Severe injuries are likely in tractor-trailer collisions in the Bay Area because of the force generated by a vehicle that weighs forty tons as well as the weight differential between a tractor-trailer and a passenger vehicle. The types of injuries suffered in these types of collision tend to result in permanent impairment of mental and physical functioning. Some common life-changing injuries suffered in tractor-trailer collisions include injury to the neck and back, trauma to the head, impaired use or amputation of arms or legs, severe compound fractures and broken bones, damage to internal organs and burn injuries. Any of these types of injuries can profoundly impact a tractor-trailer accident victim’s quality or life and ability to work.
Head Injuries: These types of injuries can result in disfigurement and brain damage. Common effects of severe brain trauma include loss of cognitive function, impaired perception, loss of memory and other forms of compromised mental functioning. Many head injuries can prove fatal, especially when there is substantial bleeding in the space between the brain and the hard bony surface of the skull, which causes increased pressure on the brain.
Amputation or Lack of Use of Limbs: A spinal cord injury may result in paralysis so that a tractor-trailer accident victim cannot use his or her arms or legs. When a spinal cord injury victim experiences loss of use or sensation in his or her legs, it is referred to as paraplegia, the loss of use and/or sensation to all extremities is referred to as quadriplegia. Sometimes rather than suffering a spinal cord injury, an accident victim may have a limb severed in a collision or suffer such serious injury, burns or infection from the tractor-trailer accident that require that a limb be amputated.
Internal Organ Damage: When internal organs are damaged, it can mean vital bodily functions are impaired as well as life-threatening internal bleeding. Surgery, organ transplants and other extremely invasive medical procedures may be necessary to properly treat severe organ damage.
Severe Burn Injuries: Many tractor-trailer accidents involve vehicle fires which can cause severe full thickness burns that are extremely painful and disfiguring. Tractor-trailer burn injuries may result in permanent disfigurement and require many reconstructive surgeries.
Broken Bones/Fractures: While these are injuries that will typically heal, they can be extremely painful and incapacitating for weeks and even months. Some bone crush injuries are so severe that surgery is required and the tractor-trailer accident victim may suffer permanent adverse effects.
If you are involved in a tractor-trailer collision in San Francisco or anywhere in the Bay Area, these types of devastating injuries can entail astronomical medical expenses, excruciating pain and suffering, prolonged loss of earnings, permanent impairment of your enjoyment of life and other long-term consequences.
Contact Us
If you are injured in a San Francisco tractor-trailer collision, our experienced San Francisco tractor-trailer accident lawyers at Zimmerman Law may be able to help. If you or someone you love has been injured or a loved one has died in a San Francisco trucking accident, you should contact us as soon as possible because critical deadlines apply. We invite you to contact The Law Office of Ian Zimmerman for your free initial consultation. We are open 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., speak Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese, and are available for weekend, evening, home and hospital meetings and visits. We also offer free initial consultations and work exclusively on a contingency fee basis so that you pay nothing if we don’t win your case.