Many residents assume internal injuries must look obvious—bruising, swelling, or intense bleeding. In practice, internal trauma often presents through subtler signs: worsening pain, dizziness, fatigue, abdominal or chest discomfort, shortness of breath, nausea, or new weakness. The delay doesn’t automatically mean the injury wasn’t caused by the accident.
What matters is whether your medical records show a consistent timeline and whether clinicians connect your condition to the mechanism of injury. In Lakewood, where drivers and pedestrians share space and where winter and shoulder-season weather can increase fall risk, insurers sometimes argue “it could be something else.” Your case needs to be ready for that argument.


