Welcome to a series on Car Collisions and Personal Injury. I am glad you are here, and I can’t wait to share some really important information with you!
Right out of the gate let’s clarify something…..There is no such thing as a car “accident”, there may be minor collisions but it is never an accident. If we are to label a collision as an accident, the law then could never find a responsible party. Most crashes are caused by intoxicated, speeding, distracted, or careless drivers and, therefore, are not accidents.
I hear from patients quite often that they never pursued care after being in a collision, for many reasons including; “it was only a fender bender”, “it was just a young kid that hit me, I didn’t want them to get in trouble”, “I felt fine at the time”, “of course I thought I would be sore but thought it would go away”. These patients end up in my office because they are suffering from results of the collision, most of the time it is not a month or two later, sometimes they have been suffering for 10 or 15 years!
Wouldn’t it stand to reason; if your car sustains damage, you as a passenger also sustained damage. The injuries from a low speed collision are not often visible, there are no cuts or bruises or broken bones. A collision is over within 50 milliseconds, even if your muscles wanted to hold you safe from the immediate forces created, the force is too great and too rapid. The structures damaged most severely cannot be seen by the naked eye, they are the muscles, tendons and ligaments that support your spine. You know, that thing that keeps you upright and protects the most vital part of you…your spinal cord, the part that sends all nerve signals up and down from the brain.
It is essential to see a medical provider that specializes in car collisions within 48-72 hours for several reasons. First, scar tissue is already beginning to form in that time, influencing the way the scar tissue forms is vital to healing properly. Second, and probably most importantly, your brain can be injured in a collision. You DO NOT need to lose consciousness to have a brain injury (sometimes called a concussion), this is so important I am going to repeat **YOU DO NOT NEED TO LOSE CONSCIOUSNESS TO HAVE A BRAIN INJURY** If I had a nickel for every time a patient did not realize they had received a concussion during a collision. There are critical steps that need to be followed if a concussion is suspected. (More on that next week)
Injuries from a collision manifest over hours, days and even weeks. It is important to see a healthcare provider who specializes in taking care of patients after collisions, who will assess not only injuries like broken bones but will also look for the hidden ones, to be sure you are out of pain and you are able to get back to the life you love!
READ ABOUT THE ATTORNEYS WHO HELPED DR. LYNNA