Elderly Car Accident Victims Report Suffering Pain Longer After Crashes

The recovery time for different types of auto accident injuries may vary, but a new study is showing there is at least one factor capable of slowing down one’s ability to heal—a victim’s age. Researchers have concluded elderly motorists tend to report pain for longer periods of time after a car accident than their younger counterparts.
Published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, the study reports that more than half of all senior citizens seriously injured in a car accident admit to using pain medications for as long as six months after a collision. Data also shows doctors gave these individuals a prognosis of being healed within 30 days.
Persistent pain tends to be compounded with other health conditions as time goes on as well. Researchers found that 72 percent of the study’s participants reported moderate to severe pain immediately after an auto accident. After six months, only around one-quarter of patients reported moderate to severe pain, but those individuals also tended to report more health complications.
Patients suffering from high levels of pain after six months following a collision tended to report a decline in physical function, and 23 percent of those individuals reported having to change their living situation to receive more help.
At Cofman Townsley Injury Lawyers, we recognize how debilitating car accident injuries can be, and our St. Louis car accident lawyers encourage crash victims to discuss all treatment available after an auto accident.