It’s a common scene on the busy roads of Reno and Sparks: a sudden screech of tires, the jolt of impact, and then a moment of stunned silence. You get out, exchange information, and aside from a racing heart and a crumpled bumper, you feel okay. The other driver feels fine, too. It might seem like a hassle to go to an urgent care clinic or the emergency room when you don’t feel any pain. However, seeking a medical exam is one of the most important steps you can take after any car accident—a step that a car accident lawyer will often stress is critical—and the reasons go far beyond just a few scrapes or bruises.
The truth is, your body’s natural response to a crash can hide serious injuries. The surge of adrenaline can mask pain for hours or even days. Getting a prompt medical evaluation is critical not only for protecting your long-term health but also for preserving your legal right to compensation if an injury does appear later.
Key Takeaways about Why You Need a Medical Exam Even if You Feel Uninjured After a Car Accident
- A person’s body often releases adrenaline during a car accident, which can temporarily hide the pain from significant injuries.
- Many common car accident injuries, such as whiplash, concussions, or internal damage, may not show symptoms for hours, days, or even weeks.
- Seeking an immediate medical evaluation creates an official record that links any discovered injuries directly to the accident.
- Insurance companies may use a delay in seeking medical care as a reason to question the severity of an injury or deny a claim altogether.
- A doctor’s report is crucial evidence needed to pursue compensation for medical bills, lost income, and other damages.
The Hidden Dangers: Why "Feeling Fine" Can Be Deceiving
After the shock of a collision, whether on a side street in Carson City or on I-80 heading toward the Tesla Gigafactory, your body goes into self-preservation mode. It releases a flood of hormones like adrenaline and endorphins, which act as natural painkillers. This “fight-or-flight” response is designed to help you handle the immediate situation, but it can also give you a false sense of being uninjured.
Unfortunately, many serious injuries caused by the violent forces of a car crash are not immediately obvious. They can take time to manifest as the initial shock wears off and inflammation sets in. Some of the most common delayed-onset injuries include:
- Soft Tissue Injuries: This is a broad category that includes whiplash, which is a neck injury caused by a forceful, rapid back-and-forth movement. It can also include sprains and strains in the back, shoulders, and knees. Symptoms like stiffness, pain, and limited range of motion might not appear for 24-48 hours.
- Concussions and Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI): You don’t have to hit your head to sustain a concussion. The brain can be injured when it collides with the inside of the skull from the force of impact. Watch for delayed symptoms like headaches, dizziness, confusion, memory problems, or sensitivity to light.
- Internal Bleeding: Damage to internal organs can be life-threatening and may only present subtle signs at first, such as deep bruising, abdominal pain, or lightheadedness that develops hours after the collision.
- Spinal Cord Injuries: Damage to the vertebrae or discs in your spine, such as a herniated disc, can put pressure on nerves. This might initially feel like minor back soreness but can develop into sharp pain, numbness, or weakness in the limbs.
These examples show why relying on how you feel in the minutes after a crash is a gamble with your health. A medical professional is trained to spot the subtle signs of these and other hidden injuries before they become serious problems.
How a Medical Exam Protects Your Legal Rights in Nevada
Beyond the critical health reasons, getting a medical check-up is a vital step in protecting your ability to seek financial recovery for your injuries. In any personal injury claim, you must prove that the other party’s negligence caused your injuries. A prompt medical exam provides the cornerstone of that proof.
When you see a doctor, they create a medical record that details your physical condition and any complaints of pain. This record serves as a timestamp, officially documenting your injuries shortly after the accident occurred—one of the most important steps in understanding what to do after a car crash. This direct link is called “causation,” and it’s a concept that insurance adjusters will scrutinize.
If you wait weeks to see a doctor, the at-fault driver’s insurance company will almost certainly argue that something else could have happened in the intervening time to cause your injury, giving them a reason to offer a low settlement or deny your claim completely.
Furthermore, Nevada has a time limit for filing a personal injury lawsuit, known as the statute of limitations. Here, you generally have two years from the date of the accident to file a claim. While that seems like a long time, waiting for symptoms to appear before seeking medical care can create significant challenges and weaken your case from the start.
What to Expect During a Post-Accident Medical Evaluation
If you’re hesitant about seeing a doctor because you’re not sure what the process involves, know that it is typically a simple and non-invasive evaluation. Your priority is to get a baseline assessment of your health. You can visit an emergency room, an urgent care facility, or your primary care physician.
During the exam, the doctor will likely:
- Ask About the Accident: They will want to know the details of the crash, such as the direction of impact, how fast the vehicles were going, and how your body moved.
- Discuss Your Symptoms: It is essential to be completely honest. Mention everything you feel, even if it seems minor—a slight headache, a twinge in your back, or a bit of dizziness. What seems like nothing could be an early sign of a more significant issue.
- Perform a Physical Examination: The doctor will check your blood pressure, test your reflexes, assess your range of motion, and gently palpate (press on) areas like your neck, spine, and abdomen to check for tenderness or signs of internal injury.
- Order Diagnostic Imaging: If your symptoms or the physical exam suggest a possibility of broken bones, brain injury, or spinal damage, the doctor may order an X-ray, CT scan, or MRI for a more detailed look.
This examination provides peace of mind if you are truly uninjured and creates the essential documentation you need if problems arise later.
The Financial Consequences of Skipping a Medical Check-Up
Deciding not to see a doctor after a car crash can have serious financial repercussions. If you develop pain a month later and discover you have a herniated disc requiring surgery, you will have a difficult time proving it was caused by the accident. Without that link, you could be left to pay for all related costs out of your own pocket.
