Yes. You should get checked by a doctor the same day or as soon as you can after a car accident, even if you feel fine. Whiplash, concussions and internal injuries often don’t show symptoms for hours or days, and a prompt medical record is the strongest proof that the crash caused your injuries.
Call 911 right away if anyone has trouble breathing, chest pain, severe bleeding, confusion, numbness or weakness, or a head injury followed by vomiting or a worsening headache.
Why You Might Feel Fine When You’re Not
Adrenaline after a crash can hide pain. Many common car accident injuries show up later:
- Whiplash and neck sprains often stiffen up a day or two later. See soft tissue injuries.
- Concussions and brain injuries can cause headaches, fogginess, sleep changes and mood swings that build over days. See what is a traumatic brain injury.
- Herniated discs may start as mild back pain and later cause shooting pain or numbness down an arm or leg. See sciatica and back injuries.
- Internal bleeding can cause belly pain, dizziness or deep bruising and needs emergency care.
- Knee and shoulder injuries from the dashboard or seat belt can turn out to be torn ligaments or cartilage.
- Emotional trauma, including anxiety and trouble driving, is real and treatable.
Emergency Room, Urgent Care or Your Own Doctor?
- Emergency room: for any serious symptoms, head injuries, possible broken bones, or if you were taken from the scene by ambulance.
- Urgent care: for minor pain, stiffness or bruising when you can’t see your doctor that day.
- Your primary care doctor: for follow-up within a few days, referrals to specialists and physical therapy.
Tell every provider that you were in a car accident and describe every symptom, even ones that seem minor. Those notes become part of your record.
How Prompt Treatment Protects Your Claim
Insurance companies look closely at when you first saw a doctor. If you wait weeks, the adjuster may argue that you weren’t really hurt or that something else caused your pain. A gap in treatment is one of the most common reasons injury claims are reduced.
- Get checked the same day or as soon as possible.
- Follow your treatment plan and keep your appointments.
- Keep copies of bills, prescriptions and work notes.
- Keep a short daily journal of your pain and what you can’t do.
Who Pays for the Hospital Visit?
In Pennsylvania, your own auto insurance pays your first medical bills through first-party benefits, no matter who caused the crash. Every policy includes at least $5,000 of medical coverage, and many include more. Give the hospital your auto insurance information. Once those benefits run out, your health insurance usually pays next. See how medical coverage works after a crash.
What If I Didn’t Go to the Hospital Right Away?
You can still have a claim. Get checked now, explain when your symptoms started and keep every record from here on. Pennsylvania’s 2-year deadline to file a lawsuit still applies, so talk to a lawyer soon.
Hospital After a Car Accident FAQ
It is a good idea to be checked by a doctor the same day or as soon as possible, even after a minor crash. Many injuries, like whiplash and concussions, don’t show symptoms right away, and an early medical record protects your health and your claim.
Symptoms of whiplash, back injuries and concussions can appear hours or several days after a crash. If new pain, numbness, headaches or dizziness show up later, see a doctor right away and tell them about the accident.
Not by itself, but you should get checked soon afterward. Insurers look for gaps between the crash and your first treatment, so see a doctor, urgent care or emergency room as soon as you can.
Talk to a Philadelphia Injury Lawyer
If you were hurt in a car accident, you don’t have to sort out the rules on your own. Philly Injury Lawyer will review what happened, explain your options and handle the deadlines for you.
Call (215) 735-4800 for a free consultation. You pay nothing unless we win. We Win or It’s Free®.
