brain trauma, spinal injuries and other serious medical problems that would be likely to worsen over time.

Throughout your visit, hospital staff will take comprehensive notes of your symptoms, treatments, and test results in order to keep an accurate and detailed record of your visit. These records are not only crucial to ensuring you receive appropriate, adequate care, they can also play a critical role in a future personal injury claim.

Why are medical records so important?

As obvious as it may sound, in order to file a successful personal injury claim, you have to be able to demonstrate that you were injured. You must also be able to show that the injuries were a direct result of the accident and cannot be attributed to any other unrelated cause. To that end, medical records can make or break a personal injury case.

When you visit an ER immediately after an accident, your medical records will clearly indicate your symptoms and injuries, as well as your provider’s professional opinion with respect to their cause. Your ER records will also clearly show the time of your visit, making it readily apparent that the injuries assessed developed after the accident.

Having these records on hand can help strengthen your personal injury case and reduce the potential for the opposing party to call your injuries into question. Your medical records can also be factored in when an insurance adjuster or representative of the court is determining damages. The costs associated with your ER visit and any related visits can be factored into your total award amount, making it even more important to maintain accurate, readily-accessible records of all visits and related expenses.

What happens when symptoms are delayed?

If you opt to skip the ER visit immediately after an accident, you may find yourself facing legal hurdles if symptoms develop down the line. While it is not uncommon for symptoms to show up a few hours – or even days – after an accident, these delays may impact your ability to file a personal injury claim down the line.

In Maryland, the statute of limitations for personal injury cases is three years from the date of injury. If you fail to seek medical evaluation after an accident but begin to experience symptoms a few weeks or months later, you may have inadvertently limited the amount of time you have to build your case. If you become aware of an accident-related injury by visiting the ER right after the accident, you’ll give yourself three full years to undertake a personal injury claim.

Additionally, if you allow a significant amount of time to pass between your accident and your medical evaluation, insurance adjusters or legal representatives for the at-fault party may claim that:

  • Your injury wasn’t serious enough to merit a hospital visit and is subsequently not serious enough to require substantial compensation.
  • Your injury could have been caused by something else that took place between the time of the accident and the onset of your symptoms.
  • You failed to sufficiently mitigate the harm you experienced by delaying medical care, thus absolving the at-fault party of financial responsibility for any medical complications you experienced.

In order to ensure you receive the greatest possible amount of compensation for your injuries and suffering, you must cover all of your bases from day one. Time is of the essence in these claims, and delaying medical care may only serve to complicate and confound your case, thus impeding your ability to collect the damages you deserve.

With all of this being said, however, it is better to delay care than never seek any care at all. If you develop symptoms after a seemingly minor car accident, you may still be entitled to compensation. Once symptoms set in, you should:

  • See a doctor or other medical professional as soon as possible.
  • Request clear and comprehensive records be kept of your visit.
  • Reach out to an experienced personal injury attorney to help you start building your case.

What kinds of compensation are available to car accident victims?

Being proactive about seeking medical intervention and consulting with an experienced personal injury lawyer can help you maximize your ability to seek compensation for your injuries. If you are navigating health challenges as the direct result of a car accident, you may be entitled to seek financial compensation for:

  • Economic damages like hospital bills, co-pays, specialist visits, physical therapy costs, lost wages, or decreased capacity to work.
  • Non-economic damages to compensate for the emotional, social, and personal toll of your injuries. Non-economic damages are designed to account for your pain, suffering and mental anguish.

As a reminder, Maryland is a contributory negligence state, which means injured parties can only seek damages if they did not contribute in any way to their own injuries. If it is determined that an injured party was even partially responsible for the accident that caused their injuries, they would generally be barred from collecting damages from the others responsible for the crash.

If an insurance company believes that liability for a crash was shared by both parties, injured individuals may wish to consult with a personal injury attorney to explore whether other options for seeking compensation may be available to them. The professionals at Plaxen Adler Muncy can educate you about your legal options and conduct an investigation to help establish liability in your case. Armed with your medical records, our team can help you seek justice and pursue the compensation you deserve.

Final thoughts

As a general rule, our team highly recommends that accident victims do their due diligence by visiting the ER immediately following an accident. This step is vital not just for protecting your health and preventing medical complications but for helping you build an effective personal injury case.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident, don’t wait. First, seek medical attention and then contact the Maryland-based team at Plaxen Adler Muncy. We would be happy to advise you of your legal options and provide you with the hands-on support you need to get the justice you deserve. Give us a call today for a free consultation, and let’s work together to get you on the road to recovery.