6 Common Semi-Truck Accident Injuries

Semi-truck accidents have the potential to cause serious injuries to the occupants of other vehicles involved in the crash. The sheer size of semi-trucks, combined with speed when an accident occurs on the highway, imparts significant forces on vehicles the truck collides with, easily causing injury.

Below we’ll discuss six of the most common injuries suffered by victims of semi-truck accidents.

1. Back and Neck Injuries

   Neck and back injuries rank among the most frequent injuries suffered in semi-truck accidents. Back and neck injuries can include muscle strains, tendon or ligament tears, ruptured or herniated discs, and other soft-tissue injuries.

   When soft tissues around the spine are injured, they can put pressure on the nerve bundles and tissues of the spinal cord and cause significant chronic pain and numbness, and weakness in the extremities. If left untreated, these injuries can even lead to more serious consequences, such as partial paralysis.

2. Broken Bones

   In some cases, broken bones can be treated simply by setting the bone and holding it in place with a splint or cast. However, more serious bone fractures can require more intensive treatment, including surgeries to put the bones back together and the implanting of rods, plates, pins, and screws to hold shattered bones together.

   The most serious type of broken bone injury, the compound fracture, involves the bone piercing through the skin. Compound fractures carry significant risks of internal bleeding, nerve damage, or infection through the open wound that can, in severe cases involving broken arms or legs, require amputation of the limb. Even with prompt surgical treatment, a compound fracture can lead to permanent disability.

3. Spinal Cord Injuries

   Spinal cord injuries arguably represent the most severe injury that a person can suffer and survive from. A spinal cord injury involves damage to or a severing of the spinal cord tissue. Spinal cord injuries typically result in partial or total paralysis at and below the site of the spinal cord injury. Paralysis results when the spinal cord injury prevents nerve signals from traveling between the brain and other regions of the body.

   The most severe forms of paralysis include paraplegia, or paralysis of the legs and lower trunk, and quadriplegia, or paralysis of all extremities. People who suffer paralysis caused by spinal cord injuries may often require assistance with bathing, eating, or even breathing.

4. Lacerations

   Semi-truck accidents can easily lead to laceration injuries due to shattered glass, broken metal, or impacts with other objects inside the vehicle’s interior. Although lacerations will heal with proper treatment, very deep lacerations can leave accident victims with permanent scars.

5. Head and Brain Injuries

   Head and brain injuries rank among one of the most common severe injuries suffered in semi-truck accidents. Head injuries can involve damage and trauma to the skull, eyes, or inner ear. Brain injuries, or traumatic brain injury, involve damage to the brain tissue itself, either due to a penetration into the skull, or to force or impact imparted on the head and into the brain.

   The damage caused by traumatic brain injuries can sometimes be visualized on sensitive diagnostic scans such as certain kinds of MRIs. However, traumatic brain injuries can have a more perceptible impact on an accident victim’s consciousness, cognitive functions, and emotions.

   While a mild traumatic brain injury may only lead to a concussion, a brief loss of consciousness and headaches, more serious traumatic brain injuries can result in long-term or even permanent problems with memory, concentration, cognitive function, and mood and emotional control, or even lead to coma or vegetative state. Traumatic brain injuries do not always involve a loss of consciousness.

6. Wrongful Death

   Given the severe nature of injuries that a semi-truck accident can easily cause, these accidents can sometimes cause fatal injuries, including severe traumatic brain injuries, internal organ damage, internal bleeding, traumatic asphyxiation (when the chest and/or neck are crushed, leaving a person unable to breathe), or severe burns if the accident results in a fire.

   When a victim is killed in a semi-truck accident, their surviving family may be entitled to pursue a wrongful death claim against the party or parties whose negligence or recklessness caused the accident.

Get Help from a Georgia Semi-Truck Accident Attorney Today

If you have been injured in a semi-truck accident, reach out to the Georgia semi-truck accident attorneys at Geiger Legal Group, LLC, today.

At Geiger Legal Group, LLC, we are a family-run law firm whose overriding focus is on providing excellent service to every one of our clients and their families. Our effort is reflected in our firm’s 5-star ratings on Google and Facebook.

We practice law to help those in need, not to rack up numbers of cases. Let us help you with your Georgia semi-truck accident case by:

• Conducting a thorough independent investigation of your accident to recover evidence we can use in your case, including police accident reports, accident scene photos, driver’s logs, and truck data recorders.
• Identifying all potentially liable parties, including trucking companies, freight companies, mechanics, and truck part manufacturers.
• Working with accident reconstruction, engineering, medical, and financial experts to help us build a strong, persuasive argument that shows how your accident occurred, who bears responsibility for the accident, and the extent of compensation you deserve.
• Regularly reviewing your medical records to ensure that you get the treatment you need and that you receive full compensation for all of your injuries.
• Filing claims with at-fault parties and insurance companies, and aggressively negotiating for a settlement that provides you with the fair and full compensation you need and deserve.
• Preparing your case to be filed in court and to go to trial, if necessary, to give you the best opportunity at securing a favorable outcome in your case.

Schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with a Georgia semi-truck accident lawyer from Geiger Legal Group, LLC, today to discuss the details of your case. Call now to learn about your legal rights and options and how our firm can help you pursue maximum financial recovery for your injuries and damages.