Common Injuries in Truck Crash Claims

At a minimum, fully-loaded semi-trucks weigh over 80,000 pounds. Especially if they carry consumer goods, state and federal regulators almost routinely give truckers overweight waivers. Although today’s cars and trucks have many more safety features than the ones made 20 years ago, modern safety features cannot possibly absorb all the force in a high-speed truck wreck.

Largely because of this excessive force, the average injury-related medical bill in a serious injury claim exceeds $100,000. If the victim required helicopter medevac, which is common in these cases, the medical bills could exceed $150,000. Generally, group health insurance companies refuse to cover such costs. So, a Marietta personal injury attorney connects victims with doctors who, even though they are tops in their fields, charge nothing upfront for their services.

Head Injuries

Some of the aforementioned safety features include airbags, padded dashboards, and other features that help prevent trauma-related head injuries, especially in relatively low-speed wrecks. But in a high-speed truck wreck, hitting one’s head against an airbag is like hitting one’s head against a pillow on top of a concrete floor at 70mph. The pillow, or airbag, does little good.

Additionally, many crash-related head injuries are motion-related injuries. Many people think the large brain fits inside the skull like a hand in a glove, but that is not true. Instead, the skull suspends the small brain inside a pool of cerebrospinal fluid. The extreme force of a truck wreck causes the brain to slam against the inside of the skull.

Traumatic Brain Injuries are not the only issue. Many brain injuries, although physical injuries, have emotional and psychological symptoms. 

Severe Burns

Much of the aforementioned truck weight is diesel fuel. This liquid burns at a different temperature than regular gasoline. Therefore, especially since victims are often pinned under burning trucks, victims usually suffer third or fourth-degree burns.

Third-degree burns affect the inner skin layer. Fourth-degree burns char bones. Both kinds of injuries usually require long-term treatment at expensive specialty burn centers. These treatments almost always include skin grafts.

Furthermore, after doctors and physical therapists finish their work, significant physical scars usually remain. These scars are permanent.

Broken Bones

Truck crashes, especially high-speed wrecks, usually crush bones, instead of merely breaking them. As a result, doctors normally use metal rods, pins, and other parts to reconstruct these bones. The more invasive surgery means a longer recovery time as well as longer and more intensive physical therapy.

These effects drive up the economic damages in a truck crash claim. Victims miss more work and their physical therapy costs increase. A Marietta personal injury attorney crafts a settlement agreement that fully accounts for these additional costs.

PTSD

About half of crash victims deal with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Common PTSD symptoms include flashbacks, depression, anger, and nightmares. 

A chemical imbalance in the brain causes these symptoms. Currently, only two FDA-approved drugs are available to treat PTSD. So, these victims have few treatment options. A few experimental treatments are available as well, but there are no guarantees.

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