Checking yourself and the passengers in your vehicle for injury is a smart step to take after a car crash. However, you should understand that not every injury will create immediate symptoms, which means you can’t know conclusively that someone is uninjured.
Wrecks can also cause delayed-onset symptoms that can be devastating for the people involved in a crash. One kind of injury has a strong correlation with delayed symptom onset, and it is serious enough to make seeing a doctor after a crash a good decision.
Car crashes can cause internal bleeding
When people bleed, it is often messy and obvious. However, sometimes bleeding is internal. Internal bleeding is particularly dangerous because it can go on for days before someone notices the signs that something is wrong. Internal bleeding in the abdomen and within the skull can cause potentially fatal symptoms if left untreated.
The faster the speed of the vehicles at the time of a crash and the more violent the motion of the vehicles involved, the more important it is for the people involved in the wreck to see a doctor afterward. A physician can evaluate someone for warning signs of a brain injury or internal bleeding in the torso, both of which could get worse and become life-threatening.
The more quickly you have a doctor diagnose you, the easier it will be to make an insurance claim, as there will be medical records showing that your symptoms arose immediately after the crash. Having a plan in place to protect yourself after a motor vehicle collision will reduce your risk of overlooking major medical issues that could get worse without the right care.