Most Common Truck Accident Injuries
Commercial trucks are the largest vehicles on the road, weighing 20 to 30 times as much as passenger vehicles and take 20-40% longer to stop safely compared to a passenger car, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). When these behemoths are involved in an accident, their sheer size can cause catastrophic damage. Truck accidents often result in fatalities or serious injuries for drivers of passenger vehicles.
If you or your loved one was injured in a trucking accident that was not your fault, please call our experienced truck accident injury attorneys today! The Florida Law Group is ranked in the top 1% of law firms and can fight for maximum compensation for your injuries.
Here are some of the most common types of truck accident injuries that damages can be sought for in a settlement:
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Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI)
When a person’s head is violently jolted due to whiplash or is dealt a blow (such as someone’s head striking the window in the event of a crash), or when debris penetrates a person’s skull, a traumatic brain injury could be the result. TBIs range from mild to moderate to severe, and affect your brain cells; this type of injury could lead to bruising, bleeding, and other physical damage to the brain. Traumatic brain injuries can dramatically alter a person’s life, as they may result in long-term or permanent complications or even death.
While you might think that symptoms of this type of injury appear immediately, and many do, sometimes symptoms do not present for days or weeks following a truck accident. Signs that you may have a traumatic brain injury may include nausea or vomiting, loss of consciousness, persistent headache, seizures, pupil dilation, fatigue, slurred speech, difficulty sleeping or oversleeping, dizziness, loss of balance, numbness in the extremities, blurred vision, sensitivity to light or sound, memory problems, mood swings, or feelings of depression or anxiety.
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Spinal Cord Injuries & Paralysis
If a person experiences a sudden blow to their spine during an accident that fractures, dislocates, crushes, or compresses their vertebrae, they may have a traumatic spinal cord injury. These types of injuries, even if classified as non-traumatic, are the most serious kind of truck accident injury possible, and can cause permanent damage to a person’s strength, sensations, and functions below the injury site.
Symptoms include loss of movement, loss of sensation, loss of bladder/bowel control, spasms, intense pain or stinging sensation, difficulty breathing, extreme pressure in your neck, head, or back, weakness or numbness of the extremities, loss of balance, difficulty walking, and partial or full paralysis. Spinal cord injuries may lead to paralysis, bleeding, inflammation, fluid accumulation, or other damage. Because the spine is so sensitive and so central to bodily function, a spinal cord injury may never fully heal and may even render the injured victim a quadraplegic or paraplegic.
Both traumatic brain and traumatic spine injuries will be expensive in the short term (potentially requiring surgeries, hospitalizations, and more) and will probably require lifelong medical care.
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Back & Neck Injuries
In a truck accident, drivers or passengers of smaller vehicles may experience a range of injuries affecting their neck and back, such as whiplash, dislocated or herniated discs, bulged discs, muscle strains, torn tendons and ligaments, and other soft tissue injuries. The back and neck support you and are critical to all your motion and activity; neck and back injuries resulting from a trucking accident may prevent you from returning to work and daily activities until you have healed! Some back or neck injuries may never fully heal or may require you to change your lifestyle.
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Broken Bones
Because trucks can have such a powerful impact on a smaller vehicle, broken bones are more common in truck accidents than in regular two car accidents. While broken bones do typically heal, not all broken bones heal without assistance (expensive surgeries, rods, pins, screws, etc.). Fractures can be compound, meaning that they puncture the skin. Broken bones like ribs can also cause internal bleeding, organ damage, or nerve damage. All broken bones may be extremely painful and require significant time to heal.
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Burns
Truck accidents are more likely to result in fires or explosions because of the amount of fuel that trucks carry. If either the truck’s fuel tank or another vehicle’s fuel tank ruptures during a collision, a fire can result, and the driver or passengers of the smaller car may experience burn injuries. These types of injuries can also occur as a result of friction (from a seat belt or contact with the road). Burn injuries are categorized by degree (fourth degree being the most serious, first degree being the least serious). All burn injuries may cause pain, but severe burn injuries may cause disfigurement, infection, and psychological trauma, and require reconstructive surgery to even partially heal. A burn victim’s life may never be the same after a truck accident.
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Lacerations
Lacerations, or deep cuts, can occur when a truck accident causes a victim to come in contact with sharp metal, shattered glass, broken plastic interiors or other debris. These materials can cause puncture wounds or lacerations, which can be extremely painful as well as disfiguring. While lacerations will typically heal over time, they will leave scars which can be permanent.
If you suffered any of these injuries in a truck accident, The Florida Law Group can help. Insurance companies may be offering you a lower settlement than what you deserve. We will help advocate for you to get the full amount that your case is actually worth! Our law firm is nationally recognized for our ability to get sizable verdicts for our truck accident clients. We belong to the Multi-Million Dollar Advocate Forum, the National Trial Lawyers Top 100, the Best Lawyers in America, Florida Super Lawyers, and the National Association of Distinguished Counsel. Our lead trial attorney, Chris Limberopoulos, is a board certified as a Civil Trial Specialist by the Trial Lawyer Board of Regents, a distinction that very few lawyers can claim. We know that being severely injured in a truck accident is unfair and devastating, so we will do exactly what it takes to make a positive impact on your healing!
We proudly offer all of our services to truck accident injury victims on a contingency fee basis, meaning that you do not pay us anything unless we win your case. Call now to schedule your free case evaluation!