Only truck accident victims have a unique understanding of how devastating a trucking collision can be on health, the mind, and even finances. Suffering injuries in a truck crash can affect you in the short and long term.
You may face a significant road to recovery and have to take time away from work, which can affect your ability to pay medical bills and support your family.
Truck accidents can result in a wide variety of injuries. While making a full recovery from collision injuries is possible in certain cases, for many, life doesn’t look quite the same post-accident.
Following a trucking collision, consulting with a skilled truck accident attorney is one of the most critical steps you can take. A lawyer can take on your case and fight to get you the justice and compensation you deserve.
Truck Accidents Often Result in Severe, Life-Altering Injuries
Trucks play a key role in our everyday lives and economy, but even so, these massive vehicles can cause danger on roads.
Commercial trucks, with their large size and heavy weight, can cause extensive injury and property damage in an accident. For this reason, truck accident injuries are often more severe than traditional car accident injuries.
In a recent year, over 120,000 large trucks were involved in accidents resulting in injuries. Over the last few years, these numbers have remained fairly consistent, as trucking collisions are such a common occurrence.
Common Types of Trucking Collision Injuries
Truck accidents cause various types of injuries affecting just about any part of the body. The kinds of injuries that result from trucking crashes depend on several factors, including the cause of the collision, the type of accident, and the severity of the impact.
The following are just some of the injuries truck accident victims often face.
Broken Bones
Broken bones are some of the most common kinds of accident injuries. The impact of a truck crash can cause an accident victim to slam against a part of their car, causing a fracture. Additionally, certain body parts, like arms, legs, and fingers, can get struck or crushed during the collision.
Aside from broken bones in the limbs, fractures tend to occur in the clavicle, ribs, and facial bones.
Burns
The severity of impact in a truck accident often results in fires, leaving victims suffering burns. Vehicle fires can spread rather quickly, and if a victim is stuck in the vehicle and unable to get out, they can sustain substantial burns to multiple parts of the body.
Burns range in severity, but they can all be painful and serious. Recovery from burns depends on the degree but may require extensive treatment and even multiple surgeries.
Aside from fires, accident victims may also sustain other types of burns, including road rash or burns from airbag deployment. Road rash is a type of friction burn victims may suffer, especially if they’re ejected from the vehicle. The rapid deployment of airbags can also harm collision victims, causing friction or chemical burns.
Head and Brain Injuries
Head and brain injuries are particularly common in severe accidents like trucking collisions. These can be some of the most serious kinds of injuries.
Generally, head injuries affect the scalp, skull, or brain. Common head injuries include scalp lacerations and skull fractures.
A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an injury to the brain that affects how the organ functions. These injuries usually result from a sudden, drastic jolt or blow to the head. Brain injuries can be closed, meaning the injury affects the brain internally, or penetrating, meaning an open, visible injury.
Numerous kinds of brain injuries exist, including:
- Concussions
- Hematomas
- Hemorrhages
- Diffuse axonal injury
- Coup-contrecoup injury
Because a TBI can affect various areas of the brain and range in severity, there are countless symptoms. More symptoms of a brain injury include confusion, dizziness, and blurred vision, while a more significant brain injury can affect a person cognitively and even lead to unconsciousness and coma.
Neck Injuries
Neck injuries can affect different parts of the neck, including muscles, tendons, and nerves. They are typically caused by rapid back-and-forth or side-to-side movement caused by the impact of a collision.
One of the most common types of neck injuries in vehicular collisions is whiplash, a type of neck sprain. Whiplash can cause neck pain, tenderness, and trouble with movement. More serious whiplash injuries can result in muscle weakness, persistent headaches, and sometimes neurological issues.
Spinal Cord Injuries
The spinal cord is one of the most important parts of the body’s nervous system. It helps send and receive messages from the brain to other body parts. When you injure any part of your spinal cord, it can have damaging effects on your bodily functions.
Depending on the location of your spinal cord injury, symptoms can include:
- Changes in sensation
- Loss of movement
- Intense pain
- Exaggerated reflexes and spasms
- Trouble breathing
- Loss of bladder or bowel control
Complications from spinal cord injuries are common, based on the severity and area affected. It is not uncommon for accident victims to suffer long-term consequences from spinal cord injuries.
Crush Injuries
Crush injuries occur when extreme force is put on an area of the body. This pressure can cause substantial injury, including:
- Broken bones
- Bleeding
- Lacerations
- Injuries to nerves
- Infections
Additionally, in the most terrible crush situations, compartment syndrome can result. Increased pressure on an area can cause irreversible damage to muscles, tissue, and nerves.
Internal Injuries
Some injuries are not immediately visible. Internal injuries can cause bleeding and damage in certain organs or areas of the body, including the abdomen and lungs.
Internal injuries result from trauma. For this reason, when you’re involved in a truck accident, seek medical attention. You may not experience any symptoms from your internal injuries, and a delay in treatment can cause injuries to worsen and other complications to develop.
