What Delayed Symptoms After a Motorcycle Accident Could Mean

Delayed symptoms after a motorcycle accident often mean that you’ve suffered injuries more severe than you initially anticipated. It’s in your best interest to connect with medical professionals as soon as possible to prevent your injuries from getting worse.

You can also work with a loved one or an attorney to document the severity of your accident-related injuries. Doing so may later allow you to demand compensation based on those losses. The more evidence you have to hold someone responsible for your motorcycle accident injuries, the easier it may be for you to financially recover.

Adrenaline Puts Your Body’s Reactions to Injuries on Hold

Motorcycle accidents encourage your body to release a stress hormone, more commonly known as adrenaline. Adrenaline gives you an energy boost that moves you forward and drives you to ignore any injuries you might have sustained until you’re out of danger. Unfortunately, an accident-related adrenaline rush may make it difficult for you to recognize whether or not you’ve been hurt in an accident.

In other words, an adrenaline rush may make it seem as though any symptoms you’re experiencing in relation to your accident are delayed or slow-developing. The effects of an adrenaline rush tend to last for up to an hour, at which point you may begin to feel the reality of your physical condition set in.

Shock and Adrenaline Both Numb the Body After an Accident

Similarly, you may feel yourself slipping into shock, especially if your accident proves violent or traumatizing. Shock is the mind’s way of protecting itself from overwhelming circumstances. It produces a numbing sensation over the body that often makes a person feel as though their mind is no longer present in the same space with them. 

Medical professionals will work you through shock, but the condition may make it difficult for you to catalog your physical injuries until after you’ve returned to your senses.

Common Delayed Symptoms After a Motorcycle Accident

While shock and adrenaline may make it more difficult for you to recognize how you’re feeling after a crash, there are some conditions that don’t make themselves known for days or weeks after a crash. Some of the most common symptoms to slowly develop after a motorcycle crash may include the following:

• Headaches
• Changes in personality
• Changes in bodily functions
• Back and neck pain
• Numbness
• Abdominal pain

These symptoms are often indicative of a larger problem within your body, like a concussion, fractured bone, or whiplash.

Don’t Wait to Go to the Hospital

If you notice yourself developing delayed symptoms after a motorcycle accident, do not wait to go to the hospital. You do not want your condition to get worse. The sooner you reach out to a medical professional, the sooner you may treat whatever condition went unnoticed at the time of your accident.

It’s also in your best interest to work with any emergency responders who come to the scene of your accident. It doesn’t matter whether you feel invincible after walking away from a crash — there’s a chance your body may be deceiving you. If you can work with emergency responders despite feeling well, you can get ahead of any conditions that might otherwise fester.

Keep Track of the Cost of Your Recovery

Too many people opt not to take their injuries seriously out of fear of the cost of treatment. The lack of attention may cause otherwise healthy individuals to suffer permanent or temporary disabilities.

You shouldn’t be afraid of the cost of your care after a serious motorcycle accident. There are resources available to you that are designed to make it as easy as possible for you to pay your bills. For example, you may file an insurance claim after a crash. You may alternatively file a personal injury claim against a negligent party.

No matter which path forward you choose, make sure you keep a record of the cost of your recovery. You or a loved one may collect medical invoices, treatment expenses, and receipts for pain medications on hand to later use in a finalized complaint.

You may only request financial support if you have evidence of the cost of your recovery. The more receipts you keep ahold of, the more financial aid you’re likely to get.

Delayed Medical Treatment May Have a Long-Term Impact on Your Recovery

If you find yourself suffering from delayed symptoms after a motorcycle accident, do not hesitate to get help. Make sure you select a personal representative to document the details of your accident while you’re receiving care. You may later have the right to demand accident compensation based on the severity of your injuries.

Dale R. Rose, PLLC, will help you take legal action against the party responsible for your motorcycle accident. You may contact the firm to learn more about your legal rights immediately following your crash. Call (972) 634-ROSE (7673) or contact us online to get the representation you deserve.