Can Injury Symptoms Be Delayed After a Car Accident?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) figures show that an estimated two million people in the US are injured in car accidents each year. In many cases, any serious injuries you suffer during a car accident will be apparent soon after the crash. You would likely notice broken bones, burns, and lacerations right away. Some injuries may not be noticeable until hours, days, or weeks after your accident. Delayed injuries after a car accident could still have highly adverse effects on your health. Five common delayed injuries after a car accident include:

1. Whiplash injury: The impact force from a car accident could cause you to suffer a whiplash injury, a nickname for a type of musculoskeletal injury after a car accident. According to the Mayo Clinic, you may experience neck pain and stiffness. You could also experience shoulder, upper back, and arm pain.

2. Post-concussive effects: Concussions are prevalent after a car accident. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists dizziness, confusion, vomiting, memory loss, balance problems, drowsiness, and headaches as possible concussion symptoms. Anxiety, problems concentrating, depression, irritability, and insomnia could linger for weeks or months. Post-concussive syndrome is when dizziness or other symptoms linger for weeks or months.

3. Internal bleeding: Symptoms may go unnoticed after a car accident. Abdominal pain, dizziness, or headaches might be symptoms of internal bleeding. Any internal bleeding is a life-threatening emergency. Bleeding between the skull and brain could cause swelling, which may lead to death or permanent disability.

4. Spinal injury: Tingling, pain, or a loss of sensation in the limbs could be symptoms of a spinal injury, such as a herniated disc. You could also suffer from a bulging disc after a car accident. These injuries can compress the nerves in the spinal cord.

5. PTSD: The Department of Veterans Affairs claims that an estimated 9 percent of motor vehicle accident survivors among the general population develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a debilitating mental health condition that may cause flashbacks, depression, panic attacks, irritability and nightmares.

Texas Personal Injury Lawyers Explain What to Do After a Car Accident

You may not realize the extent of your injuries after a motor vehicle accident. It is crucial to seek medical attention right away. If you are injured, any medical services you receive could help establish the extent of your injuries. Your medical records could be very useful for settlement negotiations or, if necessary, a lawsuit. The Texas personal injury lawyers at Mike Love & Associates, LLC could discuss your possible legal options for recovering compensation after a car accident.

Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Reduce Truck Underride Accidents

Several weeks ago, US Senators Marco Rubio and Kirsten Gillibrand introduced the Stop Underrides Act of 2017. Representatives Steve Cohen and Mark DeSaulnier introduced a bill in the US House of Representatives on the same day. The Stop Underrides Act of 2017 seeks to prevent a type of truck accident in which smaller vehicles run under semi-trailer trailers. Smaller passenger vehicles can easily be sheared in half. Many underride accident victims are decapitated or catastrophically injured.

This new legislation would require large trucks to use side and front underride guards if it were to become law. Underride guards can prevent these types of accidents. Instead of running underneath the trailer, a passenger vehicle hits the guards that hang underneath the back or side of a truck’s trailer. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has required rear underride guards since the late 1990s. No such law or federal rule currently exists that would require large trucks to use side underride guards. A motorist driving behind a semi-truck might be protected from a rear underride accident, but they could still be in mortal danger if they hit the truck from the side. The legislation makes some other significant changes.

Current federal standards for underride guards may not be sufficient for preventing an underride accident. Testing conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) in 2011 shows that guards may break or bend when struck by passenger vehicles traveling at 35 miles per hour. The Stop Underrides Act of 2017 would require underride guards to withstand these forces. In addition to improving existing underride guards, the bill also calls for research into guards that can prevent underride accidents at 65 miles per hour. Some underride accidents occur at speeds well above 35 miles per hour.

Lawmakers responsible for introducing the Stop Underrides Act of 2017 included the names of many victims of underride accidents in the bill. While the bill is not guaranteed to pass or be signed into law, it has renewed an important conversation about how underride guard requirements can be improved.

Mike Love & Associates, LLC is a Lufkin, Texas personal injury law firm with extensive experience helping victims of car and truck accidents. If you or a loved one were harmed in a truck accident, our attorneys could inform you of your rights and options for pursuing compensation.

New ELD Rule for Commercial Trucks Goes into Effect

A debate is ongoing over the recent mandate for electronic logging devices (ELDs) on large commercial trucks. On December 18th, many commercial trucks were required to start using ELDs, devices that automatically record driving data from the engine. Some carriers have used ELDs for years, but they are now mandatory for most commercial trucks. The rule was created to make it more difficult for commercial truckers to violate regulations aimed at preventing drowsy driving accidents. Hours-of-service rules set limits on how long commercial truckers can drive. For many years, drivers used paper logbooks to record driving time and demonstrate compliance with hours-of-service regulations.

However, drivers could falsify the information in these books to increase their driving times. Proponents of the mandate argue that ELDs would catch drivers who are violating hours-of-service rules—ELDs record truck movement and driving time. Roadside safety inspectors could use ELD data to catch drivers who are exceeding their allotted driving hours. Public policy initiatives have winners and losers, opponents and proponents. This rule is no different. Opponents to the rule claim that ELDs could jeopardize public safety or put smaller trucking companies out of business.

