When an accident occurs, and someone is injured, it isn’t always immediately apparent at the scene. Around 20-50 million Americans sustain injuries in car accidents yearly. According to the Endocrine Society, when a person is involved in an extremely intense, frightening situation such as a car accident, their body immediately begins producing adrenaline to trigger a self-preserving fight-or-flight response. This response causes the blood vessels to contract to pump blood to major muscle groups, such as the heart and the lungs. The person often experiences a rush of strength and performance, heightened awareness, and a decrease in the body’s ability to feel pain. The effects of adrenaline after a car accident can take hours to wear off. Sometimes you don’t know you are injured. Other issues can also cause a person to delay medical treatment, such as not having health insurance and being unable to afford the cost of treatment. Many injured parties can deny the seriousness of their injury and decide to tough it out at home. Some people injured in car accidents don’t seek treatment immediately because they’re unsure of how to obtain the treatment they need. Often, an injured person will seek treatment from their primary care doctor, who may be ill-prepared to treat such injuries and unable to schedule an appointment to see the patient immediately. To be sure, delaying medical treatment for injuries sustained in a car accident will complicate your claim. Any delay in treatment will generally cause the insurance provider you’re seeking compensation from to question whether the accident was the cause of your injury or will make them doubt whether the injury was as serious as you stated. However, delayed treatment is better than no treatment. As long as the statute of limitations has not expired on your claim, obtaining a medical diagnosis and treatment of lingering injuries is still important.