Chicago is known for many things, from our world class pizza to our world class traffic. Even if you drive carefully, you still cannot account for the actions of other drivers on the road. Unfortunately, accidents happen all the time, even to careful drivers, but the symptoms of a serious injury may not present themselves until well after the accident takes place.

If you recently began to feel pain that you believe may stem from an earlier car accident, it is very important that you get proper medical attention. Without proper medical attention, you cannot know if your pain is truly related to an injury suffered in your accident, or pursue fair compensation from the responsible party.

Once you receive proper medical treatment, you have many more options, both for physical recovery and legal recovery.

The truth of the matter is that many kinds of injuries are not immediately apparent after a car accident. However, just because an injury is not immediately obvious does not mean that it is not serious. In fact, in some cases, an injury that you wait to treat can become far more serious or even fatal.

Many injuries do not express pain immediately

Depending on the nature of your injury, you may not feel anything out of the ordinary for a few days, or, in some cases, even a few weeks.

Some of the most common types of injuries that do not immediately present themselves are those that deal with the brain and spinal cord. Car accidents very often strain spinal cords or cause a head injury, but you may not remember anything in particular.

In many cases, these injuries entail ongoing headaches or nausea, or in some cases even seizures. All of these symptoms may occur in severe or light forms, and may worsen over time if left untreated. Headaches can also point to whiplash, neck injury, or even a blood clot, which is often very dangerous. If your symptoms involve pain in your neck and shoulders, that may indicate whiplash as well, but may also mean a more serious spinal injury.

Likewise, back pain is often indicative of several different types of injury. If you experience lower back pain, you may have muscle damage, or possibly spinal cord damage like herniated discs. If the pain involves numbness or tingling, then you might have some nerve damage as well.

Numbness and tingling in general, even if they are not accompanied by other noticeable pain, may indicate some disc in your back is pinching nerves, which can lead to very serious long-term damage without proper treatment.

If your pain is in your abdomen, you must get medical treatment immediately. Abdominal pain often indicates some type of internal bleeding or organ damage, which can be fatal if left unattended.

Don’t fight for fair treatment alone

It is easy to see how all of this may seem overwhelming. You already suffered a car accident, and now you’re facing a more serious medical condition than you expected after thinking the accident was no big deal.

The important thing to remember is that you don’t have to walk through this difficult season alone. With proper guidance from an experienced, professional attorney, you can rest assured that your rights remain protected while you pursue fair compensation for all of your losses and medical expenses.

Source: Nov. 30, -0001