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How Long Do You Have To Go to an Accident Injury Doctor After a Car Wreck?

How Long Do You Have To Go to an Accident Injury Doctor After a Car Wreck?

Each year, 20 to 50 million people around the world get injured in a car accident. Some of these injuries are serious enough to require immediate hospitalization, and other injuries may not seem as severe. The force of a vehicle collision can cause significant damage to the body, and in many cases, the damage may not be obvious immediately after an accident. For any type of car crash, even a minor collision, you should seek medical treatment right away from a car accident doctor at Injured Call Today.

Being in an accident can be a traumatic experience for the driver, passengers, and any pedestrians involved. You may be in a state of shock after an accident. Your body may also release a burst of adrenaline during the collision and right after, which could hide any symptoms of pain or discomfort.

In the aftermath, you may also feel confused and overwhelmed with everything happening. Instead of evaluating your physical condition yourself, get a comprehensive medical evaluation from a doctor after a car accident. Your doctor may be able to diagnose and treat a potential problem and prevent more serious complications.

Consider Seeing Accident Injury Doctors

After a car accident, you should get seen by a doctor as soon as possible, no more than 72 hours after the incident. Doing so may give you a better outcome if there is an injury that isn’t visible or obvious. Auto accident doctors affiliated with Injured Call Today have experience treating injuries from collisions.

Injured patient showing doctor broken wrist and arm with bandage in hospital office or emergency room. Sprain, stress fracture or repetitive strain injury in hand. Nurse helping customer. First aid.

Here are some reasons why you should consider visiting an accident injury doctor:

  • Fast – Getting treated right away is important so you can get a diagnosis and prevent further problems.
  • Knowledgeable – Doctors affiliated with Injured Call Today may have a better understanding of the type of injuries that occur after car accidents, especially hidden injuries. Primary care physicians may not discover a hidden car accident injury right away.
  • Convenient – Car accident doctors may be able to treat a variety of conditions related to collisions, such as chronic pain, back injuries, neck problems, spinal cord issues, traumatic brain injuries (TBI), and more. 
  • Streamlined – Patients may also get a more streamlined approach with their medical care team when accessing a team of physicians who focus on treating car accident victims.
  • Easier – Doctors with experience in treating auto accident victims may be more helpful when patients need to document their injuries or work with auto insurance claims and other organizations.

Find Any Hidden Injuries or Damage

If you’ve ever been in a car accident, you know how surreal and strange it feels immediately in the aftermath. Your brain may not be processing what happened right away. During the actual collision, it may happen so fast that you don’t have time to really understand the seriousness or gravity of the situation.

 

A sudden collision is terrifying, especially one that significantly damages the vehicle or causes injuries. There are lots of reports of people being in a terrible accident, with their cars completely destroyed and walking away, seemingly unscathed. Automakers strive to constantly improve vehicle safety features, to make accident fatalities and injuries less common each year. Accident Injury Doctor and Patient

Unfortunately, there are still nearly 4.6 million injuries from car crashes each year in the nation. Some of these injuries are obvious, such as broken legs, head trauma, or cuts and scrapes. A portion of these injuries may not show up immediately after the accident, and some problems may not be visible and hard to pinpoint right away.

Car Accidents in New York

Common hidden injuries after an accident include:

  • Concussion – A concussion may cause a slight headache, sleepiness or confusion. Some patients may not realize these are serious signs of a problem that needs medical attention. 
  • Whiplash – The force of an accident sometimes whips the neck and damages the ligaments and tissue. This type of injury may not appear right away and could cause significant neck pain or discomfort.
  • Emotional Trauma – Emotional trauma after an accident doesn’t always show up immediately. It may take days, weeks or months for post-traumatic stress disorder, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to develop.

Be Proactive With Your Treatment

Instead of waiting for a symptom to appear or trying to be stoic, car accident victims should act quickly and be proactive after a car crash. Accident survivors should trust their car injury doctor to give them a comprehensive evaluation and the green light that everything’s okay.

Accident Injury Doctor in New York

Personal injury patients should immediately make an appointment with a physician following a collision. For serious injuries, this means going to the hospital or the emergency room. If you aren’t sure if you’re injured, see your doctor right away or a car accident physician.

