What Happens If You’re Hit By a Truck?
Most drivers and pedestrians do not expect to be hit by a truck in their lifetime. However, semi-trucks account for thousands of injuries and deaths each year.
The Department of Transportation reported that in 2015 there were over 4,000 people killed in a crash involving a large truck. This is an 8 percent increase over 2014. In the same year, 116,000 people were injured in crashes involving large semi trucks.
Of the over 4,000 people who were killed a truck accident in 2015, 74 percent were occupants of other vehicles or non-motorists and 16 percent were the drivers or passengers of a large truck.
The largest percentage of truck accidents occur in California and Texas.
Whether you are the passenger, the driver, another driver or a pedestrian, being hit by a truck, if it does not result in death, can have long-lasting effects on your life.
Woman Hit by a Truck, Awarded Large Settlement
One woman, the wife of a large truck driver, was hit by a truck and pinned under the wheel in a Lowe’s parking lot in 2012 near New Orleans.
Even though it had its emergency brake on, her husband’s 2007 Freightliner moved and she and her husband attempted to stop it.
The truck pinned her under the wheel and dragged her for some time. Her injury from being hit by a truck has left her with crushing physical injuries and a severe brain injury. Since her injury in 2012, she has been in a minimally conscious state and is under 24-hour nursing care.
Earlier this year, in a truck accident lawsuit filed by her adult children, the New Orleans woman was awarded $51.5 million, which is the largest jury award ever made to a single plaintiff in the Orleans Parish Civil District Court.
Freightliner is a division of Daimler Trucks North America LLC, and even though Daimler has been quoted to say they are “confident in the safety of its products,” Daimler was found to be 90 percent at fault in the accident. A deficient parking brake system was deemed to be the cause.
What if I am Hit by a Truck?
If you or a loved one are hit by a truck, you may be entitled to legal compensation for many factors:
- Soft Tissue Injuries: Soft tissue include abrasions, contusions and lacerations as well as sprained or torn ligaments or muscles. Soft tissue injuries also include whiplash or back strain.
- Hard Injuries: Hard injuries can be compensated and include fractured or broken bones, disk hernias, organ damage, scarring, severe burns, internal bleeding or death.
If you or a loved one are hit by a truck in Texas, you may be entitled to compensation. A truck accident lawsuit can help compensate you for out-of-pocket expenses like prescriptions and bandages, lost wages, pain and suffering and emotional distress, loss of consortium (loss of spousal intimacy), and loss of companionship with loved ones like children and grandchildren.
Contact The Emma Law Firm in the Dallas for a FREE case evaluation by filling out the form below.
At the time of this article The Emma Law Firm did not represent any of the individuals involved in this accident.