How soon after sustaining a car accident injury should I see a doctor?

Updated on March 16, 2022

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Being in a car accident is a stressful experience that can fill you with dread, fear, and anxiety. You may suffer severe injuries and require an ambulance to transport you to the nearest emergency room. If that is the case, you will be seen by a doctor immediately. In other cases, however, you may be at the scene of the accident for a while, waiting for police to arrive and file a report.

You may then have to see to your passengers if there were any, and to your car, if it was damaged and needs to be towed away to the shop.  When you finally realize it, hours might have gone by before you get a chance to check yourself out. Or maybe you might conclude that you are fine and just get a ride to go back home. If you do this, you may be putting your health at risk since there may be internal injuries that are not immediately evident but may cause you problems without realizing why you feel the way you do.

When you are looking for an accident clinic in Miami – Icon Medical Centers recommend you look for a facility where you may find different specialists in the same place. This way, all your medical issues can be treated there.

When should you see a doctor after being in a car accident?

The short answer is as soon as possible, and there are several reasons why this is so:

To protect your health: Your priority should always be your health. An accident may hit and jolt your body in ways that you never experience in your daily life. Getting a professional medical opinion that you are fine and there is no internal bleeding, organ damage, or a concussion will serve to put your mind at ease.

Because your insurance requires it: Your insurance policy may state that you have a limited amount of time to see to your injuries in order to qualify to receive personal injury protection. You don’t want to jeopardize your chances of getting your medical expenses covered by your policy or being eligible to receive insurance reimbursement by skipping a medical checkup.

Should you need to file a claim: If you are injured and realize you may want to file a claim against the party liable for the accident, you need to have yourself checked out by a medical professional and keep a detailed journal of your visits to doctors, therapies, medications, and other expenses. Also, there is a statute of limitations to file these types of claims, after which getting compensation for your injuries will not be possible.

Get Treatment for your Car Accident Injuries

If you suffered severe injuries in the crash, the emergency room should be your first stop after the accident. They have the capabilities to treat you promptly and thoroughly. But even when you feel fine, you should get a healthcare professional to do a full check-up. Remember that what you feel after an accident may be the high of adrenaline running through your system, and the sooner you can get yourself seen by a doctor, the sooner you can stop the impact that any undetected injury may have on your long-term wellbeing. 

The Editorial Team at Healthcare Business Today is made up of skilled healthcare writers and experts, led by our managing editor, Daniel Casciato, who has over 25 years of experience in healthcare writing. Since 1998, we have produced compelling and informative content for numerous publications, establishing ourselves as a trusted resource for health and wellness information. We offer readers access to fresh health, medicine, science, and technology developments and the latest in patient news, emphasizing how these developments affect our lives.