Many times after an auto accident the individuals involved don’t realize they’ve been injured. Just because you don’t have severe life-threatening injuries following a motor vehicle collision does not mean that you haven’t been injured. For many people, it can take days to weeks for the injuries to fully appear. The absence of large obvious injuries can overshadow injuries that have occurred to the soft tissues. Soft tissue injuries can be either prominent pain-generating tissues or more insidious injuries that can affect the individual over time. These types of injuries need to be diagnosed and treated to avoid causing significant difficulties to the injured individual as time goes on.
Getting Medical care Following a Car Accident is Key
After any type of car accident, it is imperative to follow up with a doctor that is skilled in detecting injuries from an auto accident. Seeing a Doctor as soon as possible is especially important even if you don’t immediately have any feeling of pain or discomfort. Getting appropriate and timely documentation of your condition is crucial for establishing any personal injury claim. A properly trained Doctor will be able to detect “hidden injuries” that could be in the process of revealing themselves or could reveal themselves in the future. These types of injuries could include but not limited to concussions, mild traumatic brain injuries, strains, biomechanical dysfunction, and sprains. Getting medical treatment quickly will also allow you to begin the rehabilitation process and begin to recover from your injuries.
Any alteration in normal biomechanics or dysfunction of any soft tissue or joint structure; is classified as an injury. Some are very painful; while others don’t elicit the same pain response from the body. The body has the ability to compensate for certain injuries which give the appearance that certain tissues haven’t been damaged. However, because certain biomechanics have changed this will lead to an early onset of osteoarthritic changes that have a wide array of health concerns.
Many injuries can go unnoticed for months to years before an association can be made as to what caused the presenting condition. Many individuals present years after an auto crash and have what appear to be long-standing biomechanical and structural changes due to the fact that they didn’t seek treatment at an appropriate time following an auto crash. The injured individual will have to pay out-of-pocket expenses to get the necessary help that is required to help them. When they could have had the third party pay for their treatment and then not have to suffer over time as their condition was worsening.
Statistics
Crash Type-The number of motor vehicle crashes, by crash type, is presented in the table below. The total number of police-reported traffic crashes increased by 1.3 percent from 2012 to 2013. Remember these are only “police-reported” crashes, the true number is presumed to be much higher.
Number of Crashes by Crash Type
| Crash Type | 2012 | 2013 | Change | Change % |
| Fatal Crashes | 31,006 | 30,057 | -949 | -3.1% |
| Non-Fatal Crashes | 5,584,000 | 5,657,000 | +73,000 | +1.3% |
| Total Crashes | 5,615,000 | 5,687,000 | +72,000 | +1.3% |
https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812101
Many people are injured in Colorado car accidents every single day. Based on US Census Bureau data; Colorado represents approximately 2% of the US population in 2014. 2% of the reported 5,687,000 auto crashes equates to 113,740 reported crashes on the roads of Colorado in 2013. There are on average of 311 reported auto crashes on Colorado roads every day.
Occupants and Non-occupants Injured in Traffic Crashes
| Description | Injured in 2013 |
| Total | 2,313,000 |
| Passenger Vehicles | 2,046,000 |
| Passenger Cars | 1,296,000 |
| Light Trucks | 750,000 |
| Trucks | 24,000 |
| Motorcycles | 88,000 |
| Pedestrians | 66,000 |
| Pedal cyclists | 48,000 |
| Others/Unknown | 11,000 |
https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812101
The rate of injury on Colorado roads remains high; based on census data and the injury information listed above it is noted that there were about 46,260 injury related car accidents on Colorado roads in 2013. This equates to 126 injury crashes per day with a wide range of severity.
The reality is that any collision involving a motor vehicle results in large physical force being transferred through the vehicle and into the occupant. Forces from the crash can injure the human body in many ways, and sometimes those injuries simply do not reveal themselves immediately after impact. Often times, a person may not immediately realize that he or she has sustained an injury to the neck, back, brain, and or spinal cord. Some of the injuries are serious, requiring medical care and forcing the victim to undergo weeks or months of treatment.
Sometimes severe and serious bodily injuries from a car crash can, and often do, take time to manifest. The body’s immediate reaction to the accident may be hiding the fact that they have been hurt. It is important for anyone who has been involved in any collision to know that their body can mask injuries and this is why it is vitality important to seek out the Doctors at our location to properly diagnose and treat your auto injuries.
If you have been involved in an auto accident and are unsure of the severity of your injuries; contact us at 303.758.9000 and we would be happy to evaluate your injuries and get you back on your feet.