Not all Automobile Accident Injuries are Obvious How to Protect Yourself From Hidden Trauma

At midnight one evening in early April, I was riding in the backseat of a friend’s car.  I remember leaving a Tampa Bay Lightening hockey game and stopping for some wings. I recall getting into the backseat right behind the girl that was driving.  I even recollect driving through downtown Tampa on our way home.  However, the moments immediately following a drunk driver striking our vehicle while going the wrong way down a one-way street just seem to blur together. I was left with the following questions; did I pass out? Why is my vision blurry? Why am I standing in the middle of the road? My head had impacted at least two different objects while the accident was going on.  It hurt, but my balance was ok, I didn’t feel sick, and the confusion was just minimal.  When the police arrived they asked questions and I answered as best I could.  I watched the drunk driver get handcuffed and taken away, but nobody ever asked if I was ok.  I thought I was and so did everyone else at the scene, but it turned out I wasn’t.  The vision issues didn’t subside the next day, the mild confusion persisted and I realized that there might indeed be something wrong.  The doctors told me it was a mild brain trauma.  That it was a good thing I came in to get treatment because the symptoms of this type of injury are often difficult to recognize.  Many people don’t go to the hospital because they’re just feeling a little “off”; but they should.  As a third year law student employed at a preeminent automobile accident law firm, I have learned first hand that many injury victims do not manifest with symptoms immediately.  Accident lawyers often fail to recognize  this issue and give in to the same cookie cutter approach commonly utilized by the defense.  Insurance carriers typically employ a defense in which they claim that if the automobile accident victim did not immediately seek treatment he/she cannot be injured.  The injury law attorneys at Dolman Law Group, focus specifically on ensuring our clients are evaluated by specialists; including Physiatrists to evaluate the injury victim from head to toe. The symptoms of brain injury trauma are often minimal when compared with the severity of such an injury.  Mild headaches accompanied by occasional blurred vision can be signs of brain injury trauma.  Treatment for this type of injury is absolutely necessary; and sometimes the symptoms just aren’t there.  There’s no way to tell if your brain is truly injured following an accident without being evaluated by a specialist familiar with closed head injuries; so it’s important to seek medical attention as brain injury trauma can worsen over time without treatment.  A physician who routinely handles brain injury cases can refer the injury victim out for the proper diagnostic tests to determine if there is pathology and whether such can be correlated to the patient’s clinical presentation. Further, if injuries are not diagnosed and treated quickly enough; the insurance carrier may refuse to pay the medical bills associated with such. It’s important to know how to react to these symptoms and how to protect yourself from further damages as a result of car accidents or other negligence.  The injury law attorneys at Dolman Law Group fight tenaciously for injured clients every day.  Matt Dolman, Christian Myer, and Brian Hannon remain up to date on the methods of treatment and scientific advancements in the field of traumatic brain injuries along with neck and back trauma to ensure that their clients are taken care of properly. Dolman Law Group is an automobile accident law firm located in Clearwater, Florida.  The injury law attorneys of the Dolman Law Group limit their practice to representing only victims of Florida automobile accidents and motorcycle accidents.    If you have been a victim of a personal injury in Florida, call us today at: (727) 451-6900 for a free consultation and case evaluation.  Our auto accident lawyers handle claims statewide relating to an automobile accident, motorcycle accident, wrongful death, traumatic brain injury, insurance carrier bad faith and pedestrian accidents.  We also focus a portion of our practice on representing individuals who have been hit by a drunk driver. Dolman Law Group is your Florida injury law attorneys and personal injury law firm.