The injuries suffered by a car accident victim in San Antonio may be immediately apparent. However, some injuries have delayed-onset symptoms that result in hours or even days passing before the victim notices. Car accident victims in Texas can still recover financial compensation for delayed car accident injuries with the help of a car accident lawyer in San Antonio, but these cases can come with unique challenges.
Common Types of Delayed Injuries After a San Antonio Car Accident
The forces exerted on a vehicle’s occupants in a car crash can result in a variety of injuries, such as broken bones and concussions. Some car accident injuries may develop or become noticed by the victim hours or days after the crash takes place. This may be due to adrenaline masking pain or an injury that does not present symptoms until it has progressed.
Common delayed injuries that car accident victims should be aware of include:
- Neck injuries. Injuries such as whiplash that affect the soft tissues of the neck and back may develop symptoms such as pain, stiffness, headaches or dizziness many hours after the collision.
- Traumatic brain injuries. A brain injury may not show symptoms until the swelling or bleeding in the skull is severe. Subtle symptoms of a brain injury may worsen over time without treatment.
- Back injuries. Some back and spinal cord injuries, such as a herniated disk, may not cause pain or other symptoms until something else exacerbates the injury, such as the victim trying to lift something heavy days after the crash.
- Internal injuries. Symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, bruising, nausea or fainting could point to internal bleeding or organ injuries suffered in a car accident. These injuries can go unnoticed for hours before they become life-threatening.
Car accident victims should be aware that not all injuries are immediately obvious or noticeable. It is important to pay close attention to how you feel following a crash and to seek immediate medical care in case you have a hidden injury. A doctor can use medical scans and x-ray technology to detect a car accident injury even before symptoms arise.
Can You Still Recover Financial Compensation for Delayed Car Accident Injuries?
It is still possible to recover financial compensation for a car accident injury that is not immediately detected or diagnosed in Texas. If the injury was caused by the crash, it is a coverable type of loss under Texas’s car insurance laws. However, this type of case can have challenges, such as the insurance company arguing that the injury was caused by something other than the crash.
A delay in medical treatment could lead to a worsening of your health. This can give an insurance company a reason to try to deny coverage based on a “failure to mitigate” your losses. To fight against this defense, you or your car accident lawyer will have to prove that you sustained your injuries in the automobile accident and that the policyholder is at fault for the crash.
An experienced car accident lawyer can help you with your delayed injury case by collecting evidence such as medical records and testimony from an expert to prove the connection between the auto accident and your injuries. Your San Antonio personal injury lawyer can also take over communications with an insurer on your behalf to fight for maximum financial compensation – making it easier for you to focus on healing and getting the medical treatments that you need.