Truck Accident Injuries

Trucking accidents often cause catastrophic injuries requiring months or years of recovery. The violence of a truck crash frequently inflicts some of the worst trauma on victims, leaving them with spinal cord injuries, disc injuries, head injuries, neck injuries, shoulder injuries, elbow injuries as well as many other injuries. The worst truck accidents are fatal or cause permanent disabilities that change lives forever.

Surviving a serious truck accident is a blessing — the expenses incurred from doctor’s appointments, hospitalizations, rehabilitation, and time off work are not. But injured victims of truck crashes have legal remedies available when the irresponsible actions of a negligent driver or another entity are at fault for the accident.

Talk with a lawyer at the Rode Law Firm today. Our truck accident attorneys will work to ensure you get medical treatment and access to benefits as you recover from your injuries. We also fight for you to recover money for lost wages, physical pain and suffering, mental anguish, permanent injury and/or reduced quality of life.

It doesn’t take much for our truck accident lawyers to get started on your case. Answer a few questions by phone and complete a small amount of paperwork. We’ll promptly begin investigating your claim. There is no fee unless we win your case.

Call the Rode Law Firm and get on your Road to Recovery.

For a free case review, call today or use our online form. There is no fee unless we recover money on your behalf.

Truck Crashes and Common Types of Injuries

Many people are lucky to escape a serious truck accident with their lives. Heavy tractor-trailer crashes are responsible for thousands of injuries and deaths across the country each year. Of the 1,227 injuries from truck accidents in Oklahoma in 2010:

• 184 injuries were incapacitating

• 537 were non-incapacitating injuries

• 556 were categorized as possible injuries

Both the incapacitating and non-incapacitating categories represented an increase from 2009. Fatalities from truck crashes were also up in 2018 despite a decrease in other vehicle-related fatalities.

Countless types of injuries can occur in a truck accident. While some may be relatively minor, others can be quite debilitating. Sometimes the full symptoms of an injury may not manifest for some time. It is wise to be evaluated by a physician even if you feel only minor aches after a truck crash, just for safety’s sake.

The heavy weight of tractor-trailers makes them a serious threat to motorists. State speed limits allow commercial motor vehicles to travel at maximum speeds of up to 85 mph in some states. Large trucks that travel at those speeds require longer braking distances, and they need even more room if a trucker negligently chooses to exceed the speed limit. Even at slower speeds, the mass of the truck is most likely going to cause the worst damage to occupants of the other vehicle.

Common types of truck accident injuries include:

• Spinal cord and disc injuries: The spine is composed of bones, called vertebrae, which extend from the neck down to the pelvic region. Encased within the vertebrae is the spinal cord, a collection of nerves that sends signals controlling sensation and movement to the rest of the body. The force of impact in a truck wreck can twist, bend, break or contort the spine or spinal cord in unnatural ways. The result is painful and sometimes permanent injury, including paralysis, paraplegia, quadriplegia, herniated discs, fractured vertebrae, protruding discs, nerve root compression, torn ligaments and other injuries.

• Neck injuries: When a truck crash happens, a person’s neck may suddenly snap forward, backward, or to the side (or in all of those directions). Whiplash is a well-known type of neck injury. Sprains and strains from truck accidents are the results of trauma to the muscles and ligaments in the neck. Some neck injuries may also cause damage by pinching or stretching the nerves causing pain and numbness among other symptoms. The neck also includes the cervical vertebrae comprising the upper portion of the spine. As a result, fractures or damage to the spinal cord could result in temporary or permanent paralysis.

• Head injuries: Traumatic brain injuries commonly result from motor vehicle accidents and can cause some of the most devastating deficits for victims. Brain injuries can result from a victim’s head slamming against a windshield, dashboard, steering wheel, window, or even the pavement in cases in which the victim is ejected from the vehicle. Brain injuries can cause coma, persistent vegetative state, memory problems, speech problems, personality changes, decreased cognitive functions, and other long-term disabilities that can have a lifetime cost of well into the millions for survivors.

• Shoulder injuries: Many people do not realize how serious a shoulder injury can be until they have suffered one. Ironically, one of the features that can protect you in a truck crash – the safety belt – can also hurt your shoulder by causing shoulder injuries. There are numerous types of shoulder injuries that can cause pain, inconvenience, and, depending on your job, significant time off work. Examples include an AC injury (Acromioclavicular injury or separated shoulder), rotator cuff tear, shoulder dislocation, clavicle fracture, impingement syndrome, brachial plexus injuries, and Bankart lesions. Shoulder injuries may need surgical intervention to repair and physical therapy to help restore range of motion during recovery.

• Elbow injuries: Injuries to the elbow frequently occur from the sudden impact of truck accidents. Broken elbows may require casts, a reduction (in which the broken parts are eased back into place), immobilization using a sling, or surgery for the worst cases. Some surgical interventions require the insertion of plates, pins or screws to reattach the broken parts together. Elbow injuries can result in lasting range of motion problems, ongoing pain and functional loss. As a result, some victims are unable to perform the same activities they did before the injury or are unable to perform at the same level as they once did.

Recovering Compensation After a Truck Crash

Victims of truck accidents may be eligible to obtain compensation for their injuries if another’s negligence played a role in causing the crash. Personal injury and wrongful death laws allow victims of truck accidents (or their families, in fatality cases) to recover economic and non-economic damages from the at-fault parties. In general, damages include compensation for:

• Lost wages

• Lost earning potential

• Medical bills

• Costs to pay someone for performing household tasks that you once did

• Rehabilitation

• Loss of employment

• Cost of any medical equipment necessary in your recovery, such as a walker or wheelchair

• Pain and suffering

• Mental distress

• Scarring and disfigurement

• Loss of enjoyment of life

• Loss of financial support in fatality cases

Injured? the Rode Law Firm Can Help!

For decades the Rode Law Firm has provided practical, ethical and successful representation to clients who have been injured in truck crashes. Our truck accident attorneys will collect the information we need to evaluate your case quickly and accurately. We will fight to make sure that drivers, insurance companies, trucking companies and other negligent parties are held accountable for the harms and losses caused to you and your family.

Call the Rode Law Firm and Get on Your Road to Recovery.

Don’t wait – pick up the phone and call today or use our online form for a free consultation. There is no fee unless we successfully recover for you in your case.