What Are Common Injuries From Truck Accidents?

Truck accidents cause serious injuries to the truck drivers, the occupants of any other vehicles on the road, pedestrians, and bicycle riders. The injuries are often catastrophic and/or permanent because when trucks crash, they often roll over, jackknife, or spread across the highway. Most car occupants are lucky to survive a collision.

Some of the many types of serious truck accident injuries include:

• Traumatic brain injuries. These injuries occur when a victim’s brain moves around in his/her head, striking the inside of the skull. The damage can occur at the moment of impact, or progress over the following hours and days. Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are a major source of death and disability in the United States, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Physical symptoms include pain, loss of balance, and speech difficulties. Victims may suffer damage to their senses, including sensitivity to light or sound. Cognitive, behavioral, and mental symptoms include loss of consciousness, difficulty concentrating, difficulty sleeping, and depression. Some victims suffer seizures and convulsions. Coma and slurred speech are just some of the many complications.

• Open head wounds. Open head wound injuries can cause skull fractures, infections, loss of bodily function, and many other complications. They can also lead to TBI (called a “penetrating brain injury”) and must be treated like a medical emergency.
• Traumatic amputations. A truck accident victim may lose all or part of a body part as a direct result of the truck accident; they may also lose a limb because it needs to be surgically removed in order to save the victim’s life. Most traumatic amputation victims must cope with phantom pain and other complications. Victims who lose some or all of their limb normally need extensive psychological help in addition to learning to live with or without a prosthesis.
• Spinal cord injuries. The Mayo Clinic states that a spinal cord injury (SCI) is “damage to any part of the spinal cord or nerves at the end of the spinal canal (cauda equina).” Spinal cord damage often causes “permanent changes in strength, sensation and other body functions below the site of the injury.”

Truck accident victims who have some feeling below the point of their injury have an incomplete SCI. If the victim has no feeling below the location of their SCI, the injury is complete. If the victim’s arms, hands, trunk, legs, and pelvic organs are all affected by their spinal cord injury the victim has tetraplegia (also called quadriplegia). If all or part of the trunk, legs and pelvic organs are affected, the victim has paraplegia. SCIs present numerous challenges. Many SCI accident victims are immobile. They often have bladder and bowel dysfunction and many other disorders. Vehicle accidents, construction accidents, and falls are common causes of a spinal cord injury.

• Burn injuries. Burn injuries are classified from least severe (first-degree) to most severe (third-degree), though some groups do recognize fourth-degree burns. (Fourth-degree burns are almost always fatal.) The different types of burn injuries include thermal burns, electrical burns, chemical burns, and radiation burns. Most victims of third-degree burns require skin grafts and plastic surgery. Many victims require long-term psychological help – especially if the burns are visible to others.
• Compound, multiple, and simple fractures. While many bone fractures heal with proper treatment, some fractures never completely heal. Surgery is generally required to move the broken bones back into their regular position. The bones may need to be aligned using screws, rods, pins, and plates. The bones will then be immobilized by the use of a cast or other methods. Complications of a compound fracture include skin damage, joint damage, nerve damage, and incomplete or improper healing or alignments. Multiple fractures require multiple interventions to help each fractured bone heal properly.

Other severe truck accident injuries include:

• Head, neck, and back injuries
• Internal organ damage and internal bleeding
• Soft tissue injuries
• Vision loss
• Hearing loss

In the most tragic cases, a Charlotte truck accident victim loses their life. We file wrongful death claims on behalf of the family to compensate them for the funeral and burial expenses; lost income; the loss of the loved one’s comfort, society, care, protection, and support; and other damages.

What type of medical care do Charlotte truck accident victims need?

Many victims of truck accidents require a lifetime of medical care. For many victims, their lives are never comparable to their lives before the accident. Most victims with severe injuries due to a truck accident require help from the following types of healthcare professionals:

• Emergency medical technicians
• Emergency room doctors
• Neurosurgeons, general surgeons, orthopedic surgeons, and other types of surgeons
• Nurses
• Physical therapists
• Occupational therapists
• Vocational therapists
• Rehabilitation therapists
• Physiatrists
• Speech therapists
• Nutritionists
• Social workers

Victims who have any scarring or disfigurement often need to consult with psychologists and other mental health professionals. Some victims suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.

At Price Petho & Associates, our truck accident lawyers work with your doctors, specialists, and other healthcare professionals to diagnose your injuries, explain what type of medical care your will need, and detail every way your injuries affect your life. This, along with information from your employer and your loved ones, helps us build a clear picture of the trust extent of your losses. We can present this to a jury to show why you need help – and why the negligent party, whether it’s the driver or the company who which he or she works, must be held liable.

To discuss your rights after a truck accident, call Price, Petho & Associates in Charlotte at 704-372-2160 or fill out our contact form to schedule a free consultation. We represent accident victims on a contingency fee basis. Serving Charlotte, Rockingham, Rutherfordton, North Carolina, and South Carolina.