The type and severity of your injuries and how well you recuperate will determine how long you should be sore after a car accident. Every car accident injury is unique, and different people heal differently.
The Mayo Clinic says that a concussion might not show symptoms, like a headache, immediately. When the pain does start, it could continue for days, weeks, or longer. Other types of injuries can involve very little pain that does not last long at all, or the injured person could experience pain for many years. If arthritis develops near an injury, the individual might ache whenever the weather changes.
Three Possible Stages of Pain After a Car Accident
You could have pain or soreness at three different stages after a car accident. These periods are:
- Acute pain is the discomfort that you feel immediately or soon after the injury.
- Sub-acute pain occurs during the first few weeks or sometimes months after the injury while your body heals.
- Chronic pain goes on long after the healing finishes. Some cases of chronic pain can subside after a few years, while other chronic discomforts can last a lifetime. Certain things can trigger a flare-up of chronic pain, like barometric fluctuations or ordinary use of the injured body part.
Some people might experience only one or two phases of pain, while others could go through all three stages.
How Soon You Get Medical Treatment Can Affect How Quickly You Get Better
Getting medical attention right away after a car accident can lessen your discomfort and give you the best chance of healing well. For example, if you broke a bone in the collision, you could endure horrible pain until a doctor restores the affected area to its correct alignment.
Also, getting prompt medical treatment is essential for your car accident injury claim. We will need to show that the crash caused your injuries. Going straight to the doctor or emergency room after the accident makes it easier to connect the injuries to the collision.
If we do not have medical records or you waited a considerable length of time before getting medical treatment, the defendant will likely deny that your injuries happened in the accident. They may also claim you worsened your injuries by failing to seek medical care.
Common Car Accident Injuries
Bruises, scrapes, and cuts are some of the more frequent minor injuries that a person could experience in a collision. People can also have strains or sprains of muscles, joints, tendons, and ligaments from the force of the impact propelling the body suddenly.
Car accidents are the cause of many fractures, traumatic brain injuries (TBI), and spinal cord damage. Blunt force trauma could result in internal bleeding, which is often fatal. If the crash involves fire or an explosion, a driver, passenger, or bystander could sustain burn injuries.
Complications Can Increase How Long It Takes to Heal
People who develop complications during the healing process often endure longer periods of pain than people whose healing progresses without a problem. With an open wound, there is a risk of infection. Also, a person could experience side effects from or adverse reactions to the medical treatments.
The type and severity of injuries you suffer can also affect how long you will feel sore.
Let’s say that you break your arm in a collision.
If you only need a cast because you have a simple fracture, the odds are that you will not feel discomfort for as long as someone who suffered multiple fractures of several bones and needed surgery to place metal rods and screws in the arm.
Deadlines for Filing a Lawsuit
Regardless of how severe your injuries are and how much pain you have endured, you can lose your right to seek compensation if you do not file a personal injury lawsuit in time. Every state has a statute of limitations that creates deadlines for filing different types of lawsuits.
OCGA §9-3-33 gives injured people only two years after the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit against the liable party. Some claims adjusters might try to drag out the insurance claim process in hopes that the injured person will not know about the statute of limitations. As soon as the two years pass, you lose the right to go after compensation for your losses.
The sooner you reach out to us, the sooner we can begin your case and abide by these deadlines.
Kaine Law is Here to Help
You can call Kaine Law today for a free case evaluation. There is no obligation. We do not charge up-front legal fees on personal injury claims.
Our fees and litigation costs will come out of the settlement proceeds or award at the end of the matter. Reach out today to find out how we can help you.
Call or text 404-214-2001 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
