Legal•Info

Truck Accident Injuries

Call (888) 471-3714 to speak with a car accident attorney.

Big trucks typically weigh anywhere from 10,000 to 100,000 pounds and can be as long as 60-70 feet. Being involved in an accident with a truck of such magnitude can result in many types of injuries, most of which are serious in nature. The following is a brief look at the different kinds of injuries that people involved in a truck accident may incur. Out of all of the fatalities in 2002 that resulted from truck accidents that involved large trucks, 8 percent were non-occupants, 78 percent were occupants in a different vehicle, and 15 percent were the truck driver or an occupant in the truck.

Types of Truck Accident Injuries

Head Injuries: Injury to the head is very common in truck accidents, especially head-on collisions. Head injuries can be as minor as a concussion or a mild headache, or serious enough to cause damage to the brain.

Brain Injuries: Brain injuries are among the leading type of injuries caused due to truck accidents. Brain injury refers to damage to the brain, resulting in neuropsychological performance problems, such as contrecoup injuries. A truck accident can also cause bruising of the brain stem, brain hemorrhage, coma, subdural hematoma, brain concussions, or bleeding in the brain lining.

Back Injuries: A leading concern with back injuries due to truck accidents is injury to the spinal cord. If there is any injury to the spinal cord, a person could become paralyzed for life. An injury to the lower back could leave you with chronic back pain, which can make even mundane tasks such as sitting and sleeping very difficult.

Neck Injuries: Whiplash, herniated neck discs, and spinal cord injuries can all result due to an injury to the neck.

Knee Injuries: An injury to the knee could take away your ability to walk. Knee replacement surgeries are often required to correct knee injuries due to truck accidents.

Fractures: A truck accident can leave you with multiple fractures in your arms, wrists, elbows, legs, and other parts of the body. These can be treated with casts, physical therapy, and rehabilitation programs, but often people with fractures end up with limited use of the fractured body parts for the rest of their lives.

Burns: If you are involved in a truck accident with a hazmat carrier, burn injuries due to chemical and other spills are very common.

There are many other ways in which a person can suffer from truck accidents. Loss of eyesight or hearing, loss of limbs, scarring, deformity, emotional trauma, and psychological distress, are all complications that can arise from truck accidents.

Personal Injury Claims

If you have been injured in any of the above mentioned ways, or have sustained any other type of injury due to a truck accident, you can file a personal injury claim against the responsible parties. The responsible parties can include the truck driver, the trucking company, the driver of any passenger vehicle that caused the truck accident, etc.

To receive damages in a personal injury case, the following elements must be present:

There should be an injury due to the truck accident

A party, other than you, should be responsible for the truck accident

The responsible party should have a means for compensation, such as insurance, personal funds, company help, etc.

If you can prove your personal injury claim, then you stand to receive compensation for medical expenses incurred by your injuries (present and future), compensation for mental anguish due to the injuries, and also punitive damages. To know more about compensation recoverable due to truck accident injuries, consult an attorney today.