Some injuries after a pedestrian accident can take a while to manifest themselves. This can significantly complicate the process of recovering damages and can jeopardize your personal injury claim.
If your injury was not immediately apparent after you were hit by a car while crossing the street in a marked crosswalk, you might need a pedestrian accident lawyer for legal help.
After all, if you failed to document your injury and make a personal injury claim immediately after the accident, you are entering dangerous territory here. First and foremost, the at-fault party and his or her insurance company will most likely argue that your personal injury claim is false and/or that you are exaggerating the severity of your injury.
Being in a pedestrian accident can be very tricky, as symptoms might now show right away. You might never find out that you were badly injured in a pedestrian accident unless you seek medical attention as soon as possible to get a medical checkup and document your injury.
Pedestrian accident injury symptoms might not be apparent right away
Our pedestrian accident attorney in Los Angeles at Law Offices of Howard Kornberg warns that unless you document your injury as soon as possible after the motor vehicle accident, the insurance company will most likely dispute your claim.
Cases in which pedestrian accident injuries do not show symptoms right away can be divided into two categories:
- The pedestrian wrongly assumed that he or she was not harmed as a result of the collision with a vehicle (more often than not, many symptoms subside due to a combination of adrenaline and stress); or
- The symptoms seemed so minor at the scene of the pedestrian accident that the pedestrian decided to forego the medical evaluation.
It is understandable why many pedestrians think that visiting a doctor after a crash is not worth it. After all, seeking medical attention after a motor vehicle accident can be very time-consuming and expensive.
“However, what many do not realize is that even serious injuries can manifest only minor symptoms over the hours or even days after the collision,” warns our pedestrian accident lawyer Los Angeles.
Even symptoms of a concussion might not show immediately
For example, even the symptoms of a concussion might not be immediately apparent after a pedestrian accident. More often than not, pedestrians who lose consciousness, feel disoriented, or cannot stop bleeding from the head wound at the accident scene are prompted to seek medical attention.
In cases where the symptoms are either insignificant or non-existent, the pedestrian might not think that he or she needs medical attention. In reality, such symptoms of a concussion might take a few hours or even days to manifest themselves:
- Headache;
- Brain fog or confusion;
- Nausea;
- Ringing in the ears;
- Temporary loss of consciousness;
- Vomiting;
- Slurred speech; and
- Dizziness.
Signing a release of liability after a pedestrian accident
The worst thing you can do after a pedestrian accident is to sign a release of liability before seeking a proper medical evaluation. For example, let’s say you get into a pedestrian accident, as a result of which your iPhone gets damaged. You file a claim against the at-fault driver’s insurance company to seek compensation for property damage.
The insurance company approves the claim and requires the pedestrian to sign a release of liability in order to settle the claim and get compensated for the damaged phone. A few days after the pedestrian accident, the pedestrian begins to notice symptoms of a concussion, but here’s the deal. The pedestrian will be barred from seeking compensation for personal injury because he or she has already signed a release of liability.
Before signing any releases or agreeing to any settlements offered by insurance companies, it is best to consult with a Los Angeles pedestrian accident lawyer. Contact our skilled attorneys at the Law Offices of Howard Kornberg to discuss your particular case. Call our offices at 310-997-0904 today.
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