Attorney Michael L. SaileAfter an accident, the extent of your injuries might not be apparent immediately. An accident’s aftermath can put your body in a fight-or-flight mode, and some injuries may not have symptoms at first because they are masked by adrenaline. It’s important to get prompt medical attention after an accident—even if you don’t feel injured—so hidden issues aren’t missed. Failing to do so could exacerbate the injuries.
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- What Are Delayed Injuries and Why Do They Happen?
- Should I Seek Medical Attention Even If I Don’t Feel Any Pain?
- Common Delayed Injury Symptoms to Watch For After an Accident
- What Happens If I Don’t Report an Accident Right Away?
- How Does Delayed Pain Affect My Personal Injury Claim?
- What Are My Rights if I Experience Delayed Injury Symptoms?
- How Can Cordisco & Saile Help If My Injuries Don’t Appear Right Away?
- What Should I Do if My Accident Was Minor, but Symptoms Develop Later?
- How Long Do I Have to File a Claim After a Car Accident in Pennsylvania?
- Can I Still Get Compensation if My Injury Symptoms Appear Months After the Accident?
- How Can Insurance Companies Use Delayed Symptoms Against Me?
- What Should I Do If I’ve Already Accepted a Low Settlement for a Delayed Injury?
- How Can I Document My Injury if Symptoms Appear Long After the Accident?
- Don’t Wait—Contact Cordisco & Saile Today
What Are Delayed Injuries and Why Do They Happen?
After an accident, some injuries take time to show their severity, like bruising, concussions, and internal damage. Even though the symptoms may take time to develop, these injuries are no less severe than immediately apparent ones and can even lead to chronic pain and disability.
It’s not unusual for some symptoms to appear after an accident, but getting help as soon as possible can help your recovery and case. Document new or worsening symptoms as they appear and tell your doctor—they can update your chart and adjust care.
Should I Seek Medical Attention Even If I Don’t Feel Any Pain?
Even if you don’t feel pain immediately after an accident, you should always see a doctor and get medical attention. A medical evaluation can catch any hidden conditions and prevent the injury from worsening. In addition, prompt medical attention helps document your injuries and damages, creating a valuable paper trail that establishes a link to the accident, demonstrates the severity of the injuries, and shows their progression.
Waiting too long to seek medical help can raise doubts about whether your injury was truly caused by the accident or something else. However, if you failed to get timely medical attention and are now experiencing symptoms, don’t despair. We have obtained successful case results for clients who didn’t immediately go to the hospital. Speak with our skilled and knowledgeable personal injury attorneys today.
"Waiting too long to seek medical attention can raise doubts about the severity of your injuries and their connections to the accident… Almost worse than delaying medical treatment is going to the doctor and then disregarding the advice or failing to follow through with the prescribed treatment."
Common Delayed Injury Symptoms to Watch For After an Accident
If you’ve been in an accident, some common injuries have symptoms that can initially be concealed. These injuries include the following:
- Spinal Cord Injuries: Tingling or numbness in the hands, feet, fingers, or toes, limited mobility, and weakness are signs of a spinal cord or back injury.
- Traumatic Brain Injuries: You could have a brain injury, like a concussion, if you experience headaches, nausea, dizziness, confusion, and sensitivity to sound and light.
- Soft Tissue Injuries: Pain, swelling, bruising, or stiffness in muscles and tendons could be signs of a soft tissue injury.
- Whiplash: During an impact, the rapid back-and-forth movement can result in whiplash injuries that cause neck and upper back pain, stiffness, and mobility loss.
- Internal Bleeding: Stomach pain, dizziness, nausea, or vomiting after an accident could result from internal bleeding.
- Post-Concussion Syndrome: This condition is a common complication of concussions caused by traumatic accidents and can take months to recover from.
These injuries could lead to even more complications, and these signs could indicate an emergency. If you have any of the following symptoms, seek immediate medical attention:
- Extreme pain or pressure
- Trouble breathing or swallowing
- Worsening headaches or abdominal pain
Recovering from these accidents can be challenging and cause more than just physical pain. The situation can worsen if you don’t seek help promptly after an incident.
What Happens If I Don’t Report an Accident Right Away?
Pennsylvania drivers must report vehicle accidents if the crash involved bodily injury, death, the accident made the vehicle undrivable, or if vehicles require towing because of traffic or roadway hazards. However, reporting an accident regardless of the severity is always the best practice. Notifying the police allows them to investigate the accident and generate a police report that could provide valuable evidence to support your claim.
Car insurance policies also require that you report any accidents to the company. Do so as soon as possible after the accident to preserve your rights to coverage and allow your insurer to start processing your claim. If you fail to report an accident in time, your insurer could deny your claims for breach of the insurance contract. If police were not called to the scene, make a report as soon as possible so there is an official record.
However, if you have been in an accident and failed to report it immediately to the authorities, we can still assist you. Speak with our experienced personal injury attorneys today to learn more about your legal options.
Get legal help from a team that will never stop fighting for you.
How Does Delayed Pain Affect My Personal Injury Claim?
If your symptoms and pain from an accident are delayed, your personal injury case could take longer. To establish the complete scope of your injuries and their impacts, you often must wait until your condition has stabilized. Thus, there could be a longer wait for results in your case.
Meanwhile, insurance companies often drag their feet to induce accident victims to settle for less than they deserve. An experienced accident lawyer can counter such strategies to fight for the full and fair compensation that covers all your losses.
