Seattle Personal Injury Attorney Chris Thayer
Seattle Personal Injury Attorney Chris Thayer
Handling Personal Injury Claims in the Seattle Area and Throughout Washington Since 1995

My name is Chris Thayer and I am a personal injury attorney practicing in downtown Seattle. I handle personal injury, medical malpractice and wrongful death claims throughout the greater Seattle area, including Issaquah, Mercer Island and Kirkland.

I am here to help you.

Call for a free consultation (206) 340-2008

Coping With Shoulder Pain After a Car Accident

Posted Friday, May 14, 2021 by Chris Thayer

Car accidents can be physically and personally catastrophic to those involved. The shoulder, despite being a critical and foundational joint, is actually quite fragile. While seatbelts absolutely keep us safer during an accident, protecting our heads and organs from serious trauma, that often comes at a cost to our shoulders. The intense force and impact placed on the shoulder during an accident can result in a number of forms of trauma to the shoulder, including tears, fractures, soft tissue and tendon injuries, and dislocations.

*Seek Medical Attention *Depending on the type of shoulder injury you have sustained, it may or may not become apparent to you immediately following an accident. A fracture or dislocation will likely result in immediate and debilitating pain and discomfort, requiring urgent medical attention, while soft tissue injuries and even tears may take longer for someone to notice. This is in part because high levels of adrenaline, triggered by a fight-or-flight response, can dull our pain signals, and in part because tears and soft tissue injuries may not register as a serious problem at the time, particularly if we have other injuries sending more urgent pain signals.

Regardless of your level of pain, if you are experiencing any stiffness, pain, or discomfort in your shoulder following a crash, it is critical to seek medical attention as soon as possible. Even if you are tempted to shrug off the discomfort or write it off as “nothing serious,” it is important to treat it as though it might be, because you really cannot know at that point how a minor discomfort will grow or evolve and shoulder injuries are often serious and debilitating. The longer you leave a shoulder ache or pain uninvestigated, the more serious it can become. Additionally, the longer you wait to seek medical attention following a crash, the harder it is to prove that it was the crash (and not some other intervening event) that caused the harm.

*What if I Did Not Seek Medical Attention? *Even if you did not seek medical attention right after the accident, it is important to see a doctor as soon as you begin experiencing symptoms and follow their advice regarding treatment. The longer you wait after you begin experiencing symptoms, the less serious your injury will seem. After all, if you were on a jury and someone said they were experiencing pain but sought no relief or help, you might also assume their pain could not have been too debilitating. Another way to begin developing a paper trail at this point is to keep a journal or log of your symptoms, pain level, and how they are impacting your daily life. It is also important to contact a lawyer as soon as possible so that they can begin to help you navigate this process and develop the best possible path forward.

*Talk to a Seattle Personal Injury Lawyer *If you have suffered a serious or debilitating injury in a Bellevue, Kent, Rento, Burien, Mercer Island, Issaquah, or greater Seattle area car accident, the experienced personal injury lawyers at Pivotal Law Group are ready to zealously advocate on your behalf and help you get the compensation that you are entitled to. Call today and schedule a personalized consultation.