Head Injuries

Even if you are lucky enough to not sustain a brain injury after a car accident, there are a variety of other types of head injuries that can result in substantial medical bills, severe health complications, and a debilitating effect on your life.

For example, a blow to the head during a car accident can result in a concussion and lead to post-concussion syndrome.

The bottom line is that any form of head injury should be taken seriously, keeping in mind that the symptoms of a head injury may not be immediately apparent, but the effects can still last a lifetime.

It is wise for anyone who has suffered a head injury in a car accident to call one of our car accident lawyers. More information on this website

Common Types Of Head Injuries

Head injuries are classified as either open or closed. Open head injuries involve a puncture or penetration of the scalp, while closed head injuries do not. Concussions, contusions, hematoma, and hemorrhages are types of closed head injuries.

A concussion occurs after a severe jolt to the head and may cause a victim to temporarily lose consciousness or experience feelings of disorientation. A concussion is actually considered a mild form of brain injury. A contusion is a bruise to the head, typically occurring after the head endures severe trauma.

Bleeding on the brain is referred to as hematoma and can be extremely serious if not treated immediately. A hemorrhage is similar to a hematoma, but the bleeding occurs between the brain and the tissues that cover the brain, rather than on the brain itself.

Post-Concussion Syndrome

Head injuries that lead to post-concussion syndrome should be taken especially seriously. The Mayo Clinic explains that this is a complicated disorder and the effects can last for weeks or even months after the initial head injury.

An individual who continues to experience headaches or dizziness for some time after sustaining a head injury could be suffering from post-concussion syndrome. This disorder is especially alarming because an individual does not necessarily have to experience dizziness to have post-concussion syndrome.

The Mayo Clinic also warns that the onset of post-concussion syndrome does not appear to be associated with the severity of the initial head injury. Therefore, any blow to the head during a car accident could potentially cause the post-concussion syndrome. More information on this website

Skull And Facial Fractures

Aside from closed head injuries, a violent car accident can also result in the skull or facial fractures, which are broken bones in the head or face. Skull and facial fractures are also categorized as open or closed.

When a portion of the scalp is torn, it is considered an open skull fracture. If the scalp remains intact, it is considered a closed skull fracture.

There are numerous bones in the face, and any one of them could potentially break and result in a facial fracture. A facial fracture could occur in the bones of the lower or upper jaws, nasal cavities, or cheekbones.

All types of head injuries typically require expensive treatments, potentially even surgery, and can take a considerable amount of personal and financial resources to treat. However, recovery may be available from a negligent driver who caused the head injuries.

Our qualified car accident lawyers are here to help you get the compensation you deserve when you’ve been injured in a crash. Call us today.

Drivers of smaller vehicles can find it intimidating when a semi-truck looms in the adjacent lane on one of Texas’s highways. A single small error can result in a calamitous truck accident.

Compared with a typical auto accident involving only passenger cars, the damage to a car can be much more severe in a collision with a large semi-truck, due to the discrepancy in weight.

Records kept by the NHTSA indicate that, in one year, 287,000 large trucks were involved in an accident on America’s roads.

Anyone who has suffered a loss in a large truck accident ought to receive the best care for injuries and adequate repayment for lost wages. If a family member has died, an award for wrongful death should rightfully be ordered for survivors. It will take a strong advocate to navigate the route to receive damages after a truck accident.

Fatigue Is A Significant Reason For Truck Crashes

NHTSA research into all kinds of traffic accidents in the United States has included extensive analysis of large truck accidents. Some large truck accidents are attributable to driver error.

Truck drivers run into trouble on unfamiliar routes, when distracted, and when tired due to long hours on the road. These factors were frequently found in the analysis of truck accidents.

Drivers may try to push themselves to deliver a load on time, forgoing necessary rest. Federal regulations that govern commercial trucking set limits on how long a driver can work without taking a rest break.

New hours-of-service rules instituted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration require semi-truck drivers to take a rest break at least every eight hours. Rest breaks must last at least 30 minutes.

Additional rules limit how many hours a driver can put in during a one-week period, and specify that drivers must rest at some time between 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m.

A Dangerous Sleep Disorder

Many truck drivers have a dangerous sleep disorder known as sleep apnea. According to the FMCSA, as much as 28 percent of all commercial drivers may have this condition.

People with sleep apnea have up to 400 brief episodes of breath-holding during a typical eight hours of sleep. They may stop breathing for 10 seconds or longer in each episode.

A danger of sleep apnea is that a driver who has this condition can be excessively sleepy during the day, even falling asleep while driving. In one study, drivers who had untreated sleep apnea performed more poorly on performance tasks than other study participants who were alert but had an elevated blood alcohol level.

It is not comforting to know that more than a quarter of the semi-trucks a Texas driver sees on the road could be operated by a driver who has sleep apnea. Untreated sleep apnea puts a truck driver at heightened risk for a crash.

When truck crashes happen, owners can be held liable for failing to screen their drivers for health issues like sleep apnea and for allowing their drivers to forgo federally mandated rest periods.

Winning on Liability is NOT Exactly Winning

In every personal injury claim – car accidents included – the injured plaintiff must show that the defendant owed him or her a legal duty (generally this is simply the duty not to inflict harm upon others while behind the wheel). Plaintiffs must then show that the defendant breached this legal duty and that the plaintiff suffered some loss and incurred damages (which is the legal term that covers all expenses arising from this negligent vehicle wreck; not just the medical bills).

Most people inaccurately think that being involved in an accident that is clearly “the other guy’s fault” somehow translates to a clear victory. It doesn’t work that way. And the road between the accident scene and the courthouse can take some unusually curious twists and turns.

Even if you have a police report or witness statements that clearly show the other driver was at fault for the wreck, that only gets you partway to the finish line. When an insurance company accepts liability, what they are really saying is, “We admit our driver was to blame for the accident. But now it’s your responsibility to prove to us that we should pay you some amount of money.” Only, they never come out and actually say that second part. But they sure act that way. Many accident victims inaccurately believe that the insurance company accepting liability means that they’ve won. But that only ends up being a Pyrrhic victory that accomplishes nothing. Again, the plaintiff accident victim must still prove that the insurance company owes them some quantity of money. And all the insurance carrier has to do is sit back and say “prove it.”

This is where most people unintentionally damage their case.

Our car accident attorneys shield you from the tricks and tactics employed by the insurance adjusters, their bosses, and attorneys. And they simultaneously carry you through the claims and – if-necessary – the clear laws involved in the process of successful injury compensation. We handle all the details that make up a successful claim (or civil case) in such a way that makes it impervious to the defendants. And that is the key to success: your opponents see the futility of continually denying you and finally offer that reasonable settlement: because they don’t want to fight your strong case in court.

Over the past 30 years, our attorneys have determined the most effective strategies for adequately establishing a causal link between the accident and your injuries as well as the most effective means of proving up your damages. By hiring our experienced attorneys, you ensure that the full story of your injury claim is properly presented to the insurance adjuster and all of his or her fellow defendants in such that they can’t simply find a technicality by which they can refuse to reasonably pay.

Put our years of experience to work for you. If you want to know what your rights are, how to proceed with your claim, and how much compensation you can secure from your auto injury case. Call the auto accident attorneys with our Law Firm now for a free consultation and find out how we can help you recover the full fair value of the damages you have suffered through the negligence of another driver.

This Blog was posted by No.1 Lawyer – Carabin Shaw Attorneys At Law in El Paso