Auto Accidents in Virginia- It's Not Time to be a Tough Guy

You are sitting at a stop, waiting to make a left-hand turn, when suddenly a driver slams into the rear of your vehicle at thirty-five miles per hour.  Your first reaction is that you are stunned and trying to figure out what just happened.
Your second reaction may be anger that the other driver was not paying attention and has crashed your vehicle.  You call 911 to report the accident.  The officer responds as well as the ambulance.  In all of the chaos, someone asks you if you are injured and want to be transported to the hospital.  At the time, your adrenalin is pumping and you do not believe yourself to be injured, so you decline.  You car is towed, and you make your way home.
Once you have a chance to calm down, you begin to notice pain and discomfort that you had not noticed at the time of the collision.  You decide to tough it out.  Maybe you will feel better in the morning.  Well, you don’t.  Your pain gets worse, but still, you try to stick it out – hoping against hope that it will all go away.  You do not want to miss time from work, you do not want to sit in the emergency room, and you do not want to incur medical bills.  But your pain does not go away.  It is getting worse.  Let’s say a week or two down the road, you are still in pain, and you decide that you can’t tough it out any more.  You go to your family doctor.  You are diagnosed with a sprain/strain injury.  You are given medication and told to return if your condition does not improve.  It doesn’t.  You return to the doctor and are sent to physical therapy.  This does not ease your pain, and you are referred for an MRI.  The MRI shows a herniated disc, and you are referred to a neurosurgeon.  She recommends surgery.
So all the while that you were trying to tough it out, you were giving the at-fault insurance company the ammunition they need to devalue your claim.  If you are injured in an automobile collision, it is important that you seek medical attention for your injuries.  It serves no purpose to try and “tough it out.”  You may have a serious but as yet undiagnosed injury.  And you could be hurting your claim.
The bottom line is that you are your own best advocate.  No one can take better care of yourself than you can.
Call us at Altizer & Altizer, your Legal Team for Personal Injury.  We service all of Southwest Virginia including:  Roanoke, Salem, Vinton,Franklin County, Botetourt, Montgomery County, Blacksburg, Bedford, Galax, Hillsville, Pulaski County, just to name a few jurisdictions.  Call us at 540-345-2000 for A&A Legal Team — personal injury, auto collisions, and medical malpractice.