If you’re involved in a motor vehicle accident, go directly to the closest hospital emergency room. You should be checked for obvious physical injuries, such as broken bones, torn ligaments, and head injuries, as well as soft tissue injuries. Even if the property damage involved in your accident was minor, the damage to your tissues and muscles are quite real. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports that soft tissue injuries may be difficult to resolve from x-rays. For that reason, soft tissue injuries are frequently overlooked.

Unfortunately, the following injuries after an accident can cause debilitating (and sometimes delayed) pain for months or even years after the car accident:

Whiplash

If you were involved in a rear-end accident, whiplash is quite common. Doctors tend to overlook whiplash because you might not have symptoms immediately after a car accident. The shock of the collision to your body may take at least one full day to develop. Return to the doctor if your vision is blurry, your neck is stiff, or your arms and legs grow suddenly numb.

Tmj Injury

Even if your doctor considers whiplash, he or she might overlook a TMJ injury. This injury occurs after you suffer trauma from a motor vehicle accident. Injury to the cervical spine may also result in a temporomandibular joint (TMJ) injury.

Closed Head Injury

A closed head injury, such as a diffuse axonal injury, may result from rotational force in a car accident. The injury occurs because of physical force.

Bursitis

If you have been involved in a car accident, you may develop bursitis, especially if your job demands physical activity soon afterward. If tendons are damaged from the accident, bursitis affects the tendons’ ability to slide over your bones. Bursitis may be painful and if it isn’t treated, you may suffer additional problems later.

Many overlooked injuries may result from an auto accident. If a negligent driver has seriously injured you or a loved one, it’s important to reach out to an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as possible. Contact Salter & Ferguson, LLC in Birmingham, AL to arrange an initial case evaluation.