You may have been involved in an accident or had exposure to something that has damaged your health and not have any symptoms for some time after. Why is this and will you receive compensation?

Many people suffer from the effects of an accident immediately. A broken leg is pretty immediate and obvious. Other injuries may be slower to develop however and one of the more common is the whiplash type of injury often caused in road accidents but not unknown in work accidents or where someone has tripped and fallen.

Injuries to the neck caused by a sudden movement of the head backwards, forwards or sideways are referred to as a whiplash injury and the symptoms typically take a few hours to develop although sometimes it can take much longer.

In the past it was hard to diagnose a whiplash injury but this has become much easier with MRI and CAT scans in the more severe cases.

The typical whiplash which occurs when the head has not hit the windscreen or no bones are broken, comes on within a couple of hours to a couple of days and is the result of the neck and back muscles tightening or tearing or ligament damage. Those muscles have tightened whilst trying to support the head.

Sometimes however the effects of a whiplash may not be apparent for some considerable time and may only come to light when more serious complications develop such as arthritis. It may still be possible to claim compensation but a lot will depend on the medical evidence.

Another injury that can take some time to develop and is often in the news is post traumatic stress disorder or PTSD. This is commonly associated with the terrors of combat but less well known is the fact that any overwhelming life event can set off PTSD. A car accident can and does lead to the symptoms particularly the more serious car accidents but any life threatening event can set off the symptoms. These can come on suddenly and whilst they commonly come on in the immediate aftermath of the accident, the symptoms can also develop over time. The symptoms are varied but usually include things like flashbacks, nightmares, intense distress when thinking of the event, loss of interest in things, difficulty concentrating or getting to sleep and feelings of anger guilt and blaming oneself.

Diagnosis and treatment should come from an appropriately trained medical consultant and therapist. Compensation in the event of a diagnosis can also be obtained.

Other injuries that can take time to develop:

If you suffer a head injury as a result of a road accident or a fall or whilst playing sport, you may think that you have just suffered a bang to the head. The symptoms of a brain injury can occur immediately or come on over hours or even days. Even if there is no fracture, the result of the brain banging against the inside of the skull and whilst an individual may feel fine, there could be complications developing. If you or the person who has been injured, becomes drowsy, develops a stiff head or neck or starts to lose consciousness then immediate medical help should be sought.

The main injury that can take many years to develop is industrial disease, i.e the effects of working in noisy or dirty conditions. Most people know about the effects of asbestos these days but in the 40s 50s and 60s hundreds of thousands of people and their families were exposed to this substance and many of those have succumbed to the effects and continue to do so. Compensation for this terrible illness is awarded to the sufferer and his or her family.

Other industrial diseases that can take time to develop include industrial deafness, hand arm vibration syndrome and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and if you have been diagnosed with any of these or indeed any illness that you think may have been caused by your employment you should seek specialist legal help.

Problems with medical implants such as faulty hip replacements or plastic surgery implants, can also cause problems sometime after the surgery. In these cases you should seek medical advice for the symptoms as soon as you think there may be something wrong.