Suffer a Head Injury in an 18-Wheeler Wreck? Our Trucking Accident Lawyer in Atlanta Explains Concussions After a Trucking Accident in Georgia
One of the most severe types of personal injuries in any type of motor vehicle accident is a traumatic brain injury. Also known as a TBI, each year in the United States there are almost 215,000 TBI-related hospitalizations and almost 70,000 TBI-related deaths. The most common type of TBI is a concussion, which medical statistics indicate that there are as many as 3.8 million concussions each year in the United States. Indeed, when it comes to a motor vehicle accident, concussions are the most common type of head injury or TBI that a driver or occupant could sustain. Despite being popularized in the news or social media as not severe, concussions after a trucking accident in Georgia can be significant and life-changing or even life-threatening. Anytime you or a loved one suffered any type of head injury, especially a concussion, contact our trucking accident lawyer in Atlanta for help.
Here at Prieto & Spoo Law, our legal team has the skill, knowledge, and experience in handling all types of very serious or catastrophic personal injury cases such as those involving TBIs like a concussion. This type of head injury is very difficult to handle, particularly because it does not always show up on an x-ray or MRI like a broken bone or torn muscle. Rather, concussions can cause chemical changes that could impair memory, language, thinking, cause severe headaches, and otherwise impact cognitive functions – none of which show up on any imaging studies. Coupled with the fact that trucking accidents are already difficult and more complicated to handle, victims who have suffered concussions after a trucking accident in Georgia should call our trucking accident lawyer in Atlanta to schedule a FREE consultation to learn more about their rights to compensation.
What is a Concussion?
A concussion is defined as a type of TBI that is caused by an impact to the head. This impact can be anything from a bump, blow, or jolt to the head, or it could be the physical force of whiplash that causes the head to snap back and forth violently and rapidly. Given that this is caused by trauma, it is classified as a type of acute injury which can cause damage due to 1) the actual impact and trauma, or 2) the aftereffects. These aftereffects include chemical changes to the brain’s tissue due to the stretching, tearing, or impact that damages brain cells and connections. However, the aftereffects could also be caused by swelling to the brain tissue too, which can increase intracranial pressure and result in catastrophic damage to brain tissue.
As a result of a concussion, an individual could suffer a variety of clinical symptoms and presentations depending on the amount of force, the location of the force, and the unique factors of the impact and even of the individual. Said differently, not all concussions are the same, and they can affect victims differently. However, individuals who suffer concussions after a trucking accident in Georgia include an impact to mental status, consciousness, and outright pain (headaches or migraines).
How Can Concussions Occur in a Trucking Accident in Georgia?
Our trucking accident lawyers in Atlanta know that there are many ways in which a concussion could occur in an 18-wheeler wreck. The truth is that, any motor vehicle could cause a concussion. However, truck crashes are more likely to result in a concussion because they involve a greater force on impact than most car accidents or motorcycle accidents.
This is largely due to the heavy weight of commercial vehicles, which in turn generates significantly more momentum at lower speeds. This momentum is the force that is dispelled into a smaller passenger car in an impact. That force is what causes damage to an occupant’s body, including to the head. In fact, a concussion can be caused by a trucking accident even where a victim does not strike his or her head on anything inside of the vehicle. Just the force of an impact and a violent whiplash motion can result in significant damage causing a concussion.
Some of the most common types of trucking accidents that could cause a concussion include the following:
- Head on collisions
- Rear end collisions
- Side-swipes
- T-bone crashes
- Rollover accidents
- Jackknifed tractor trailers
- Lane change errors
- Merging mistakes
- Backing up errors
- High-speed collisions
- Unsecured cargo, and
- Other types of serious or catastrophic types of trucking wrecks that our trucking accident lawyer in Atlanta can handle for you and your family.
Victims Who Suffered Concussions After a Trucking Accident in Georgia Should Call Prieto & Spoo Law
After a serious and life-changing trucking wreck, contact our experienced trucking accident lawyers in Atlanta at the Prieto & Spoo Law. Concussions and other types of TBIs are very serious types of personal injuries. These damages impact a victim and his or her entire family. Some TBIs are fatal and can result in permanent disability. When this happens to you or a loved one, call our bodily injury law firm to schedule a FREE consultation to learn more about your rights to compensation by dialing 678-961-0253 or by contacting us through our website here.