Another driver crosses the center line and hits your car. You’re able to get out of the vehicle and walk to the side of the road, where you sit and wait for the authorities to arrive.
As you wait, a person who witnessed the crash — and then called 911 — comes over and asks how you feel. You tell them that you’re a bit shaken up, but you’re thankfully uninjured.
The next day, though, it’s clear that you are badly injured. You have to call 911 again and get a ride to the hospital. How could you have overlooked a serious injury?
You had an adrenaline rush
One reason could be the rush of adrenaline that you felt due to the car accident. Many people who get seriously injured in traumatic events say that there isn’t much pain. This can lead them to think that the injury isn’t bad, but it’s just that the adrenaline of the moment makes it harder to feel that pain. When it wears off, then you realize how bad your injuries are.
You had a brain injury
A brain injury can impact you in thousands of different ways. If you were feeling out of it after the crash, you may not have been able to comprehend how bad the injury was — specifically because it was a brain injury. If it alters your comprehension levels or your ability to think rationally, you could make choices that a logical person would never make — that you never would have made before the accident.
The injury really did get worse
Some injuries do get worse the longer you go without treatment. For instance, if you had a head injury that resulted in bleeding around your brain, that bleeding can cause pressure on your brain tissue. This can eventually lead to cell death. Without treatment to relieve the pressure, your injury could get worse overnight so that you feel it more acutely in the morning.
What now?
When you finally do get the treatment you need, it could be incredibly expensive. Be sure you know what legal steps you should take to get compensation for all of the costs related to that accident.
