Summary:
- Truck accidents can cause severe injuries like spinal cord, shoulder, knee, facial, and internal injuries
- These types of accidents can cause serious injuries because the size of trucks can lead to a greater force of impact
- Trucks can contain heavy and dangerous cargo that can cause severe injuries during a collision
- A large semi-truck can significantly outweigh a smaller car and cause destructive impact during a truck crash
One of the most severe personal injury accidents someone can suffer is a truck accident. Trucks are much larger than other vehicles, meaning a crash or collision can cause a greater force of impact. Truck accidents can expose victims to severe blunt-force trauma, causing serious injuries like traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), broken bones, and spinal cord injuries.
Trucks also contain heavy and dangerous cargo that can cause more damage to other vehicles and possibly lead to explosions. Smaller vehicles like cars can also become destroyed from impact with a truck, leading to severe blunt-force trauma. Victims of serious truck accident injuries can file civil claims to pursue compensation for economic and non-economic damages.
What Severe Injuries Can Result from a Truck Accident?
Truck accidents can cause serious physical injuries. During the impact of a collision, drivers and passengers of trucks and other vehicles can suffer severe blunt-force trauma that can damage the bones, tendons, muscles, tissue, and other parts of the body.
Victims of truck accidents can sustain severe injuries that can lead to intense physical pain, reduced body part functionality, bruising, weakness, and other symptoms. These injuries can lead to physical and emotional pain and suffering, negatively altering a person’s quality of life for months or years.
The following are some severe truck accident injuries victims can suffer:
- Broken bones
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
- Shoulder injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Knee injuries
- Facial injuries
- Back and neck injuries
- Burn injuries
- Whiplash
- Internal injuries
The Size of Trucks Causes a Greater Force of Impact
Trucks are much larger than cars, as trucks weigh up to 80,000 pounds. Most cars will not exceed 4,000 pounds. Having a larger mass requires greater acceleration to have the truck move, but this level of acceleration and size can cause greater force of impact. A large truck can cause devastating impact when it strikes another vehicle.
Truck accidents, such as T-bone, rollover, and jackknife accidents, can expose drivers and passengers to serious injuries through a great force of impact. The structure of a truck or other vehicle can only do so much to protect someone from a direct blow from a large vehicle going at a high speed.
Heavy and Dangerous Cargo Can Expose Truck Accident Victims to Serious Injuries
Semi-trucks can transport cargo, such as construction materials, retail products, farm equipment, and other heavy objects. When a severe truck accident occurs, the heavy cargo can collide with another vehicle to cause severe physical trauma. A large cargo load can add to the great force of impact caused by a truck accident and result in serious injuries.
Trucks can also carry threatening cargo, such as explosive products or dangerous chemicals. During the impact of a truck collision, explosive materials or objects can set off and possibly cause burn injuries. Dangerous chemicals can also leak out and cause adverse medical conditions.
Large Trucks Can Destroy Smaller Vehicles During Accidents
Drivers and passengers of smaller vehicles can also suffer serious injuries from collisions with trucks. They are much larger vehicles that significantly outweigh cars by tens of thousands of pounds. When a large truck crashes into a car at full speed, it can destroy the car’s structure and expose everyone inside to direct physical trauma.
There’s only so much protection the structure of a car or an airbag can do to safeguard people inside from impact with a large truck. A truck driver crashing into a car can cause life-threatening injuries, as the physical damage caused by the major collision can lead to injuries someone may not recover from.
Contact The Russo Firm for Help With Your Truck Accident Claim
At The Russo Firm, our truck accident lawyers can assist you in pursuing compensation for medical bills, property damage, and loss of enjoyment of life. We understand how a truck accident can expose you to life-altering physical impact and wish to help you pursue compensation for economic and non-economic damages.
Our truck accident attorneys can use their experience and expertise gained over decades of helping truck accident victims to put you in the best position to recover fair compensatory damages. Contact us for a free truck accident case evaluation today at (561) 270-0913 or leave a message on our online contact page.
Frequently Asked About Truck Accidents
What are the Major Contributing Factors for Truck Accidents?
There are factors that can cause truck accidents that drivers of other vehicles do not have to consider. Due to their size, trucks have a much longer stopping distance, meaning they must prepare for a stop much earlier than cars. Mistakes in when to begin a stop can lead a truck to blow past where it should stop, possibly crashing into another vehicle.
The size of a truck can also lead to blind spots, which are areas around the truck the driver cannot see. A car can enter a blind spot, and the truck driver can strike them without realizing they are there. Trucks that carry large carry can also be improperly loaded, making it more difficult for the truck driver to control the vehicle.
What Should You Do After Suffering a Serious Truck Accident Injury?
Following a truck accident, victims should take steps to help recover from their injuries. They should go to the hospital to have a medical professional diagnose their injuries and determine the best path for treatment. Serious injuries can lead to long-term pain and suffering, so treating the injuries as soon as possible can help prevent further health complications.
Truck accident victims should also focus on putting themselves in a position to recover compensation for damages. This can include collecting evidence at the accident scene, filing a police report, contacting their insurance company, and hiring a truck accident lawyer.
How Can a Truck Accident Lawyer Help With Your Claim?
Hiring a lawyer after suffering severe truck accident injuries is an essential step in the process. They can help with your civil claim and assist in crafting a legal counsel plan. They can put you in the best position to recover compensation for damages caused by your severe injuries.
A truck accident attorney can determine the value of your claim, assess who caused the accident, collect evidence, explain your state’s truck accident laws, and negotiate a settlement with the at-fault party’s insurance company.