Soft Tissue Injuries
Soft tissue injuries affect the muscles, tendons, and ligaments. A sudden impact or movement can lead to soft tissue injuries in various body parts, from your neck to your ankles.
These injuries can cause pain, weakness, and limited range of motion. Treatment depends on the severity of the injury, but prompt attention is necessary to improve symptoms and work toward recovery.
Complications from Truck Accident Injuries
Trucking collision injuries can affect your life in the short term. You may experience pain and discomfort as you receive medical treatment and might also encounter other challenges, including the need to take time away from work to recover.
While this is frustrating in and of itself, truck accident injuries can also affect victims in the long term.
Based on the specific injuries you suffer and the seriousness of these injuries, you may face certain consequences to your health.
Some of the common complications from truck crash injuries include:
- Nerve damage
- Brain damage
- Paralysis
- Amputations
- Permanent scarring and disfigurement
- Chronic pain
Your truck accident can also have an impact on your mental and emotional health, as you may develop anxiety, depression, or even post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Following a trucking collision, it’s critical to seek medical attention. While some complications cannot be avoided entirely, getting proper care can help prevent the worsening of your condition.
Your Injuries Impact Your Financial Recovery
Damages help provide compensation for your monetary and non-monetary losses. The types of damages you’re entitled to receive and your injuries highly impact the overall value of your claim.
Some of the damages you can pursue following a trucking collision include:
- Past and future medical bills, including hospital stays, surgeries, and medications
- Rehabilitation and therapy
- Lost earnings from time off at work
- Diminished or lost earning potential
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Disability
Certain factors aid in determining how much your case is worth. It’s essential to consider:
- The types of injuries you suffered
- How serious your injuries were
- The total cost of your medical treatment
- Whether you’ll need medical care in the future
- Whether you’ve had to take time off from work, and if so, the total of your lost earnings
- Whether you’ll be able to return to the same occupation you had pre-accident
- How your accident has affected you mentally and emotionally
Just monetary recovery is crucial for many reasons. Not only can obtaining compensation help ensure you can afford all of your medical care, but it can also assist in minimizing the financial strain caused by your truck crash.
Proving the Severity of Your Injuries With Evidence
It’s not simply enough to claim you suffer from certain injuries, you must also substantiate your claims with strong evidence.
Medical records and bills are some of the best types of evidence to prove the types of injuries you’ve suffered, the seriousness of your harm, and the outlook of your recovery. This can significantly help you recover financially for your medical needs.
From the first time you seek medical attention after your accident, your records reflect critical details. As you proceed with your treatment, your medical records continue to expand with more crucial information. Medical records are vital, so getting medical care and following through with treatment are key.
Aside from medical documentation, other evidence that can assist with your claim includes expert testimony, police reports, and witness statements.
Making sure you get the evidence you need can be daunting. Fortunately, you can rely on a truck accident attorney to request and obtain all necessary evidence as they build and strengthen your case.
The Worst Trucking Collisions End in Fatalities
In some of the most unfortunate cases, trucking accidents result in victim deaths. Truck crash fatalities can happen anywhere, but some of the larger states, like California and Florida, see the most accident-related deaths.
Options After Losing Someone in a Truck Crash
When a loved one passes away as a result of a trucking collision, family members may have legal options. A wrongful death lawsuit can help families in need recover after an untimely loss.
Depending on state law, either the victim’s representative or a family member, like a spouse or parent, can file a wrongful death lawsuit.
A wrongful death claim allows a truck accident victim’s loved ones to pursue justice and compensation for their losses from the responsible party. Family members may receive damages for funeral and burial costs, pain and suffering, and loss of financial support, among many others.
Loved ones are only given a small window of time to seek fair financial recovery. While money can't undo what happened, it can help families carry the financial burdens of losing an important figure. Following a truck accident death, speak to a wrongful death attorney as quickly as possible to get started on the claim.
Getting Help With Your Trucking Collision Case from a Skilled Accident Attorney
If you’ve sustained injuries in a truck crash, you should always seek help from a qualified truck accident attorney. A lawyer can assist you in numerous ways, paving the way for you to obtain the financial recovery you need.
From the outset of representation, your truck accident attorney will do everything to safeguard your rights and fight for justice on your behalf. Your attorney can handle all case-related tasks, from investigating your accident and calculating your damages to communicating with insurance companies and negotiating a fair settlement.
Your truck accident lawyer can guide medical care, recommending trusted healthcare providers to ensure you get the best possible treatment. You can trust your attorney to do whatever is necessary to prove the gravity of your injuries and secure a favorable case result.
You don’t have to take on your case after a collision. In fact, trying to do so can be a huge mistake, both for now and far into the future. Allow a personal injury attorney to advocate for and help you reach the most advantageous outcome.
Consultations are free with no obligation, so you have nothing to lose by scheduling yours today.
Robert Bohn, Jr.
Attorney
For more than 40 years, the lawyers at Robert Bohn, Jr. has dedicated their practices to personal injury law, representing people who have been injured or damaged due to the negligence or carelessness of others. For most people, handling a personal injury claim can be complicated and stressful.
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