You and your family have a daily routine that is usually uneventful. You get your kids to school, go to work and drive home at the end of the day. You cannot anticipate that in any of these mundane activities you could be struck by another vehicle, causing you to suffer an injury that could impact your life for a long time.
How many car accident injuries occurred in 2020?
The National Safety Council reports that there were 4,800,000 medically consulted car accident injuries in 2020. This amounted to 2,260,000 disabling and nondisabling injuries. Even if you take all possible precautions such as wearing a seatbelt, you can still be severely injured in a car crash.
What is a latent injury?
There are a variety of car accident injuries with which you may already be familiar. Some injuries, such as broken bones and lacerations, are immediately apparent. Other injuries do not necessarily manifest themselves until days after the crash. These are referred to as “latent” injuries.
For example, many people suffer whiplash or a concussion in a car accident. However, the injury may not appear in the immediate moments after the crash. It could take a day or two or more before you realize you have a head injury or a neck injury. In addition, a minor injury may not seem so serious at first, but it becomes much more severe as time goes on.
Latent injuries can be just as problematic as injuries that are immediately apparent at the time of the crash, sometimes even more so. It is important to seek medical advice if you are involved in a car accident even if you initially think you are not injured. A concussion or neck injury should never be ignored as it could have long-lasting negative effects on your well-being.
If you are involved in a car crash, you could suffer serious injuries even if they are not immediately apparent. Car insurance does not always cover all of your immediate and future needs, especially if you have ongoing medical expenses or cannot work because of your injury. Ongoing pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life can also make your post-crash life difficult.
For these reasons, many people involved in a car crash in Baton Rouge often choose to take legal action against the at-fault party, including pursuing a personal injury lawsuit if that is the best way to obtain compensation for the harms they suffered.