Facial Injuries Frequently Caused by Truck Accidents

Facial Injuries Frequently Caused by Truck Accidents

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Truck accident injuries can be disastrous and life-altering. Nothing leaves a more visible, physically disfiguring, and emotionally damaging mark on a victim than a facial injury. The massive momentum, size, and weight of trucks can combine together in unfortunate circumstances to cause deeply invasive injuries to the face and neck.

If you or a loved one has suffered facial injuries in a truck accident, you should get strong legal representation from an experienced personal injury attorney in West Virginia in order to obtain your rightful damages.

Types of Truck Accident-Related Facial Injuries

These are the most serious and common injuries following a truck accident:

Facial fractures

Broken bones in the face, including nasal fractures or broken noses, are among the most common injuries following a truck accident. Other types of fractures in the face include:

  • frontal bone (forehead) fracture
  • broken jaw (maxilla fracture)
  • upper jaw fracture (maxilla fracture)
  • eye socket (orbital) fracture
  • broken cheekbone (zygomatic maxillary fracture)

Certain facial fractures involve head injuries as well, such as traumatic brain injuries (TBIs).

Facial lacerations

Penetrating, scratching, or scraping motion by sharp objects during the accident can cause serious and painful cuts to the face. Deep cuts can involve the skin, muscles, connective tissue, nerves, and even bone.

Open facial wounds

Open facial wounds are cuts that break the skin. These need to be treated right away to avoid permanent scarring and infection. Based on this, despite treatment, surgery or suturing, some facial scarring may occur as the wound heals.

Facial burns

In rare circumstances, a truck accident can result in fires and explosions. Third-degree and fourth-degree burns can severely damage the outer layer of the skin (epidermis), bone and subcutaneous tissue, deep skin tissue, muscles, and the innermost skin layer.

Psychological Trauma Involving Facial Injuries

The recovery process is twofold following a truck accident. You don’t just need to heal from your physical wounds, but also the emotional ones left behind from the accident. These are a few common symptoms associated with psychological trauma from an accident:

  • Social avoidance: You may not want to meet anyone, including your friends and family.
  • Mood swings: You may feel irritable, anxious, angry, or fearful. You may also have a loss of control, bouts of depression, and loss of interest.
  • Suppressed focus: Trauma victims routinely feel dazed or numb. They suffer from a loss of motivation and have trouble concentrating.
  • Drug abuse: Traumatic experiences are linked to abusing illegal drugs, misusing prescription drugs, and drinking excessive amounts of alcohol.

Why Does Facial Trauma Occur in Many Truck Accidents?

Facial injuries may not seem life-threatening. But the painful symptoms and aftermath are often life-altering even though the risk of facial trauma is not life-threatening. Further, the risk of facial wounds is higher as compared to other injuries because of the proximity of threats. This includes:

  • Broken windshields can send flying glass that causes lacerations on the skin and eyes.
  • Force from the impact of slamming into a steering wheel can shatter your jaw, break your nose, and fracture the orbital bones.
  • Heat or fire from a damaged engine can quickly travel through the dashboard and across your face causing third-degree burns.

Any type of facial damage can result in a wide array of complications, including:

  • Permanent and temporary blindness.
  • Severe pain.
  • Difficulty speaking.
  • Trouble chewing food.
  • Inability to open the mouth all the way.
  • Bleeding in or from the mouth.
  • Facial scarring or deformity.
  • Facial swelling.
  • Psychological trauma.
  • Complete loss of sensation or facial numbness.

Medical Bills and Therapy and Rehab Costs Can Quickly Add Up

Medical care can be expensive for facial injuries and the bills may add up fast. You can seek financial compensation from the truck driver, trucking company, truck manufacturer, or any other responsible party that caused the accident. The truck driver is usually the primarily responsible entity in truck accidents, which means the insurance company will be responsible for covering the expenses.

Unfortunately, injury claims have a way of becoming complicated. This is because the financial impact of recovering and treating a serious facial injury can go up to thousands of dollars. Insurance companies focus all their efforts on denying or reducing legitimate injury claims. This makes it important to have a qualified personal injury attorney that stands up for your rights.

A car accident attorney can fight for justice and compensation by gathering the necessary evidence, negotiating with the insurance company, and covering all other aspects of handling the injury claim. In fact, studies show that insurance companies tend to take those claims seriously that are backed by legal representation. They are more agreeable and cooperative when they see that the attorney understands the legal system and has a compelling claim.

Get a Competent Truck Accident Attorney on Your Side

The results-driven attorneys at Bailey, Javins & Carter, L.C. understand the consequences of facial trauma resulting from an avoidable truck accident attorney. You shouldn’t have to worry about coming up with the payments for your medical bills when trying to heal. Our attorneys are here to fight for your rights as an injury victim and secure compensation for lost wages, physical suffering, mental distress, and other damages related to the crash.

To schedule your free consultation, call us at 800-497-0234 or fill out this online contact form.