Waiting for a personal injury case to resolve can be frustrating, but our attorneys will always prioritize informing you of your case’s status. We aim to make our clients feel supported, so we always give our best and treat them like family. We will determine the full extent of your injuries and their impacts on your life to seek compensation for all your losses, regardless of when the symptoms appeared.
What Are My Rights If I Experience Delayed Injury Symptoms?
Pennsylvania has a two-year statute of limitations for personal injury cases. Therefore, a lawsuit must generally be filed within two years of the accident date. However, the “discovery rule” provides an exception to the strict two-year deadline.
Under that rule, the two-year clock generally runs from when you knew or reasonably should have known about the injury and that it was caused by the incident. Thus, you might be able to file suit more than two years after the accident if the injury was not immediately ascertainable.
How Can Cordisco & Saile Help If My Injuries Don’t Appear Right Away?
Whether or not your injuries have appeared immediately after the accident, your legal team will determine the full scope of your injuries and their impacts to pursue the full compensation you deserve.
Our attorneys are nationally recognized for fighting for Pennsylvanians who have suffered injuries caused by others’ negligence. We understand what it takes to fight for your rights, even if your injuries weren’t immediately apparent.
You only get one shot to bring your claim—our team works to get it right the first time.
What Should I Do If My Accident Was Minor, But Symptoms Develop Later?
No matter how minor an accident seems, the impact could still cause you injury. Sometimes these injuries are not immediately noticeable and take time to develop, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do anything about them.
No matter what, you should connect with a lawyer to discuss the accident, what options are available, and what steps you could take if you develop symptoms later.
Some symptoms you should be aware of after an accident are:
- Persistent headaches
- Nausea
- Back and neck pain
- Dizziness
- Numbness or tingling in your hands and feet
If new symptoms appear, return to your physician promptly and reference the original accident in your visit notes.
How Long Do I Have to File a Claim After a Car Accident in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania’s statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit is two years. Insurance companies are also more likely to make fair offers if a lawsuit is possible. There are exceptions if you haven’t discovered an injury from your car accident immediately and are worried you’ve missed the time limit. The state has a discovery rule, beginning your statute of limitations when you discover your injuries.
Can I Still Get Compensation If My Injury Symptoms Appear Months After the Accident?
You can still receive compensation after an accident if your symptoms appear months later. Due to the discovery rule in Pennsylvania’s statute of limitations, your timeframe to file a claim would begin after discovering the injury. In your case, you can also utilize expert testimony, like your medical team, to explain that your injuries took time to develop and the severity of the injury.
With the right representation, even cases with delayed symptoms can be successful. The legal team at Cordisco & Saile has the experience, knowledge, and perseverance to support you and remove as much stress from the process as possible.
How Can Insurance Companies Use Delayed Symptoms Against Me?
Without medical records linking your injury to an accident, insurance adjusters could deny or minimize your claim. Because time has passed since the accident, they may argue that your injuries were caused by a completely different incident than your accident. Without legal representation, it can be intimidating to fight against this.
This is where a pain journal can be so valuable to show your symptoms over time, or testimony of a doctor who has treated you since the accident. Our team at Cordisco & Saile will do everything possible to oppose this and strongly advocate for your compensation.
What Should I Do If I’ve Already Accepted a Low Settlement for a Delayed Injury?
There is likely no recourse if you have already accepted a settlement. A settlement cannot be appealed or reopened. After a settlement, the client will sign a release, ending any further legal proceedings.
Very limited exceptions can apply, such as if a release was procured by fraud or there was a clear mutual mistake. If you’re unsure whether or not your case might have certain exceptions, our Pennsylvania accident lawyers can help review the details.
What If My Injuries Return After a Settlement?
After settling, there is likely not much you can do even if a new injury appears, because you have already accepted a settlement. Still, very limited exceptions may apply, so it’s important to have a lawyer review your paperwork promptly.
How Can I Document My Injury If Symptoms Appear Long After the Accident?
The best way to document your injury, even if symptoms appear later, is if you’ve gone to the doctor immediately after the accident, followed up with your doctor the month or so after the accident, and received any other medical treatment.
It can also be helpful to start a journal to record your pain levels daily after the accident or when symptoms start, so you can show how the injury developed over time. Your medical team could also be entered as witness testimony to attest to your pain and symptoms.
After an accident, you should do the following:
- Report the accident to the police and your insurance.
- Get medical attention, request records of your visit, and any other medical visits after the accident.
- Contact Cordisco & Saile. Our lawyers will investigate, determine the full scope of your losses, gather evidence to support your claims, negotiate for a settlement, and fight for you like a family.
Don’t Wait—Contact Cordisco & Saile Today
No matter when symptoms appear after an accident, you deserve to seek the compensation necessary to fully recover and get back to your life. Our accident attorneys have secured over $100 million for our clients over 30 years, and we will use that knowledge for your case. Insurance companies know our clients mean business when they turn to Cordisco & Saile.
Even if your symptoms were delayed after an accident, call (215) 642-2335 or contact us for a free consultation.
Serving as a personal injury attorney in Pennsylvania, Michael Saile has been honored as both a Brain Injury Top 25 Lawyer by National Trial Lawyers and a 2024 Super Lawyer. He earned his J. D. at Widener University School of Law where he was a member of the Moe Levine Trial Advocacy Honor Society. Saile is also the author of two publications titled “Not Another Bad Lawyer” and “Don’t Crash Again”.
