The trucking industry plays an integral role in promoting transportation and economic development. However, truck accidents often have more severe consequences and create a more significant loss for society than passenger vehicles. The severity of a truck accident injury largely hinges on the cause and type of accident, vehicle types, and emergency personnel response time. The lawyers at Petro Cohen, P.C. have extensive experience successfully handling complex NJ truck accident lawsuits. Contact Petro Cohen to learn about your rights and remedies after a New Jersey truck accident.
Trucking Accident Statistics
The National Safety Council (NSC) reports that by 2021, trucks represented 5% of all registered vehicles but made up 9% of all vehicles involved in fatal accidents.
Further, according to the Institute for Safer Trucking (IST), truck crash fatalities in New Jersey increased nearly 50% from 2012 to 2021. The top five New Jersey counties with the highest truck crash deaths in the last reporting year include:
- Essex,
- Gloucester,
- Mercer,
- Middlesex, and
- Union
The IST reported a harrowing 88 truck crash fatalities in 2021.
Types of Truck Accidents
While all truck accidents have the potential to result in immense human, economic, and social losses, certain types of truck accidents result in more severe outcomes. The most serious types of truck accidents include the following:
- Rollovers,
- Head-on collisions,
- Tire blowouts,
- Underride accidents,
- Unsecured load accidents, and
- Jackknife accidents.
In addition, other contributing factors may impact the severity of injuries a truck accident experiences. Some factors that contribute to truck accident injuries include the following:
- Driver impairment, fatigue, and speeding;
- Temporal factors, such as season, time, and day of the week;
- Environmental factors, such as weather and lighting conditions;
- Road conditions; and
- Vehicle characteristics.
Truck accidents are unlikely to only cause property damage. As a result, truck accident victims often experience life-long costly medical expenses.
Common New Jersey Truck Accident Injuries
The types of truck accident injuries vary widely. Severe injuries and fatalities are fairly common in crashes involving large trucks, and these injuries are the most likely to cause long-term pain and medical expenses.
Physical Injuries
Motor vehicle accidents are a leading cause of injury and death to individuals in the United States. Some types of injuries from truck accidents include the following:
- Amputations,
- Bone fractures,
- Burns,
- Crush injuries,
- Cuts and lacerations,
- Soft tissue damage,
- Spinal cord trauma,
- Traumatic brain injuries, and
- Whiplash.
These common types of injuries from truck accidents can occur as the result of the following:
- Debris or unsecured cargo hits your vehicle’s windshield;
- Flying cargo, debris, or glass hits the vehicle’s occupants;
- The crash causes the truck to pin the car or its occupants; or
- The collision causes the vehicle’s occupants to be thrown from their car.
Many people understand the scope of potential physical injuries after an accident. However, the extent of psychological trauma after a truck accident is less clear. In New Jersey, if you’re a truck accident victim, you can recover damages for the psychological damage that results from your physical injuries.
Psychological Injuries from NJ Truck Accident
You may also experience psychological or emotional distress from the accident, including the following:
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and
- Emotional distress.
Truck accidents can cause severe and debilitating psychiatric and emotional symptoms even if you did not experience a brain injury. Truck accident victims may develop anxiety, depression, mood changes, fear, sleep disorders, and even suicidal thoughts due to a traumatic accident. While therapy and medication may alleviate the severity of the symptoms, some victims continue to experience the lingering collateral consequences of a truck accident long after the collision.
If you or someone you know has suffered injuries or died in a New Jersey truck accident, you may be entitled to compensation for your losses.
Speak with a Truck Accident Lawyer About Your Case Today
While there are many types of truck accident injuries, they all have one thing in common: they have a profound impact on victims’ lives. At Petro Cohen, our dedicated team of truck accident lawyers are here to help. We have over 200 years of combined experience aggressively pursuing maximum damages awards on behalf of accident victims and their families. To learn more about how we can help you pursue a claim for compensation, contact Petro Cohen today.
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