A personal injury claim allows an injured person to seek compensation, often called damages, from the at-fault party. By not getting a medical exam, you risk forfeiting your right to recover these costs.
- Current and Future Medical Expenses: This includes everything from the initial emergency room visit and diagnostic tests to ongoing physical therapy, medication, specialist appointments, and even future surgeries. Without an initial exam record, it is challenging to claim any of these costs.
- Lost Wages: If your injury eventually forces you to miss work, you can claim those lost earnings. However, this requires a doctor’s note or disability slip that directly connects your inability to work to the injuries sustained in the accident.
- Pain and Suffering: This is a legal term for compensation related to the physical pain, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life caused by an injury. This type of damage is impossible to claim without a formal medical diagnosis from a healthcare professional.
Ultimately, the choice to skip a medical exam can turn a manageable situation into a long-term financial and physical hardship.
Adrenaline and Shock: Your Body's Natural Response to Trauma
To understand why you can’t trust how you feel after a crash, it helps to know a little about your body’s chemistry. A car accident is a traumatic event, and your brain immediately triggers the sympathetic nervous system, launching the "fight-or-flight" response. This causes the adrenal glands to release a surge of adrenaline.
Adrenaline is a powerful hormone that prepares your body for an emergency. It increases your heart rate and blood pressure, boosts your energy supplies, and sharpens your senses. Critically, it also has an analgesic effect, meaning it blunts your body’s ability to perceive pain. Research published by institutions like the National Institutes of Health has long explored how stress and trauma can induce analgesia, or pain relief. This response is an evolutionary survival mechanism, allowing an injured person to escape danger without being incapacitated by pain.
The problem is that this effect is temporary. Once you are home, safe from the accident scene, your body begins to calm down, and the adrenaline levels drop. This is when the pain from a strained muscle, a damaged nerve, or a concussion can begin to surface. It’s not that you suddenly became injured; the injury was there all along, but your body’s emergency response system was hiding it from you.
Common Questions Insurance Adjusters Ask About Delayed Medical Treatment
Insurance adjusters are trained to protect their company’s bottom line, which often means finding reasons to minimize or deny claims. A gap in time between the accident and your first doctor’s visit is a major red flag for them. If you do this, be prepared for questions designed to undermine your claim.
- "If you were truly hurt in the accident, why did you wait two weeks to see a doctor?" The unspoken implication here is that your injury must not be very serious, or that you might be exaggerating its severity for financial gain.
- "Did you suffer any other falls, strains, or injuries between the date of the car crash and your doctor’s appointment?" They are actively searching for an alternative cause for your injury. If you tripped on a curb a week after the accident, they may try to argue that the fall, not the crash, caused your back pain.
- "The police report says you denied needing an ambulance at the scene. Why are you claiming an injury now?" They will use your own words against you. Stating you are "fine" at the scene is a common response fueled by shock and adrenaline, but an adjuster will interpret it as an admission that you were not hurt.
Having a medical record from the day of the accident or within the following 24-72 hours effectively shuts down these arguments. It creates a clear, professional, and unbiased account of your condition that is difficult for an insurance company to dispute.
Medical Exam After a Car Accident FAQs
Here are answers to some common questions we hear from people in Northern Nevada after a collision.
How long do I have to see a doctor after a car accident in Nevada?
There is no strict legal deadline, but for both your health and the strength of a potential legal claim, you should see a doctor as soon as possible. Ideally, this means within 72 hours of the accident. The longer you wait, the more difficult it becomes to prove your injuries were a direct result of the crash.
What if I don't have health insurance? Can I still get a medical exam?
Yes. You should not let a lack of health insurance prevent you from seeking care. Hospitals are required to provide an emergency screening and stabilize you regardless of your ability to pay. Additionally, some urgent care clinics offer affordable self-pay options. In a personal injury case, a lawyer can sometimes arrange for you to receive medical treatment on a "lien," which means the medical provider agrees to be paid out of the future settlement or award.
Should I see my own doctor or go to the emergency room?
If you are in severe pain, lost consciousness, or suspect a serious injury like a broken bone, you should go to the nearest emergency room immediately. If you feel generally okay but want to get checked out, visiting an urgent care center or scheduling an appointment with your primary care physician are both excellent options. The most important thing is to be seen by a licensed medical professional.
What kind of doctor should I see for a car accident injury?
A good starting point is a general practitioner, an urgent care doctor, or an emergency room physician. They can conduct an initial assessment and, if necessary, refer you to a specialist. Depending on your injuries, you might later see an orthopedist for bone and joint issues, a neurologist for head or nerve injuries, or a physiatrist for rehabilitation.
Will getting a medical exam make my car insurance rates go up?
Seeking a medical examination and using your health insurance will not impact your car insurance rates. If you were not at fault for the accident, you will be making a claim against the at-fault driver's car insurance policy. A successful claim against another driver’s policy should not cause your own premiums to increase.
Let Us Help You Protect Your Rights
At Viloria, Oliphant, Oster & Aman L.L.P., we understand that the time following a car crash can be disorienting and stressful. Your first priority should always be your health and well-being, and that starts with a comprehensive medical evaluation. Once your health is addressed, our focus turns to protecting your legal rights. As true trial lawyers, we prepare every case with the thoroughness and dedication required to win in court, which puts our clients in a position of strength during settlement discussions.
Our team has proudly served Northern Nevada for a combined total of over 100 years. We limit the number of cases we accept to ensure every client receives the personalized, undivided attention they deserve.
If you have been in a car accident, let our experienced Reno attorneys handle the legal complexities so you can focus on your recovery. When you call, we answer. Contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation to hear your story and discuss your options.