Car accidents are scary things to live through. If you’ve been in a moderate or serious accident, you should seek medical evaluation as soon as possible — preferably that same day. Here’s what you need to know.
If you’ve been in a car accident, you’re probably reeling and in a little bit (or a lot) of shock. That’s okay and quite natural, but it’s important that you follow some simple steps to make sure that you don’t make things any worse for yourself than they already are.
Immediately after an accident, you should:
A lot of times, if someone isn’t visibly injured after a car accident, they will opt to skip going to the doctor afterwards. This is a huge mistake, and something you should never, ever do. There are several reasons for this.
First, you may be in such shock, or consumed by so much adrenaline, that you have missed an injury that you’ve had. This is quite common, as people do not realize the extent to which your body can mask pain while you are in the midst of an emergency or trauma. This is a survival reflex by your body to allow you to get out of a dangerous situation even after you have sustained some pretty bad injuries. Don’t discount the extent of this phenomenon.
Additionally, the fact is that many injuries that we see in the aftermath of a car accident are not immediately noticeable. Internal trauma, bruising, and muscle or joint injuries often take a while to show symptoms. This is why you always see the classic trope of someone waking up the next day after a car accident, unable to get out of bed despite walking home on their own power the previous day.
For insurance purposes, it’s critical that any injuries you’ve sustained are traceable to the accident itself. If you wait too long after an accident to seek medical treatment, doubt can begin to creep into the process (from the insurance company’s point of view) as to whether your affliction was a direct result of the accident. To avoid this and all the other items mentioned above, it’s very important that you have the discipline to be seen by a doctor after any car accident — preferably, that same day.
The number one reason why people do not seek medical evaluation after a car accident is fear of the cost associated with the evaluation and treatment. Yet, this is never an acceptable reason not to be seen by a qualified doctor when your body has just been through something as traumatic and potentially life-altering as a car accident.
Thankfully, the rise of urgent care centers such as Urgent 9 have begun to solve this problem altogether. When an ambulance takes you to an emergency room, you may wake up the next morning with massive bills depending on what happened. When you go to Urgent 9, you receive the exact same care as an emergency room — except without the wait, and without the exorbitant cost.
Urgent care centers are the absolute best way to manage your health following a car accident. They allow you to be seen quickly, have access to the same level of facilities (at least in the case of Urgent 9), and be treated effectively without the burden of cost. Even if you have a comprehensive insurance plan, you’ll probably end up coming out of pocket a significant amount after going to a traditional ER. At Urgent 9, however, we offer flexible payment options to all patients, including patients who have zero health insurance to speak of at all.
Don’t play games with your health and your well-being after a stressful and traumatic experience like a car accident. Come to Urgent 9 and take care of yourself the right way — quickly, and at a price anyone can afford.