I may have a whiplash injury; should I call out of work tomorrow?

[daisyd]

I got rear ended an hour ago as I was heading out of work.Amazingly neither I nor the 88 yr old woman driving the other car were physically hurt though both our cars will need work I felt fine then except for a little neck stiffness and I was eager to get going.So I signed a form declining transfer to local ER and medical check up. I'm now having muscle stiffness in shoulders and neck similar to a whiplash injury I had several years ago. I had a slight headache earlier in the day prior to the accident and it hasn't worsened.

Right now, it seems manageable. But, I remember that it gets worse on day 2 even if it seems okay immediately after the accident. Should I call out of work tomorrow? I'm having a hard time thinking this through (I'm still feeling shaken up by the accident) and making a decision. I'm usually very reluctant to call out sick. If I can manage with ibuprofen I'd rather do that.

Any reason I should check in with my doctor? My car will need work before it's drive-able, so if the doctor is just going to tell me to rest and take ibuprofen I'd rather skip it. TIA!

[jgenie]

You should be seen by a doctor. Urgent care or your doctor first thing tomorrow if you prefer. You are probably fine but I wouldn’t want to guess if it were me.

[NCGrandma]

You should be seen by a doctor. Urgent care or your doctor first thing tomorrow if you prefer. You are probably fine but I wouldn’t want to guess if it were me.

I agree! Both for your peace of mind and for the outside chance there is something the insurance co needs to know about.


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[daisyd]

Thanks much for your replies! NCGrandma what might the insurance company need to know? My car insurance/ health insurance/both?

[NCGrandma]

I was thinking about car insurance. When there’s an accident with an injury, sometimes your car insurance will contact the other person’s insurance and work out which one(s) are responsible for what, in terms of paying for the medical expenses.

Fortunately I haven’t had any recent experience, so I don’t know how it works now. However, I do know that sometimes in case of accident, the medical insurer wants to find out the details so they can settle up with another insurer if appropriate. Hopefully some more "experienced" BBBers can weigh in! I just know that when I fell and broke my wrist several years ago, the health insurance wanted lots of info, but once I told them that I just tripped and it was no one else's fault, that was the end of it.


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[daisyd]

I was thinking about car insurance. When there’s an accident with an injury, sometimes your car insurance will contact the other person’s insurance and work out which one(s) are responsible for what, in terms of paying for the medical expenses.

Fortunately I haven’t had any recent experience, so I don’t know how it works now. However, I do know that sometimes in case of accident, the medical insurer wants to find out the details so they can settle up with another insurer if appropriate. Hopefully some more "experienced" BBBers can weigh in! I just know that when I fell and broke my wrist several years ago, the health insurance wanted lots of info, but once I told them that I just tripped and it was no one else's fault, that was the end of it.


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Got it thanks! This happened with my previous whiplash injury. My car was totalled in that accident though.

[Zansu]

Just because you can't see it doesn't mean there's no damage. This applies to your car and to your body.

[PunkyBoo]

See the dr tomorrow, then see if you feel well enough to go to work after. It's better to have a record now...
20 years ago, I was rear ended on a Friday night (my birthday, nonetheless) on the way home from work. I was very sore, but rested and took motrin and returned to normal life (in a rental car) on Monday. The following Saturday, literally 8 days later, I was rear ended AGAIN, in the rental car. It was an insurance nightmare to sort out, and a big point of contention was which offender's insurance should be paying for the physical therapy I then needed. My neck was messed up, I needed the therapy, and ended up having to hire a lawyer to sort through the mess. Moral of the story is, you never know what will happen tomorrow, so take care of yourself now.

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[daisyd]

Thanks all. I went to the urgent care today