Acting quickly and getting medical help as soon as possible may improve your health outlook and potential diagnosis. Patients can get advice from medical professionals about potential issues and monitor any concerns. Quick treatment of car accident injuries may also help prevent long-term pain and discomfort associated with collisions.

Get the Right Medical Team

It’s also important to get the right medical team to help when you have a problem, especially with injuries that have the potential to cause long-term pain and mobility issues. Car accidents may cause a variety of injuries that damage the bones, muscles, ligaments, spinal cord and internal organs.

Accident Injury Doctors in New York

Instead of relying on a primary care physician to diagnose and treat each of these concerns, patients may get more benefits from a team of doctors dedicated to car accident injuries. In this team approach, physicians with training in different aspects of medicine, such as orthopedics, vascular surgery, acupuncture, physical therapy, neurology, and podiatry may offer better treatment options. 

A team of physicians that works to help patients feel better may also collaborate with each other to make decisions about medication, treatment plans and therapy exercises. All of these factors may give the patient a shorter and more productive healing time.

Avoid Missing Work and Disruptions to Your Life

A serious injury from a car accident or chronic pain from an injury may also be disruptive to your life and daily schedule. Some injuries may make it more difficult to continue working, especially in a job that requires long periods of standing or physical activity. Other injuries, such as emotional or mental health trauma, may make it difficult to concentrate or get things accomplished at work.

Additionally, a serious car accident injury may make daily life tasks more difficult. Taking care of your family, cooking dinner each night, cleaning up, and even getting around may be a challenge for people involved in a vehicle collision.

To increase your chances of getting back to work and to your lifestyle as soon as possible, it’s vital to work with a physician who understands car accident injury treatment and the healing timeline. Missing time from work can impact your wallet and wreak havoc on your goals and dreams. Patients should put their trust in doctors who have the most experience working with cases like theirs.

Get Help With Insurance Claims

Suffering an injury from a car accident may also mean dealing with a car insurance company and the claims process. When you’re struggling to understand the magnitude of a car accident injury and adjusting to life after the incident, you don’t need the extra hassle of paperwork from medical bills and your submitted insurance company claims.

Many patients have found it easier to work with auto accident doctors after their collision. For payment purposes and covering your treatment costs, it makes sense to choose a physician and administrative team that understands how car insurance companies want injuries documented and claims submitted.

Messing up the claims process may cause a gap in treatment and leave a patient without their necessary care or pain management options. Primary care physicians and their staff of office administrators may not have the time or experience required when submitting medical claims to auto insurance companies, pushing that burden onto the patient. 

Get Quality Treatment Immediately

The bottom line is whenever you get in a car accident or are a pedestrian involved in a crash, you need medical treatment immediately. Waiting around for symptoms or pain to develop may be a poor decision that could have ramifications on your future health. Instead, reach out to a network of skilled medical professionals who have diagnosed and treated many types of car accident injuries before, even conditions that aren’t apparent right away.

Auto Accident Injury Doctor in New York

Your health is the most important thing, and a serious crash may put your body into a state of confusion and shock. Your brain may use adrenaline to mask any potential problems and make you feel fine, even if you are suffering from a hidden injury or internal damage. Getting checked out by a doctor after a car accident helps put your mind at ease and give you the necessary tools to heal after a collision.

Contact Injured Call Today as soon as it’s safe after a car accident. We provide accident injury doctor appointments to patients using our network of physicians in a variety of medical specialties.

Sources:

https://www.asirt.org/safe-travel/road-safety-facts/ 

https://familydoctor.org/deciding-see-doctor/ 

https://www.iihs.org/news/detail/vehicle-choice-crash-differences-help-explain-greater-injury-risks-for-women 

https://www.choc.org/articles/11-facts-about-concussions/ 

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/whiplash/symptoms-causes/syc-20378921 

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd 

https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-highway-safety 

https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/motor-vehicle/overview/introduction/ 

https://adaa.org/learn-from-us/from-the-experts/blog-posts/consumer/how-cope-trauma-after-accident