What Are the Most Common Semi-Truck Accident Injuries?

steady flow of semis lead the way down a busy interstate highway, What Are the Most Common Semi-Truck Accident Injuries

If you’ve been in a car accident before, you may have an idea of what to expect from insurance companies and the other driver. But truck accidents are an entirely different animal.

Because of the trucks’ much larger size, crash injuries are usually much more complicated and severe than car crashes.

Common injuries in semi-truck accidents

When a truck and a car collide, a vehicle weighing 2,000 to 4,000 pounds is going up against a vehicle that weighs as much as 10 times that amount. Basic physics provides that the heavier truck will bring greater force to the accident.

Unfortunately, that means the car and the people in it are likely to suffer much more serious damage, regardless of who ran into whom. As a result, the people in the car are more likely to suffer death or permanent disabilities than they might have in the same collision with another car.

These serious trucking accident injuries translate to steep financial costs in an insurance claim or lawsuit.  In a wrongful death suit caused by a truck accident, family members can claim all of the income the deceased person would have earned over a normal lifetime, as well as financial damages for loss of that person’s love, care and assistance.

In a case of permanent disability, the injured person would need to claim the cost of all past and future medical care—which can be substantial—and damages for lost income, pain, suffering and quality of life.

What steps to take after a semi-truck crash

In truck accident cases, it’s common for the costs to reach 7 figures. In order to make sure your claim covers all those costs—remember, you generally only have one chance to bring legal action over an accident—you and your attorney must ensure that you can accurately put a number on all your family’s financial needs.

If you go to court, you will also need to show the jury evidence to support their claims. For those reasons, experienced trucking accident attorneys research their cases thoroughly and usually hire experts to calculate things like expected lifetime earnings.

This is a longer and more expensive process than the process for car crash lawsuits, but with the victim’s financial future at stake, it pays to do it right.

For more information, we invite you to contact our knowledgeable truck accident attorneys in Decatur at Scholle Law to schedule your free consultation.