What Happens to Your Body After a Car Accident?

A car accident can inflict immense harm on the human body. The forces exerted by a motor vehicle collision can be too great for an individual to withstand. This can result in serious injuries – not of all which may be immediately obvious. You may feel pain, tenderness or stiffness from injuries in the days following a crash. If you suffer physical injuries in a car accident in Tampa, contact Vanguard Attorneys for a free personal injury case review.

There Are Three Collisions in Every Car Accident

You may think that a car accident only involves a single collision, but this is not the case. Every crash has three different collisions: the vehicle collision, human collision and internal collision. Each of these can cause various injuries to the occupants of a vehicle:

• Vehicle collision: when a motor vehicle’s forward motion is stopped by contact with another car or a fixed object. This generates crash force, or kinetic energy that has no place to dissipate in a crash so is transferred to the bodies of the occupants.
• Human collision: a vehicle occupant’s collision with something inside the car, such as another person (if unbuckled) or the vehicle’s dashboard or steering column. The human collision can result in many physical injuries, such as broken bones, soft-tissue damage, ligament tears, lacerations and head trauma.
• Internal collision: a collision between internal organs or an organ and the skeleton. This can cause organ damage and internal injuries, including damage to the kidneys, spleen, liver and heart or internal bleeding.

Even when driving at a low speed, a car accident can generate forces that result in serious injuries. The types of injuries suffered often vary based on the type of crash; for example, a rear-end collision is more likely to cause a whiplash injury while a rollover accident puts occupants at risk of being crushed.

Common Types of Delayed Symptoms

In the immediate aftermath of a car accident, a victim’s adrenaline may mask or hide the symptoms of an injury. This can lead to delayed injury discovery that occurs hours or even days later. In other cases, the type of injury may not be severe enough immediately to be noticeable right away. A brain injury, for example, may continue to cause swelling or bleeding in the brain over time – resulting in delayed symptoms. Common delayed symptoms after a car accident include:

• Swelling and bruising
• Neck pain
• Back pain
• Numbness or tingling
• Headache
• Fatigue
• Nausea
• Blurred vision
• Dizziness
• Changes in mood
• Depression
• Trouble concentrating
• Abdominal pain

These symptoms could point to car accident injuries such as whiplash, concussions, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, disc herniation, bone fractures and internal organ damage. The possibility of delayed injuries is why you should seek medical care right away after a car accident. A doctor can evaluate you and order tests to detect injuries even before symptoms arise. This can lead to prompt injury treatment that optimizes your chance of recovery.

Injured in a Car Accident? We Can Help

If you are diagnosed with any type of injury after being involved in a motor vehicle collision in Tampa, contact the Tampa car accident attorneys at Vanguard Attorneys to request a free case consultation. You may be eligible to collect financial compensation from the at-fault driver or another party. Compensation could include medical bill reimbursement, payment for lost wages, and an award for pain and suffering. Our attorneys can review your case to help you understand your rights. Call (813) 680-2007 today for a free case evaluation.