Emotional & Physical: Long-Term Effects of Road Accidents

The damaging effects of a car accident can be felt even at the scene, but just imagine how long such effects last for other people. Apart from the physical and emotional injuries that last for far too long, you also have to think of other things such as looking for a personal injury lawyer in North York and an injury lawyer in Whitby who can help you out in your situation. 

We have listed some of the common emotional and physical long-term effects of road accidents for you to be guided.

Long-Term Emotional Impacts of a Car Accident

Oftentimes, people focus only on the physical aspect once they get into a car accident. While of course such impact should be dealt with right away, it is also important that the emotional trauma caused by the experience should also be acknowledged, and most especially, treated.

1. Behavioural Changes

Each of us has a unique way of dealing with grief. We deal with traumatic events differently, too, and one of the common things that change within us in order to cope with a traumatic incident is our behavioural pattern.

2. Anxiety

It is common for people to develop anxiety after a car accident. This emotional impact comes with physical symptoms, specifically panic attacks. A person may find it unimaginable to recover emotionally and get right back into enjoying their lives. If their anxiety after the event is not dealt with correctly, the affected individual will most likely experience anxiety for their entire life after the accident.

3. Depression

Feeling depressed and in a difficult situation after a crash is completely understandable. Knowing that you have suffered serious injuries with a need to recover for a long extended period of time will surely make your outlook in life dreadful. Hence, it is important to let yourself get over the accident and seek help whenever so you can continue your journey to recovery successfully.

4. Sleeping Problems

Since you are stressed from the accident, this can affect your sleeping pattern. It will be no surprise if you find yourself in a situation where you develop different sleep disorders such as insomnia. Stress overstimulates your brain to the point where you find it difficult to sleep since your mind is prone to linger on the things that happened during the traumatic event.

5. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

PTSD usually happens after a person witnesses or experiences firsthand traumatic events, and this includes car accidents. Oftentimes, they will experience flashbacks of the event which will make it difficult for them to deal with the present situation in which the accident is already over and that they are okay or are on their way to recovery. PTSD also makes them hyper-aware and hyper-reactive to their surroundings and for.

Those who show the symptoms of having PTSD should seek clinical help so they won’t resort to self-medication which can lead to other and more problems later on.

Long-Term Physical Effects of a Car Accident

There are physical injuries that can be seen and treated right away. However, car accidents can cause long-term impacts on the physical aspect of a victim that goes beyond cuts and bruises while others will feel the impact longer and will even find the need for Guelph physio clinics in order to recover.

1. Mobility

One of the worse long-term physical impacts after getting into a car accident is the inability to move around or the need to have 24/7 assistance so you can go from one place to another. There are worse-case scenarios where a person is left with no capacity to move their lower limbs. Their physical body is not only affected in this case but so are their daily activities and their overall quality of life. 

2. Lacerations

Cuts are among the common physical impact of a car accident. In extreme cases, a person might sustain a deep cut that can affect their arteries, which will then result in serious external bleeding.

Once healed, such deep cuts will leave permanent scars that will then result in emotional distress, especially if these cuts are out in the open for people to see.

3. Whiplash

Whiplash is a soft tissue injury that is often dismissed as mild right after the accident. Unfortunately, what is deemed as minor actually has a long-term impact on the victim’s body. Make sure you acknowledge any worsening of pain when you move your neck because it’s a sure sign of whiplash.

4. Fractures

Fractures are also among the most common physical effects of a car accident. A serious case will need a longer recovery time, and before getting into rehabilitation, you will need to go through surgery.

5. Amputation

When worse comes to worst, amputation is often needed especially if the individual sustains injuries that are far too damaging if not surgically removed. Amputation can pose long-term effects on victims because it can affect their mobility and cause phantom limb pain that will then result in grief and depression.

If you find yourself in any of these emotional and physical experiences caused by a car accident, do hesitate to seek help, be it legal or health-wise.