How Long After a Car Accident Can Injuries Appear, and Why Do You Need a Lafayette Car Accident Lawyer?

March 11, 2025

Lafayette sees more car accidents than any other city in Tippecanoe County, where nearly 12 percent of recent collisions inflicted injuries, and not all of those injuries made themselves known right away.  A significant delay between your Lafayette car accident and your injury diagnosis can pose challenges when you are trying to be fairly compensated, but you may be able to overcome those challenges if you secure skilled legal assistance.  How long after a car accident can injuries appear, and why do you need a Lafayette car accident lawyer?  Hensley Legal Group explains the value of hiring an attorney after a crash. 

Car Accident Injuries May Take Time to Emerge 

No two car accidents are truly alike, and no two car accident injuries are alike either, though the vast majority are readily apparent at the moment of impact, particularly when there are visible wounds or obvious fractures.  Nevertheless, car accident injuries may take time to emerge if they are more internal in nature or have symptoms that are very similar to those of milder ailments, and the resultant confusion could be detrimental to the healing process. 

For example, you would probably know almost instantly if your arm were broken, and your suspicions can soon be confirmed by an x-ray at the emergency room, at which point the proper medical care can be prescribed.  In contrast, a herniated cervical disc might be dismissed as a simple case of neck strain or whiplash and be treated more moderately with bedrest, pain medications, a brace, or physical therapy.  It is only when this regimen proves inadequate that your physician may opt to order tests that could diagnose the actual underlying injury and subsequently propose a more radical medical intervention like surgery. 

Unfortunately, such a prolonged gap between a Lafayette car accident and the accurate identification of your injury could limit the effectiveness of your treatment when you finally receive it.  Furthermore, it could permit doubt to be cast on the causal relationship between the accident and your injury, which the defendants’ auto insurance carriers could exploit to justify paying you pennies on the dollar for your claim or denying it altogether.   

If that should happen, you could be left with few options when it comes to managing your “late-blooming” injuries, much less staving off economic ruin, but this is when retaining a knowledgeable lawyer can make a genuine difference.  

What a Lafayette Car Accident Attorney Can Do for You 

While this may be your first car accident, it definitely won’t be the first for a seasoned Lafayette car accident attorney, who will have the wherewithal to assess your injuries correctly, determine what they are worth, and do whatever it takes to equal or exceed that amount.  This is a key reason why 85 percent of the funds that insurance companies disburse go to claimants with lawyers. 

Your attorney will begin by launching a thorough investigation into your Lafayette car accident and the defendants who may be responsible for it, then establish valid claims against them and possibly file a lawsuit as well within the period set by law. 

Your Lafayette car accident lawyer will also amass the materials to shore up your case, partner with medical experts who can attest to the relevance of your injuries if they are in dispute, and negotiate tirelessly for a settlement that reflects the totality of your losses, including your: 

• Medical bills 

• Lost income 

• Pain and suffering 

• Psychological trauma 

• Mobility restrictions 

• Diminished quality of living 

• Loss of consortium (if applicable) 

When confronted with compelling evidence of both your damages and the insured’s liability, a wise insurer may decide to extend a generous offer rather than risk a worse verdict at trial, which is why most Lafayette car accident cases are resolved outside of the courtroom.  However, a battle-tested litigator will become indispensable if your case has its day in court, where plaintiffs who represent themselves lose about 96 percent of the time but plaintiffs with professional representation are statistically favored to win. 

And if your attorney can make a receptive jury comprehend everything that the Lafayette car accident has taken from you, you might even be awarded the resources necessary to get your life back to normal. 

Reach Out to Our Lafayette Car Accident Lawyers 

No matter what type of injuries you sustain, Hensley Legal Group will be here, just like our firm has been here for wrongfully injured people for over a quarter century.  If you have been badly hurt in the Lafayette area through no fault of your own, reach out to our Lafayette car accident lawyers to discover the remedies that may be available to you. 

You can schedule a free consultation with a dedicated Lafayette car accident attorney by calling us at (317) 472-3333, chatting with us online, or filling out our contact form now.