Identifying Car Accident Pain and Injuries

Our Maine law firm demands maximum compensation for your pain

For many injured car accident victims, pain is complicated.

Accident-related pain can take days or weeks to develop. Small hurts can turn into lifelong disabilities. Internal damage can go unnoticed until it is too late. Pain to areas like the back, shoulders, neck, and knees can become permanent.

For these reasons and more, you should always see a doctor after a car accident. It’s the best option for your health, and it protects your legal rights by documenting your injuries. To get maximum compensation, you must prove your injuries and pain to an insurance adjuster who makes a living reducing and rejecting legitimate claims

Then, you need to consult an attorney who understands the true cost of accident recovery and will fight to get you the compensation you deserve. It is going to take more than a doctor’s note to get you justice. That’s where Jabar LaLiberty, LLC comes in.

Our Maine car accident attorneys believe that injured crash victims deserve to be compensated for all types of pain and suffering in addition to other losses. We conduct thorough investigations the insurance companies cannot ignore. We offer free case evaluations to people injured in Maine car accidents. A member of our team can explain how the law applies to you and the value of your claim.

In the meantime, here are some answers to questions we frequently get about car accident pain.

Is it normal to feel pain develop some time after an accident?

Yes. Delayed pain after a car accident is common and often misunderstood. Some injuries are not obvious in the immediate aftermath of a crash. At the scene, shock and adrenaline can keep a person from feeling the full extent of crash damage.

Neck injuries often take days to reach their most painful.

Internal injuries can go unnoticed until it’s too late.

The possibility of delayed pain after a car accident is just one of the many reasons to see a doctor immediately, even if you feel “okay.”

What may be causing my neck pain?

The neck is a fragile structure. Even with seat belts, safety-engineered seating, airbags, and other features, neck injuries are common in traffic accidents. Car accidents like rear-end crashes and head-on collisions can force rapid back and forth and side-to-side neck movements resulting in injury. Oftentimes this type of damage is called whiplash.

Whiplash is among the injuries most likely to result in delayed pain after a crash. It may take days or weeks to emerge as painful. When it does start hurting, the injury often feels like pain or stiffness in the neck and shoulders, limited range of motion in the neck, and headaches. Whiplash can get worse and lead to other complications if it goes untreated.

Why does my head still hurt after a crash?

If you hit your head or your head moved back and forth violently during the crash, you may have a concussion or another type of traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Most TBIs are closed (internal) injuries. They are typically caused by blunt force trauma, or when a great force jolts the head around so violently that the brain slams against one or more sides of the skull. A small number of TBIs are penetrating head injuries, where an object actually pierces the skull.

TBI pain symptoms may include dizziness, feeling slowed down, headaches, vomiting, loss of vision, fatigue, and/or “clumsy” movements.

The physical hurt caused by a TBI can be immense, but the cognitive and emotional pain of this type of injury also has the potential to devastate. Some brain injuries permanently affect people’s mobility, range of motion, reasoning skills, and emotional awareness.

How long will back pain last after an accident?

Back pain is an ambiguous symptom that can point to many different car accident-related injuries. It can clear up in weeks or become a lifetime issue.

Back pain can indicate tears, rips, strains, and bruises to soft tissue like muscles and ligaments. Healing soft tissue back pain can be a long process full of setbacks and victories. Physical therapy and a reduced workload may be necessary to heal.

Pain in the center of your back may indicate a spinal cord injury (SCI). This type of injury usually happens when a portion of the spine - vertebrae, ligaments, disks - suffers a sudden blow that either misaligns, compresses, or overextends.

Two of the most common SCIs are incomplete tetraplegia (weakness or paralysis in all four limbs) and paraplegia (losing the ability to move one’s legs and/or lower body). SCI symptoms may include decreased sensation in the arms or legs, loss of bladder or bowel control, severe pain or pressure in the neck or back, unusual lumps along the spine, difficulty breathing, weakness in arms or legs.

Other back injuries include herniated discs and spinal fractures. Since any injury to the back has the potential to affect the spinal cord, any back pain is a sign that you need to get checked out immediately by a doctor.

How often do broken bones result from a crash?

Bones are frequently battered in car accidents. The more intense the force of the crash, the higher the risk for broken bones. Car accidents involving a truck or other large vehicles often result in fractures.

Getting smashed into the steering wheel or hit by loose items flying around the vehicle are among the ways bones get broken. If the crash victim was not wearing their seatbelt, the potential to sustain broken bones due to ejection is higher.

Among the most commonly fractured are facial bones, clavicle, arm bones (esp. humerus), fingers, wrists, spinal vertebrae, leg bones (esp. femur), and cranium (skull).

Pain from broken bones is often excruciating. Signs of a broken bone include severe pain, swelling, and odd lumps. However, smaller fractures like cracks and splinters may not cause serious pain right away. These can worsen over time if not treated.

Can I be compensated for mental pain and suffering after a car accident?

Yes. More and more, insurance companies, judges, and juries recognize the importance of mental injuries. Car accidents are traumatic. The sudden violence and loss of control, plus the stress of recovery, can damage a victim's mental health. After a crash, people may feel heightened depression and anxiety or develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), among other issues.

Studies have shown that mental anguish can lead to physical pain. Sometimes, symptoms of accident-related mental trauma can be persistent back, neck, and/or shoulder pain, changes in sleeping and eating habits, increased agitation, and fear of driving or getting in a vehicle.

Any car accident has the potential to cause mental anguish, but the more violent the crash, the more likely the toll on mental health will be significant.

Do not wait to start your injury claim

Serious injuries that require extensive medical treatment are common after car accidents.

This is why it’s important to see a doctor right away, get a full assessment of your injuries, and never accept a settlement offer before understanding the full extent of your pain and the cost of recovery. Once you accept a settlement offer, it’s over. If you leave money on the table after an accident, you may have to pay for expensive accident-related medical care out of pocket.

Don’t ignore pain or wait for it to get worse before filing a claim. If you were injured or lost a loved one in a Maine car accident, contact Jabar LaLiberty, LLC to schedule a free case consultation. At no cost to you, a member of our team will explain how the law applies to you, the value of your claim, and your legal options.

Our law firm has gone toe-to-toe with insurance companies countless times and recovered more than $100 million for our clients. If you are the injured victim of a Maine accident, we want to hear from you.