The collision between a passenger automobile and a large truck or big rig can have truly catastrophic consequences.
Every day, motorists across the United States see their lives change dramatically as a result of accidents with semi-trucks or 18-wheelers. Some types of injuries occur with shocking regularity in truck accidents.
Head and Brain Injuries
Trauma to a person’s head as the result of a truck accident can cause severe, life-altering injuries. The stark reality of many big rig truck accidents each year on roadways in Texas and across the United States is that injured individuals will never be the same after these collisions.
Every year, innocent motorists sustain traumatic injuries in truck accidents that result in a tragic loss of motor and cognitive functions.
A person involved in a tractor-trailer accident must understand that traumatic brain injuries may not be immediately visible or apparent.
Consulting a medical professional following an accident should be a primary objective for a truck wreck victim.
Back and Neck Injuries
Back and neck injuries represent some of the most common types of damages following an accident involving a semi-truck or big rig.
These types of injuries run a broad spectrum, from those that result in minor back or neck pain to severe injuries that prove debilitating. Even less severe back and neck injuries can preclude a person from returning to work or to routine activities associated with daily living for what can prove to be an extended period.
Spinal Cord Injuries
Spinal cord injuries are also relatively commonplace following a truck accident. As is the case with some types of traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage is not always initially diagnosed, underscoring the need for a medical evaluation by an appropriate professional.
A spinal cord injury can have devastating consequences. This type of injury can result in paralysis and permanent disability.
Further, most emergency rooms only conduct x-rays at the facility, unless an extreme injury is suspected. It usually takes an MRI to diagnose a herniated disc.
Broken Bones
In many accidents involving an automobile and a much larger commercial truck, broken bones occur. Broken bones occur at a much higher rate when a large truck participates in a car accident because of the disproportionate size and power of a big rig.
Internal Injuries
Internal injuries frequently occur in truck accidents. Indeed, the impact between a large truck and another vehicle can result in massive, life-threatening internal injuries. Indeed, the reality is that no internal organ is immune from the potential for profound damage in a commercial truck accident.
Truck Accidents and Wrongful Death Claims
An accident involving a commercial truck and a passenger car is 10 times more likely to result in the death of the driver or another occupant of the automobile than is the case of a collision between two standard autos.
According to Texas DOT, in 2021 in Texas, 832 people died in fatal accidents with big trucks. The clear majority of these crashes involved big rigs.
Sources:
https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety/data-and-statistics/large-truck-and-bus-crash-facts-2015
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/traumatic-brain-injury/symptoms-causes/syc-20378557
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