Jefferson Head
Truck Accidents and Traumatic Brain Injury
The potential for serious injury in a truck accident is much higher than those involving smaller vehicles. According to the National Highway Safety Administration, you are 98% more likely to suffer a fatal injury in an accident with a semi-truck. When injuries aren’t fatal, they are often debilitating. The result of these injuries can be a loss of ability to work, a lifetime of medical expenses, and limitations on physical and mental abilities.
Accidents involving trucks frequently result in impact to your head. Anytime your head suffers an impact, you are at risk for brain injury. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a common result of these types of accidents.
Traumatic Brain Injury
TBI can seriously impact every area of your life. In some cases, TBI may even result in death. Signs and symptoms of TBI may not be immediately recognizable, making it of the utmost importance to seek medical attention as soon as possible following an accident with a semi-truck.
Symptoms of TBI include:
- Frequent headaches
- Frequent ear ringing
- Loss of cognitive abilities
- Loss of motor skills
- Nausea
- Dizziness
- Loss of memory
- Severe, frequent mood changes
These symptoms may indicate that you are suffering from TBI, but waiting for symptoms to appear can make treatment much more difficult. Treating TBI relies heavily on early detection. After an accident you will need to be stabilized to minimize damage to your brain. Following stabilization, you may require extensive surgeries and years of rehabilitative therapy to fully recover from your injury.
During this recovery period, your life will be dramatically impacted. Many people who have suffered from TBI in a trucking accident choose to seek additional compensation in a personal injury lawsuit to help cover their losses.
Commonly, damages sought in a personal injury lawsuit include:
- Medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Diminished capacity to work
- Diminished quality of life
- Pain and suffering
The trucking company the driver works for will try to minimize the damages you are awarded. Their insurance companies will be working around the clock to ensure you are given as little compensation as possible. In many cases, they may flat out deny your claim. Only by having someone on your side who is familiar with both trucking laws and your right to seek compensation can you make sure you are treated fairly and receive the compensation you are due.
About the Author
If you or a loved one has suffer a traumatic brain injury in or near St. Louis, Kansas City, or Jefferson City, Missouri, please visit the website of the Bradley Law Firm to see how our devoted trucking accident attorneys can help you and your family recover from all of your losses.
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