What Are Some Common Truck Accident Injuries?

Trucks are much bigger than a car and also many times heavier and powerful. Even though there are more rules and regulations for trucks and truck drivers because of the higher risks associated with these vehicles, there are also many more trucks on the roads these days. When a truck is involved in an accident, the damage is usually extensive. If the truck hits a car, there is a greater risk that the driver of the car and the passengers might suffer far more serious injuries than if the accident was caused by another car.

Truck Accident Data

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that when a truck is involved in an accident, the risk of death or severe injury is far greater than if the accident occurred between two cars. When a truck is involved with a car,  In nearly 75% of truck accident and car accident cases, the car driver and passengers suffer serious injuries or death.

Data indicate that one out of every hundred trucking accidents will result in a fatality, usually of the car driver. Five years ago, there were 330,000 trucks involved in accidents on US roads, which averages 900 accidents every single day. The majority of truck accidents occur over the weekends and at night. Overall, the number of accidents involving trucks have decreased in the past 2 decades, but the fact is that when trucks get involved in a road accident, the risk of getting injured is much higher.

There are many causes of trucking accidents, some of which include:

• Speeding by the truck driver
• Poor maintenance of the truck
• Fatigue of the truck driver
• Following too closely
• Distracted driving

Type of injuries in a truck accident

In most cases, truck accidents result in severe or catastrophic injuries. If the truck accident does not kill the other driver or passengers, they may still be seriously injured with injuries that require prolonged medical care and often result in lifelong disability. Apart from physical injury, many victims are left with long term pain/suffering and a poor quality of life. Some of the injuries that can result from a truck accident include the following:

1. A head injury that can result in bleeding, stroke, inability to speak, eat or breath.
2. Spine injuries which may result in minor neck injury to fracture of the spine, resulting in paralysis, inability to sense pain, inability to pass urine or walk. Patients who are paralyzed often require prolonged rehabilitation and the chances of a full recovery are often slim.
3. Trucking accidents are associated with high-intensity forces, and this can result in fractures including the leg bone, pelvis, ribs, skull, and the low back. Fractures usually need a cast or surgery, followed by prolonged rehabilitation to regain muscle strength and function.
4. Facial injuries may result in injury to the eye and loss of vision. Others may lose the ability to hear. The facial bones may be broken and require surgical repair.
5. Because of the force of the accident, one can suffer internal injuries like damage or perforation to the bowel, rupture of the liver, spleen, or pancreas, bleeding inside the abdomen, and perforation of the bladder and stomach. All these injuries are serious and usually require emergency surgery. If the surgeon is not able to put the bowel back together, then one is left with a colostomy/ileostomy; most people are unprepared for a fecal bag coming out of their abdomen.

Contact a Truck Accident Lawyer at Hare, Wynn, Newell & Newton LLP

If you were involved in a truck accident through no fault of yours, speak to a truck accident lawyer as you may be eligible for compensation for all your medical bills, lost wages, and even pain and suffering. Call our truck accident lawyer at Hare, Wynn, Newell and Newton LLP, and they will help you determine how much compensation you can get for the damages that you have incurred.

Our truck accident attorney will ensure that they obtain detailed information related to the accident so that they can prove that you were not the one responsible for the accident and that you were merely a victim with serious injuries. Call our Birmingham injury firm today and give them the details of your accident. Let them help you deal with the legal aspects of this situation so that you can focus on your recovery and your family.