Just about any type of injury can come from a truck accident. Some injuries are catastrophic. This means they are life-changing and permanent.
Other injuries are less severe and not catastrophic but can still cause long-term or permanent pain or disability. It is extremely important to seek medical care after being injured in a truck accident, even if you feel that you may not require emergency care or do not think your medical problems are serious. Some injuries have a delayed onset, taking a few hours or a day to appear, but they still often come with severe or potentially deadly consequences.
Further, if you delay treatment only to experience worsening conditions, the party who caused your truck accident can deflect blame, claiming your condition arose because of your decision to put off care or that the injury could not have been as serious as you claim since you did not seek prompt medical attention.
Types of Truck Accident Injuries
Traumatic Brain Injury
Getting hit by a truck, even at slow speeds, can cause a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). These head injuries occur when the head takes a violent blow or a jolt strong enough “to move the brain within the skull” and / or is penetrated by an object. In the case of a truck accident, that object could be a part of the truck or your own car if you are driving.
TBIs come with a long list of consequences. If the brain’s ability to communicate with other parts of the body is compromised or destroyed, victims may lose function in parts of the body or body systems. For example, they may not be able to breathe independently or control their bowels.
Cognitively, victims may experience diminished ability to remember, learn, process information, think critically, or concentrate. They may also experience personality changes, showing irritability, aggressiveness, or impulsiveness. Victims may also lose sight, hearing, or other senses, as well as fatigue and sleep disturbances.
Spinal Cord Injury
When any part of the spinal cord is damaged, victims experience a spinal cord injury (SCI). Motor-vehicle accidents are a common cause of spinal cord injury.
Sometimes, these injuries can leave victims with partial or total paralysis. Other times, they may experience weakness, tingling, and lack of sensation in affected limbs.
Spinal cord injuries can disrupt or destroy other body functions, such as sexual or bowel control, and create serious emotional distress. The National Library of Medicine (NIH) includes a study showing increased rates of anxiety and depression among spinal cord injury victims.
Burns
Trucks are massive vehicles with large fuel tanks. The fuel they run on is highly flammable. Some trucks haul chemicals or other hazardous materials in their trailers.
When a truck collides with another car, obstacle, or the road itself, sparks often fly, igniting these substances and causing fires or explosions. Victims can sustain serious burns from the fires, the burning chemicals, or both.
Burns are excruciating injuries, causing damage as severe as the pain. Victims often need surgeries for skin grafting and cosmetic procedures that can span years. Burn scars can render affected areas immobile, without feeling, and disfigured.
Internal Organ Damage
Internal damage can go unseen, and possibly unfelt, in the immediate aftermath of a truck accident. But its lack of visibility does not diminish its destructiveness.
The blow or impact from a truck accident can cause internal bleeding or organ damage leading to organ failure. Livers may stop filtering toxins from the blood, kidneys may stop flushing waste, lungs may stop delivering oxygen, and the small intestine may stop absorbing nutrients.
These injuries need fast intervention and may require transplants or long-term treatment.
Bone Breaks
Though not typically as devastating as TBIs or spinal cord injuries, broken bones still pose serious consequences. Even bones that heal properly may require surgery and always require time and come with pain.
Some breaks are too severe to heal properly, and victims may be left with some degree of permanent disability or mobility limitations and chronic pain.
Lacerations and Amputations
Vehicles involved in truck accidents often emerge as piles of twisted metal and plastic. That condition, and potential contact with the road, creates an opportunity for deep lacerations. These lacerations can require surgery and stitches and produce dangerous infections. In the worst cases, lacerations may be deep enough to cause or require amputations.
Soft Tissue Damage
Whiplash, nerve damage, tissue or muscle tears, and other soft tissue damage are common to truck accident victims. Though not necessarily catastrophic, these injuries come with life-affecting repercussions, including mobility limitations, constant pain, and numbness.
The Far-Reaching Effects of Truck Accident Injuries
The physical damage of truck accident injuries is just the starting point. Those physical consequences start a domino effect, creating disruption in all areas of victims’ lives.
When physically incapacitated, victims:
- Cannot work and earn income. This inability may be permanent, causing significant financial distress.
- Cannot contribute to household responsibilities, causing disruption in the household balance and costing money if outside help is needed.
- Suffer emotionally. Physical pain causes emotional pain. Victims experience despair, frustration, and depression. If they cannot interact socially as they could before the injury, they will feel lonely and isolated.
- Experience a reduced quality of life. The loss of independence and inability to move through daily life, special events, or recreational activities reduces victims’ enjoyment of life.
These losses demand compensation. A truck accident lawyer in Texas can help you recover those losses by seeking a settlement to cover your medical costs, income loss, property damage, and other economic expenses, and that acknowledges your emotional suffering; and, we stand ready to go to trial if we are unable to negotiate maximum compensation on your behalf. Liggett Law Group will fight to hold the party or parties responsible for your truck accident injuries and other losses accountable.
Texas Truck Accident Statistics
Truck accidents are not uncommon in Texas. In fact, in the most recent year of data collection, the National Safety Council (NSC) ranked Texas as the state with the highest number, 806, of truck accident fatalities across all 50 states and Washington D.C. For comparison, California ranked second with only 437 deaths, and the three lowest-ranked states saw seven, seven, and three deaths, respectively.
The Texas Department of Transportation (DOT) data shows 32,585 commercial-vehicle-involved crashes statewide. Of these crashes:
- 511 included fatalities, causing 581 deaths
- 977 were serious crashes producing 1,245 serious injuries
- Approximately 8,000 truck accidents caused non-catastrophic injuries
Get Help With Truck Accident Injuries
A truck accident is sure to bring suffering – but we can help ease your pain. The personal injury attorneys at Liggett Law Group have over 70 years of combined experience fighting for truck accident victims. We take pride in providing our clients with integrity, advocacy, and results. Reach out to us today to schedule a free consultation. Get the help you need and the settlement or truck accident lawsuit verdict result you deserve by partnering with a skilled, compassionate Texas truck accident lawyer from our team. We are ready to get to work for you.