Should You Go to the ER After a Car Accident?

Car accidents are a leading cause of serious personal injuries in the U.S. A vehicle collision can cause injuries ranging from bone fractures to traumatic brain damage. Failing to go to the emergency room (ER) immediately after a car accident could hurt you in multiple ways. It could make it more difficult to obtain insurance coverage for your medical costs. Delayed care could also worsen your prognosis for physical recovery. You should always seek medical care after a car accident in Texas, even if you do not feel injured.

The Importance of Prompt Medical Care

When a car insurance company is reviewing a claim, one of the things it will look for is whether the victim sought medical care after the accident. Proof that you went immediately to the ER and received professional health care services, such as medical records or hospital bills, can strengthen your claim to damages. The insurance company will have hard evidence that you did sustain an injury and incur medical costs, and that you also did all you could to not make the injuries worse.

If you fail to go to the ER after a car accident, you could lose important evidence supporting the fact that you suffered injuries in the wreck. The at-fault driver’s insurance company may deny or delay your claim due to a lack of proof that you got hurt in the collision. Without a medical record documenting the types, severities and causes of your injuries, the insurance company may have grounds to deny your claim or reduce the amount of benefits offered. The insurance agent could argue that your injuries did not come from the auto accident, or that they do not exist at all.

Another reason to go immediately to the ER is to receive important medical treatment for your injuries. Prompt medical care can properly treat your injuries and put you on the correct path toward physical recovery. Otherwise, you could make your injuries worse through lack of medical care. An insurance company can use this argument – that you exacerbated your injuries or worsened your prognosis – to reduce or eliminate your financial recovery.

Hidden Injuries After a Car Accident

You should always seek emergency medical treatment after a car accident, even if you do not think you have any injuries. Many car crash victims wrongfully assume they do not have any injuries due to adrenaline masking pain and other symptoms. The adrenaline of a collision could make it difficult to tell if you have injuries. Do not, however, tell the police or an insurance company that you are uninjured until a doctor has confirmed this. You may have sustained an injury with delayed or concealed symptoms.

Some of the most serious injuries do not present themselves with detectable symptoms right away. A traumatic brain injury, for example, could cause silent bleeding or swelling in the brain without the victim noticing for hours or even days. A slipped spinal cord disk could also have delayed symptoms. You might not notice damage to your back until later when you activate the dormant injury by lifting a box or moving the wrong way. Going to the emergency room right after an auto accident can give you the tests and scans necessary to detect and diagnose a hidden injury.

Emergency Room vs. Urgent Care Center

Emergency rooms are better suited to handle emergency-related injuries, such as those suffered in an auto accident, than urgent care centers, in general. Crash-related trauma, such as broken bones, internal bleeding or severe burns are injuries an ER has the tools and personnel to properly address. An urgent care center, on the other hand, may be able to adequately respond to minor injuries. If you have severe injuries after a crash, go to the ER. If you have minor injuries or do not feel injured, you can choose an urgent care center for faster care instead. Both are better than seeing no doctor at all after a car accident.