Truck accidents can be very serious and often deadly when they occur. Because of the size and weight differences between a passenger vehicle and semi-truck, the implications from the two colliding can be severe. In fact, because of the size and weight difference, many of these accidents result in either fatalities or debilitating injuries.
Ultimately, the type of injuries sustained in a car accident involving a truck can depend on how fast the vehicles and trucks were traveling at the time of impact, where the impact occurred and a number of other factors relating to the condition of the individuals involved in the accident.
Many common injuries include broken bones, lacerations, contusions, nerve damage, torn and strained muscles and even paralysis. Many times, the force at impact is too much for the human body to handle, even if the individual is wearing a seatbelt. The worst-case scenario is someone is a person who is involved in the accident dies after impact or after the accident due to injuries sustained during the accident.
1. Whiplash
Certain types of injuries are common when an individual is involved in an accident involving a semi-truck. One of the common injuries sustained involves soft-tissue injuries, more commonly known as whiplash. This injury occurs most often in a rear-end collision, although it is not exclusive only to rear-end accidents.
Whiplash involves damage to a person’s nerves, muscles, nerves or ligaments in the neck or upper back. This injury can come in the form of strains or tears to the nerves, muscles or ligaments in these areas of the body.
Whiplash may not always show up immediately, especially right after the accident occurs when the person is in a state of shock. Whiplash may also not show up readily in x-rays or other diagnostic tests.
While they are not as obvious as other injuries, it does not mean that these injuries are any less severe. In fact, whiplash can be debilitating to the victim and can plague that person for a long period of time, if not permanently.
2. Other Soft Tissue Injuries
Additional injuries can occur to organs, also referred to as soft tissue injuries. A severe car accident can cause serious, life-threatening injuries to the victim’s internal organs, including the heart, lungs, liver or kidney.
During front or side collisions, the accident can cause the person’s ribs to fracture, puncturing one of these vital organs, leading to potentially deadly consequences depending on how far the puncture goes into the organ.
3. Broken Bones
Broken bones are also another common type of injury sustained during a truck accident. Limb injuries can occur to the tendons or ligaments in the person’s upper and lower extremities during impact.
Depending on the severity of the fracture, the car accident victim may require surgery to repair the break, as well as physical therapy to ensure that the person is able to regain full body movement. Breaks can occur to the person’s fingers, hands, arms, wrists, legs, ankles, feet, knees or hips.
Broken bones can result in the accident victim missing a significant amount of time off of work and can even hurt that person’s ability to function as they did prior to the accident.
4. Back and Spinal Cord Damage
Truck accidents can also result in back and spinal cord damage to the accident victim. Given the size and weight of the truck and how hard the impact is, the accident can lead to extremely serious damage to the person’s neck, back and lower-back.
This type of injury can also result in the accident victim temporarily or permanently disabled and can lead to that person missing a great deal of work or never being able to work again.
5. Head or Brain Injury
Truck accidents can also lead to another serious type of injury involving head or brain trauma. At the time of impact, the person’s head can be thrown violently, depending on how fast the cars were traveling at the time of the accident.
If the accident victim hits his or her head during the impact, this can lead to serious damage to his or her brain or head, as well as permanent cognitive impairment. Even a light blow to the skull during an accident can result in cognitive impairment.
This can lead to the person’s quality life forever changing following the accident. Serious brain or head trauma can also lead to that person never fully recovering or even later losing his or her life due to the accident.
Contact Us Today!
If you or a loved one has been injured in a truck accident, or any other personal injury situation, call Joseph Wilson for a free initial consultation. Call us at (678) 210-1546.