Landover, MD Truck Accident Lawyer

Truck accidents involving large vehicles like semi trucks, 18-wheelers, and big-rigs are incredibly devastating and almost universally result in serious injuries to many people involved. These injuries will doubtless require medical treatment that can get incredibly expensive, leaving many victims not knowing what to do next.

Fortunately, our lawyers can help. We are experienced attorneys who have dealt with many truck accident lawsuits, and we are now ready to help you.

Do not hesitate to call Rice, Murtha & Psoras’s truck accident lawyers at (410) 694-7291 for a free case review.

Injuries from Truck Accidents in Landover, MD

Injuries from truck accidents can be very serious. An individual who only has minor injuries after a truck accident is very lucky indeed. Unfortunately, the vast majority of truck accident victims are hospitalized with serious injuries that require immediate medical care.

Your injuries are directly related to the damages you can recover in a truck accident lawsuit. This is because the purpose of damages is to “pay you back” for the injuries you received. Below, we will go into some of the injuries truck accident victims can sustain and that you can base your damages on.

Broken Bones

Broken bones are likely to happen in motor vehicle accidents of all kinds, and truck accidents are no exception. All broken bone injuries will require a cast, sling, or combination thereof to keep the broken limb or area of the body in place while it heals. More serious breaks like a compound fracture, which pierces the skin, or a collar bone fracture, which cannot be easily set, will require surgery to recover fully. This does not even take into account the significant pain that will come with breaking a bone.

In addition to casts and potential surgery, you will also likely have to regain strength in the broken area after it heals through physical training, dietary changes, or both.

Traumatic Brain Injuries

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) can occur from any hard blow to the head that damages the brain or punctures the skull. The most commonly known TBI among the general public is the “mild TBI,” more commonly called a concussion. Concussions can have serious effects like mood swings and sensitivity to light and sound, and they get exponentially worse if you have had a concussion in the past. More severe TBIs can result in the loss of basic functions like walking or speaking.

Cuts, Lacerations, and Puncture Wounds

Cuts and lacerations can happen in a truck accident when bits of the truck or parts of the surrounding environment go flying and slash across the body of the victim. The kinds of cuts you are likely to sustain in a truck accident are very likely to require intensive stitching or sutures to be treated and healed. Moreover, permanent scarring or disfigurement is possible, even with immediate, effective medical treatment.

Puncture wounds can also happen in a truck accident and are much more dangerous than cuts or lacerations. Not only are puncture wounds more difficult for medical professionals to treat, but penetration of even a couple of inches into the body can hit vital organs or otherwise cause serious damage.

Damages in Landover, MD Truck Accident Lawsuits

If you are successful in your truck accident lawsuit, you will be awarded damages. Damages are based on the needs of your situation as the plaintiff. They are designed to try and put you as close as possible to where you were prior to getting injured in an accident. Part of what our truck accident lawyers do when asking for damages is explain to the court exactly why you are asking for a certain amount. Accordingly, damages are usually divided into a handful of categories. The three main categories of damages are economic damages, non-economic damages, and punitive damages.

Economic Damages

Economic damages are derived from things that have a quickly ascertainable money value. Things that make up economic damages will generally include your medical bills for initial care and treatment as well as any long-term medical costs such as pain management medication, physical therapy, or live-in medical aid from trained professionals.

Additionally, you can get economic damages based on lost income from work. For example, if you spent a year recovering from your injuries, you could get damages based on the pay you would have received from your job had you been working instead of recovering from your injuries.

Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages are usually more difficult to quantify than economic damages, as they are based on things that do not have bills or receipts to support their worth. Perhaps the most commonly known item for non-economic damages is pain and suffering. This covers the physical pain you felt (and continue to feel) because of your injuries, as well as some of the emotional toll it may take on you as a person. Since each case and each plaintiff is unique, it is very hard to pin a value on how much a broken bone hurts or how upsetting an injury is. Accordingly, the value of these damages needs to be argued in court.

Punitive Damages

Unlike economic or non-economic damages, which are based on the plaintiff’s condition, punitive damages are based on what the defendant did. In order to get punitive damages, you have to meet a rather high bar. First, you need to ask for them in your initial complaint or filing of your lawsuit. Second, you must convince the judge and jury that you are deserving of punitive damages. Judges will only award punitive damages when the defendant has done something especially bad, so you will need a compelling argument to be awarded them by the court.

Talk with Our Landover, MD Truck Accident Lawyers Right Away

Rice, Murtha & Psoras’s truck accident lawyers are here to help you with your case if you call us at (410) 694-7291.