Common Syracuse Truck Accident Injuries

There is always plenty of truck traffic on the roads in and around Syracuse. Therefore, there is always plenty of potential for accidents. Truck accidents in Syracuse can create some extremely painful injuries that can take a long time to heal. We believe that being able to identify the most common injuries will help you to understand why it is so important to let emergency personnel do their job when an truck accident happens.

Burns

Burns occur in Syracuse truck accidents under a lot of circumstances. The first concern that emergency responders have when approaching a Syracuse truck accident is whether or not there is any leaking fuel.

First Degree

First degree burns are the least painful on the burn scale, but they still need to be treated with the same care and urgency as other burns. These burns are identified by the red skin they create with some black charring on the surrounding skin.

Second Degree

Second degree burns have some black skin and slight bubbling that indicates that they have burnt areas below the skin’s surface. It takes tremendous care to properly treat these types of burns, and one of the main concerns for victims with these burns is permanent discoloration of the skin.

Third Degree

Third degree burns are characterized by very black skin and severe bubbling at the skin’s surface. These are burns that, if not treated properly and immediately, could result in death. In most cases, third degree burns leave behind permanent disfigurement.

Loss Of Limbs

Some of the more gruesome, yet common, Syracuse truck accident injuries are those that result in the loss of limbs. In some cases, these limbs are lost at the scene as a result of the accident. In other instances, the injuries the limbs sustained were so intense that the limbs eventually had to be removed because they could not be saved.

Trapped Limbs

Seat belts are important safety features that everyone on the road should use. However, they can cause the loss of an arm. Seat belts get tighter on impact. If an impact is accompanied by a violent motion then the result could be a lost arm. It is also common for limbs to become trapped in mangled parts of a vehicle which results in the loss of the limb.

Compound Fractures

Broken arms are common in Syracuse trucking accidents, but in most cases those victims make a full recovery. If you have a limb that has received a compound fracture as the result of a truck accident, the limb might not survive. A compound fracture is a limb that is broken in many places and requires surgery to set with plates and screws. But even with surgery, it is possible that a limb with a compound fracture is not going to heal properly and must be removed before it develops an infection that could affect the entire body.

Cuts And Lacerations

Cuts and lacerations are common in Syracuse trucking accidents, especially when vehicle windows and windshields have been broken. Another common cause of cuts and lacerations are items that are catapulted through the air as the result of the impact.

Cuts

If a victim can walk away from a Syracuse truck accident with only cuts, then they can consider themselves lucky. Some cuts can create serious bleeding problems that would need immediate attention. But for the most part, cuts are common Syracuse truck accident injuries that many victims would take when compared to the other types of potential injuries.

Lacerations

A cut is surface damage that usually only affects the top layer of skin. A laceration goes through several layers of skin and is extremely deep. Lacerations are a problem because they can cut down into important arteries and also potentially damage internal organs. The sooner the bleeding in a laceration is brought under control, the better. A deep laceration that is allowed to bleed could result in death in only a short period of time.

Head Injuries

The impact of two vehicles involved in a Syracuse truck accident can be extremely intense. There is a lot of energy exchanged between the two vehicles. That energy causes the bodies inside to move violently. Head injuries can be caused by the head hitting against the steering wheel or the windshield. Head injuries can also be caused by items in the vehicle being launched into the air by the impact and striking the victim.

Fatal Head Injuries

Unfortunately, head injuries are one of the most common causes of death in Syracuse truck accidents. When a driver is not wearing their seat belt and they are launched from their vehicle, their head breaks through the windshield. In most cases, that type of impact is immediately fatal.

TBI – Traumatic Brain Injuries

There is a wide range of traumatic brain injuries (TBI), but they all have the ability to change your life forever. A TBI occurs when the brain either is injured with blunt force, or the skull is penetrated. Even though these are severe, they are not always fatal. But whenever the brain is damaged in any way, the effects are usually permanent.

Fractured Skull

Your skull is one of the hardest set of bones in your body for a reason. When the job is to protect the brain, the biggest armor is usually put to work. A fractured skull as the result of a Syracuse truck accident can potentially be fatal. Emergency medical technicians are trained to immediately diagnose skull fractures. They know what actions to take to make sure that the victim is given as much chance as possible at a full recovery.

Back Injuries

When it comes to common Syracuse truck accident injuries, spinal injuries are close to the top. One of the reasons that these are so common is because the back can be injured by impacts as slow as 20 MPH. It does not take a lot to damage the back, so there are usually a lot of back injuries in truck accidents.

Broken Back

A broken back is also referred to as broken vertebrae and can be an extremely serious injury. Any attempt to move a victim with a broken back without using proper medical procedures can result could be paralysis.

Spinal Cord

The spinal cord is the collection of nerves that are protected by the vertebrae. It controls most of the actions of the body. In a trucking accident, damage to the spinal cord is common at many levels. The lower level damage can often be fixed with some physical therapy and time. But if the spinal cord is severed, then there is the danger that automatic body functions such as breathing could stop.

If you see a Syracuse truck accident, do the right thing and call for emergency medical help immediately. Always be sure to stand out of the way and let the medical technicians do their jobs.

If a loved one, or yourself, are injured in an accident with a truck, remember that the experienced Syracuse truck accident lawyers at William Mattar can help you get the compensation you deserve. A free consultation can be scheduled by calling (844) 444-4444.