Houston Truck Accident Lawyer Blog

Many car wrecks or truck accidents result in physical injuries that require medical attention and extensive recuperation periods. Let us consider how long it takes to recover from the various injuries sustained in a vehicle collision.

It takes approximately 6 weeks for a broken arm to heal.

It may take up to 3 months for a broken leg to heal.

It can take months to YEARS to recover from a traumatic brain injury. It is possible that a person may never recover.

It can take months to recover from whiplash or soft tissue damage.

It can take months to recover from herniated disk or other back injury and the problem can persist for years.

It can take weeks to months to heal from injuries sustained to internal organs.

It can take months or more to heal from the emotional trauma of a car or truck accident.
It could take days, weeks or even months for a person to come out of a coma.

It could take a number of painful surgery and recovery periods to correct physical problems endured in a vehicle collision - over months and even years. In some cases the best that can be expected after s serious car or truck accident is not that positive.
In some cases there will never be a complete recovery.

A person who must endure the partial or full amputation of a part of their body will never experience full recovery.

A person who has suffered traumatic brain injury may never fully recover.

A person who has suffered the loss of a loved one will most likely never fully recover.

The residual effects of car and truck accidents cannot be understated. Please drive carefully.

Continue reading "Recovering from an Injury in a Truck Accident" »

An official report of a vehicle accident usually confines itself to the number of injured and dead. Unfortunately, this does not begin to explain the extent of physical harm suffered by truck accident victims or the possibility of rehabilitation versus the reality of permanent physical, mental or emotional damage. Let us consider the problems a patient will endure if they suffer a traumatic brain injury as a result of an automobile or truck accident.

Specifically, a shearing brain injury - also known as diffuse axonal injury or axonal shearing - is a type of injury to the brain often seen after high speed stops in which the head snaps forward and backward quickly - causing the brain to bounce against the inside wall of the skull.

Although it is not my intention to offer too technical a medical explanation there are numerous resources that help to clarify the results of this type of trauma. According to experts this injury involves damage to individual nerve cells (neurons) and loss of connections among neurons which can lead to a breakdown of overall communication among neurons in the brain.

Shockingly, the outcome is frequently coma, with up to 90% of patients never regaining consciousness and those who do wake up often remain significantly impaired.
When it comes to a vehicle accident there seems to be no way to avoid this type of injury for some - short of wearing a helmet while in the car.

The best way to avoid it is to avoid accidents altogether - and we all know that that requires defensive, focused driving.

Traumatic brain injuries are complicated. It is damage the brain sustains due to external force or penetration by a projectile. TBI is classified based on the severity, anatomical features of the injury and the causing force (closed or penetrating head injury).

A closed head injury is blunt force trauma - a penetrating or open head injury occurs when an object pierces the skull, breaches the dura matter and the outermost membrane surrounding the brain.

In addition, head injuries are classified as either mild, moderate or severe and this is most commonly determined though the administration of the Glasgow Coma Scale which ascertains a person's level of consciousness from 3 to 15. Those who score 8 or lower are suffering from the most severe TBI, a score of 9 to 12 is moderate and 13 and above indicates the mildest incidence of traumatic brain injuries.

It is important to begin treatment for TBI within what is dubbed 'the golden hour' following the injury. Those who suffer from mild to acute TBI will most likely be transported to a hospital and placed in an intensive care unit followed by a longer stay at neurosurgical ward.

The actual course of treatment, however, depends on which stage the patient manifests. It is most important, though, for the doctor to stabilize the patient's condition to prevent further deterioration. Frankly, there is not much that can be done to reverse the initial damage caused by the trauma.

Finally, a large portion of those who die by TBI from an auto accident do not do so immediately but after lingering in hospitals for days and weeks after the accident due to a complex set of conditions that set in moments and even days later.

Continue reading "Head injury from an accident can be deadly" »

Spinal injuries and paralysis as well as brain injuries are not an unlikely result of vehicle collisions and rollovers.

However, other reasons for spinal injuries in a car include seatbelt failures, roof collapse, and seat collapse. Spinal cord injuries are usually either complete or incomplete.

A complete spinal cord injury reflects a victim's inability to function below the level of the injury. There are currently no cures for complete paralysis and those who suffer from this will never recover. Victims who suffer from incomplete spinal injuries will often make full recoveries.

A variety of other back injuries can result from auto accidents as well including whiplash and lumbar sprains. Symptoms of spinal cord injuries may experience a number of symptoms including pain, numbness or loss of muscle control. In addition, one may suffer sexual dysfunction, muscle spasms and infections.

Traumatic brain injuries are caused by the sudden occurrence of physical damage to the brain. They are categorized as either closed head or penetrating brain injuries. Closed head injuries are often the result of a person's head colliding with another object whereas the latter will result when an object pierce's a person's brain.

Automobile accidents are the leading cause of brain injury in all age categories. Statistics place the number of brain injuries due to vehicle collisions at 2 million annually. There have been medical advances to treat these problems but avoiding head injuries is the obvious best idea.

This is your regular reminder to drive defensively - the life you save may be your own.

Continue reading "Spine injury from auto accidents" »

A Houston woman was involved in a car wreck but did not go to the hospital the day of the wreck has died from a closed head injury.

On February 15th, the 50-year-old woman was struck from behind on the South Loop in Houston. Officers investigated the Houston auto accident and both drivers reported no injury and exchanged insurance information with each other.

The next day after the automobile accident, the woman went to Memorial Herman Hospital with a headache where she remained until the time of her death. The Harris County Medical examiner found the cause of death as complications from blunt force trauma.

This sad tale is one that Houston personal injury lawyers see frequently, a victim of a car crash who at the scene do not believe that they are hurt only to learn later on that they have serious injury.

While most times if there is any chance of a head injury, paramedics will insist the victim is checked out at the emergency room. Some times the person who has been in the car crash is in shock and does not realize they are hurt and sometimes the injury manifests itself for the first time in the days following the car wreck.

Texans typically are very self sufficient and many try to "tough it out" when they have serious injuries. I see serious spinal cord injury from a car accidents all the time when a person reported they were ok at the scene of the automobile crash.

If you are involved in a auto accident and even think you may have been hurt- recall this sad story to remind yourself to be safe, if you have any doubt and get checked. Also understand that just because you have been released from the emergency room does not mean you are ok.

If you have residual problems or if the symptoms get worse or don't go away, follow up with your doctor, as many people do not learn the seriousness of the injury until more specialized testing is ordered later on.

Continue reading "Houston woman dies from head injuries from car accident" »