The adrenaline rush following an auto accident can mask pain and symptoms, making you feel you’ve escaped unscathed. But you should not ignore a headache after a car accident. Any head pain can point to something more serious.
Consider a situation where you have a headache after a car accident but didn’t hit your head. It could mean you have a life-threatening injury, such as a brain bleed. It’s important to see a doctor, even if you don’t think your headache is severe.
Read on to learn more about what to do and how to treat a headache from a car accident. If you have a headache following a car accident, we encourage you to reach out to our office.
Post-Traumatic Headaches and Car Accidents
A post-traumatic headache in a car accident refers to a headache caused by trauma to your neck and head. It typically occurs within a week after a car accident head injury or after regaining consciousness following one.
This type of headache can feel like a migraine or tension-type headache. When it becomes chronic, it can affect your quality of life. The term post-traumatic headache encompasses multiple types of headaches, including the following types.
Post-Concussion Headaches
A headache could indicate a concussion, especially if accompanied by dizziness, confusion, or memory issues. Even if you didn’t directly hit your head, the sheer force of the collision could jostle your brain within your skull, leading to a concussion.
Whiplash Headaches
One of the most common headache types after a car accident is whiplash. This condition occurs when your neck jerks back and forth suddenly, stressing muscles and tendons.
Even a low-speed accident can result in whiplash that leads to a headache. While these are common, headaches don’t always appear right after an accident. It could be a week or two for a headache to occur.
Spasm or Contraction Headaches
When your neck, head, or upper back muscles suffer an injury in a car accident, it can result in spasms or muscle-contraction headaches. Muscle injuries can also lead to decreased mobility and increased swelling.
Pinched Nerve Headache
Car accidents can compress your spinal discs, irritating the occipital nerve located at the base of your skull. You might experience tenderness, tingling, burning, and numbness that starts in your neck and moves up the base of your skull to where the nerve compression is located.
Reasons You Shouldn’t Ignore a Headache After a Car Accident
Ignoring a headache after a car accident can lead to dire consequences. Here’s why you should seek medical treatment, even if you think your injuries are minor.
Could Signal a Severe Condition
The headache may be a warning sign of a severe condition, like a brain bleed, requiring immediate medical intervention. Head injuries can manifest as a constant headache after a car accident and quickly escalate into life-threatening conditions.
Impact on Recovery
Prompt treatment improves the chances of a full recovery. Leaving a headache untreated could exacerbate the condition and affect your long-term health.
Legal Ramifications
From a legal standpoint, delays in medical treatment can give insurance companies reason to minimize your claim. Immediate medical documentation strengthens your case, supporting your pursuit of compensation for injuries and other damages.
What to Do After a Car Accident in Florida
After a car accident, what you do can impact your future personal injury claim. Here are the steps you should take.
Seek Immediate Medical Attention
Don’t ignore when your head hurts after a car accident. Seek immediate medical care, even if the headache seems minor. Treatment will depend on the underlying cause of the headache.
While over-the-counter medications may relieve the pain temporarily, a thorough medical assessment will provide a targeted treatment plan, including prescription medication, physical therapy, or further diagnostic tests. Detailed examinations like MRI or CT scans might be needed to rule out severe injuries.
Document Your Symptoms
Keep a journal of your symptoms, including the frequency and severity of your headaches. List any other symptoms like nausea or blurred vision. This documentation can help you throughout the claims process, especially if you need to recall earlier details during litigation.
Consult a Florida Car Accident Lawyer
Speaking with a lawyer is essential if you suffered severe injuries following a car accident. While Florida is a no-fault state, you could have the right to bring a personal injury claim against the responsible parties.
Contact a Florida Car Accident Lawyer
If you are experiencing a headache after a car accident in Florida, it is crucial to act promptly.
With more than 40 years of experience, our legal team knows how to seek justice for injured car accident victims. We’ve seen how dangerous untreated injuries are, which is why you shouldn’t dismiss a headache after a car accident.
Our Attorneys have recovered millions of dollars for injured clients. Don’t let your health and legal rights go unaddressed after a car accident.
Dial 850-601-1111 now to schedule a complimentary consultation with no obligations. This consultation will help you explore your legal choices. Let us help you fight for fair compensation.
Mark continued his studies at Florida State University College of Law, graduating cum laude in 2008. While in law school, Mark was a member of the Journal of Land Use & Environmental Law and the Journal of Transnational Law & Policy, as well as a certified legal intern with the FSU Public Interest Law Center, where he assisted low-income clients with a wide range of family law issues. He also served as a law clerk intern to The Honorable L. Clayton Roberts of Florida’s First District Court of Appeal.
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