Many victims are reluctant to file a personal injury lawsuit.
My client was involved in a multi-vehicle collision involving a tractor-trailer this past August. Athough she was injured, she was one of many victims who are reluctant to take the time to treat for their injuries and reluctant to file a personal injury lawsuit.
She was driving a small Ford Focus in the center lane of a highway when a tractor-trailer veered into her lane. The accident is still being investigated, however it is suspected that the driver was trying to change lanes and didn’t see the car. After the collision, the 18-wheeler swerved to the other direction, off the interstate, onto the shoulder, and down an embankment, resting only after crashing into multiple trees. The truck driver died as a result of this catastrophic accident.
Athough my client’s car was totaled and she was badly bruised with an injured jaw, my client insisted that she was “okay.” She did not feel she felt she sustained any significant personal injury and did not intend to treat or to file a personal injury lawsuit. To say that she is not a litigious person is an understatement. An athlete her entire life, she is a tough young lady. And like so many victims of accidents reluctant to file a personal injury lawsuit, she too thought that her pain and symptoms would go away. I sat back and waited. Six months later, the phone rang. She was calling to inform me that she really was hurt, and the pain that she thought would go away, had gotten worse.
Philly.com recently released an article featuring a study that shows “lawyering up” after a car accident to be a myth. Many victims are reluctant to file a personal injury lawsuit. According to Philly.com a new study finds that long-term personal injury and pain is common among people who have been in crashes, but most of them do not seek legal action. Led by University of North Carolina School of Medicine researchers, this is the first large study to evaluate musculoskeletal discomfort and personal injury effects after car crashes in the United States. Nearly 4 million individuals in the U.S. come to hospital emergency rooms for personal injury evaluation after motor vehicle collisions each year. More than 90 percent of these individuals are discharged home after an evaluation. Results of the study, which “enrolled individuals from eight emergency departments in four states, indicate that persistent pain is common in this population. Six weeks after their accident, more than 70 percent of individuals reported persistent musculoskeletal pain in one or more body regions. More than one third of study participants reported pain in four or more body regions. Among 948 individuals enrolled in the study, only 17 percent had contacted a lawyer for a personal injury lawsuit, six weeks after their accident. Among the majority of individuals who were not planning to litigate, persistent pain was still common: 28 percent had persistent moderate or severe neck pain, 13 percent had widespread musculoskeletal pain in seven or more body regions, and 4 percent had a fibromyalgia-like syndrome.” The study was published online on Friday, Jan. 17, 2014, by the journal, Pain.
Even if you don’t experience immediate chronic pain, it is wise to visit a medical doctor or chiropractor after a car accident to make sure that your spine has not become misaligned and that your body has not sustained any other injuries that are perhaps, at this point in time, unknown to you. Just because you are not experiencing a tremendous amount of pain at the time does not mean that you are not hurt. Some people experience pain the next day, while it can take weeks or months for some victims to realize that their pain is not resolving itself without treatment. It is important that you are honest about your injuries and take the time to treat your injuries, in case you do need to file a personal injury lawsuit.
Chiropractors and doctors are experienced in providing chiropractic care to relieve back pain, neck pain, headaches and migraines which can often result from a car accident injury. Sometimes you might not think you are injured immediately following the accident, only to wake up weeks or months later experiencing some type of back pain or neck pain.
This multi-vehicle accident was particularly upsetting to my client because the truck driver died and many vehicles were involved. She was thankful that she escaped alive. Not many people walk away from a car when it collides with a tractor-trailer. But although she was lucky in many ways, she was injured, and in the end, her injuries required the filing of a personal injury lawsuit on her behalf.
A common type of personal injury is whiplash. Whiplash is often treated by chiropractors as a result of car accidents. Whiplash injuries may result in chronic pain requiring victims to file a personal injury lawsuit. The whiplash injury occurs when the head is thrown back and forth, or side to side, during an accident. According to WebMD, symptoms of whiplash include muscle damage or soft tissue injuries to the neck, but may also lead to a herniated disk or misalignment in the spine, decreased range of motion and tightness of neck. Typical personal injury symptoms include neck pain, headaches and migraines, shoulder pain, noise sensitivity, blurred vision and ringing in the ears. Whiplash may be complicated by any existing conditions such as degenerative disk disease or osteoporosis. The impact of a car accident injury can also cause intense and chronic back pain. Victims of this type of injury may also be initially reluctant to file a personal injury lawsuit, believing the pain will eventually resolve itself. The reality is that the contortions your body goes through during a car accident often result in sprains, strains, or a herniated disc, which exert pressure on nerves and affect other areas of your body. These injuries most often do not resolve on their own without treatment.
Dr. Samuel McClean, associate professor of anesthesiology and emergency medicine at the University Of North Caroline School Of Medicine states, “It is hard enough to be suffering from a persistent pain condition after trauma that is moderate, or severe. Unfortunately patients also often have to deal with the additional burden of not being believed” in a personal injury lawsuit. Whether it is your primary doctor, or your chiropractor- seek treatment immediately after a collision. You will not regret it.