Washington, D.C., is a densely populated urban environment with narrow roads accommodating bikers, pedestrians, commercial trucks, commuters, and rush-hour drivers. Accordingly, it is common for injuries in DC truck accidents to occur. There are numerous hazards that truckers and everyday drivers must be mindful of. As a driver on the road, you have a duty to maintain control of your vehicle. You also have a legal, civil duty to drive your vehicle as would a reasonably prudent person in like circumstances. However, as a trucker, you may have a higher duty. In general, professionals must possess and exercise the knowledge and skills of an occupation member in good standing. For semi-truck drivers, you must behave like another professional driver. This may require that you comply with federal regulations applicable to truckers.
It also requires maintaining a larger gap between your truck and the car in front of you. A failure to do this may result in common injuries seen in DC truck accidents, which can be severe and life-altering. Understanding the common injuries in these accidents is crucial for prevention and preparedness. A thorough understanding of the dangers of truck accidents in DC, especially compared to other types of motor vehicle accidents, such as ones exclusively involving smaller cars, tells you why it is critical to be careful when around trucks. This is true whether you are a pedestrian in the crosswalk, a biker on his way to work, or a driver of a sedan looking for a parking space.
If you suffer injuries in a DC truck accident, contact a personal injury attorney at Gelb & Gelb, P.C. immediately for a free consultation.
Any truck accident can cause common injuries in DC truck accidents. Many truck accidents in DC occur at night or due to an overloaded truck or wide-turn.
Head and brain injuries are among the most severe and common injuries in DC truck accidents. Unfortunately, there is still much that is unknown about head and brain injuries, regardless of the cause. But in a truck accident, especially given how heavy a truck is, your head is susceptible to slamming into the steering wheel, window, or some other part of your car’s interior. This can cause permanent brain damage and hemorrhaging. In a personal injury case, we refer to a severe brain injury as a traumatic brain injury or TBI.
NIH defines a TBI as an injury caused by a forceful blow that pierces the skull and enters the brain. The National Institute of Health divides TBIs into penetrating and non-penetrating brain injuries. The critical thing to recognize is what symptoms can result, seek immediate medical attention if you notice any, and then contact a truck accident attorney.
Here are the symptoms NIH states may occur due to a TBI:
This is not the complete list, but it does paint the picture of the severity of a TBI. Note that to recover compensation for head or brain injury, your doctor must causally relate the symptoms and injury to the truck accident. We may need your doctor to testify that they are related and the extent of the permanency at trial.
Spinal cord injuries are also among the most common injuries in DC truck accidents that we encounter. While better understood by doctors than brain injuries, spinal cord injuries are just as serious as most head injuries. A severe spinal cord injury from a truck accident can occur because of rollover, tire defects, or any direct trauma to the spine. It can even happen indirectly through the force transmitted to the body.
A spinal cord injury can result in anywhere from partial loss of motor function to complete paralysis. The official diagnosis for these injuries may be paraplegia or quadriplegia, necessitating years of rehabilitation and often full-time nursing care.
Fractures are relatively common in DC truck accident cases. We often see a fractured wrist due to a driver bracing himself on the steering wheel. However, a victim may be thrown around inside the vehicle in more severe accidents like the ones involving trucks. This can result in broken arms, ribs, legs, and pelvic bones. Broken bones do not result in as much rehabilitation as consistent physical therapy. While that is possible for some injuries, doctors prescribe that a patient rest and recover. So, while the economic damages for a broken bone may be less, the pain and suffering will be far more than mere soreness.
A skilled and experienced personal injury attorney will recognize this and fight to recover the compensation you deserve. Note that no monetary value is assigned to a broken arm, for example. A different jury in a different venue will provide a different dollar amount for a fractured rib than will another. No jury is the same, no injury is the same, and no victim or their circumstances are the same. Thus, context is relevant. If your broken bones prevent you from performing daily tasks or taking care of your children, there is additional compensation to be won.
Soreness is less tangible for a jury than a brain injury, spinal cord injury, or broken bone. For those first three common injuries in DC truck accidents, an X-ray or brain imaging scan can be shown to a jury, and they will understand the severity of your injury. This is not the case with muscle soreness or strain. However, soreness is a legitimate injury and is fully compensable. The difficulty is in how much soreness is worth. One way to determine the value of your soreness is based on how much property damage your vehicle sustained in the truck accident. For example, if there is very little property damage, that signifies a minor collision. Meanwhile, if your car is smashed and totaled by the truck, it is reasonable to assume that you are more sore in that accident.
Of course, broken bones and other physical ailments are included in common injuries in DC truck accidents. However, the psychological effects of truck accidents are also prevalent. Victims may experience the following.
While many of these are self-explanatory, survivor’s guilt is less so. This phenomenon occurs when one individual survives while another one passes away. The survivor may feel that it could have just as quickly been him, and perhaps it should have been. Survivor’s guilt can be a problematic psychological effect to cope with and may require treatment from a professional.
Numerous factors contribute to the severity of the common injuries in DC truck accidents. Factors may include:
Gelb & Gelb, P.C. handles all common injuries in DC truck accidents caused by a negligent party. If you have any questions or believe you have a case, call our office immediately for a free consultation at (202) 331-7227.