What About Sleep Apnea?

There is still more work to be done to prevent truck accidents caused by drowsy drivers. Hours-of-service violations are one reason these accidents happen, but there are others. Commercial truckers can also suffer from untreated obstructive sleep apnea. People with untreated obstructive sleep apnea may experience excessive daytime drowsiness and trouble concentrating. As you have already likely guessed, these symptoms increase the risk of a truck crash. According to a Harvard University study, truck drivers with untreated sleep apnea are five times more likely to crash than those who receive treatment.

The Department of Transportation stopped pursuing a rule that aimed to improve the process for identifying and testing commercial truck drivers at higher risk of sleep apnea. However, commercial carriers can still choose to test their drivers for the condition. Mike Love & Associates LLC is a Lufkin, Texas, truck accident law firm. Our attorneys are dedicated to helping victims of motor vehicle and truck accidents.

Notorious Auto Defects in History Part 1: Ford Pinto

The Ford Pinto is responsible for one of the most infamous scandals in US automotive history. This once-popular subcompact car is also a terrifying example of what can happen to consumers when products contain deadly safety defects. Fuel tanks in these vehicles were prone to punctures or ruptures during low-speed rear-end collisions. Gasoline would leak underneath the car and combust. Fuel tank fires killed an estimated 27 to 180 people. Additional victims were disfigured from burn injuries.You may be wondering why a company would release a product that was prone to exploding in minor rear-end collisions.

The story of the Ford Pinto is also a tale of corporate greed. During the late 1960s, Ford was desperate to compete with foreign manufacturers that were selling cheaper, smaller vehicles in the US. The Pinto was Ford’s answer to becoming competitive in this market. Ford executives wanted to get the Pinto onto the market as soon as possible. A 25-month delivery deadline was set. Ford initially discovered the fuel tank problem during low-speed, rear-end crash tests. Multiple tests resulted in fuel tank ruptures.

There were two reasons why this kept happening. Engineers discovered that bolts could puncture the fuel tanks. The filler necks could also tear away from the fuel tanks. Both flaws caused fuel leaks and created a major fire hazard. However, several tests did not result in fuel tank ruptures. Engineers used various safety devices to protect the fuel tanks during those tests. An internal memo uncovered during a lawsuit against Ford showed that it had made a cruel calculation while deciding whether to apply fixes to the fuel tanks. According to this memo, Ford calculated that it would have cost $113 million to delay production and apply the fixes, but only $49 million to pay damages from lawsuits filed by victims.

Ford did eventually issue a recall for 1971-1976 Pintos in 1978. By the time the recall was announced, countless people had their lives ended or destroyed. In one case, a 13-year-old boy suffered severe burns and disfigurement. Three teenage girls in Indiana were burned alive while riding in a Ford Pinto. More than 100 lawsuits were filed against Ford by crash survivors and their families. We will never know the damages Ford paid victims because many of the cases were settled out of court. However, the damage to Ford’s reputation at the time was substantial. Even decades after its release, many people still remember the infamous Ford Pinto.

Injured by a Defective Auto Product?

You can contact the Texas product liability lawyers at Mike Love & Associates, LLC for a free consultation if a defective auto product injured you or a loved one. Our attorneys can review your situation and inform you of available legal options to pursue damages.

What Types of Evidence Are Used in a Truck Accident Case?

One or more factors may cause truck accidents. Commercial trucking companies may hire unqualified drivers. In other cases, drivers were impaired or exceeded their hours-of-service limits. Therefore, an attorney could have multiple sources of evidence to pursue while litigating a truck accident claim. During a truck accident case, an attorney may pursue various types of evidence that include:

• Driver logs: Commercial truck drivers are required to keep logs that record pre-trip inspections and hours-of-service compliance. Logbooks could be combined with other evidence to show fault after an accident.

• Driver records: Truck companies keep detailed records on their drivers. Records may show if a company hired and retained an unqualified driver to operate a commercial vehicle.

• Witnesses: Truck accidents can have several witnesses. An attorney can speak with these witnesses to help establish the cause of the accident. Accident reconstruction specialists or other experts could also be used.

• Drug tests: Failed drug tests may be an indicator that a driver was impaired after an accident or unqualified to operate a commercial vehicle.

• “The black box”: Commercial trucks also have “black boxes.” The electronic control module (ECM) may record speed, hard stops, and driving time. These are only a few examples. What is recorded depends on the truck, but newer ECMs may record additional information.

• Cameras: Depending on where the truck accident occurred, there may be camera footage showing what happened. Commercial trucks may also have internal cameras that record what drivers were doing before crashing.

• Social media, email, or text messages: Emails, text messages, or social media posts may be uncovered and used as evidence in some cases.

• Company records: Other documents or electronic communications may be helpful in a truck accident case.

Can an Attorney Help Me File a Truck Accident Claim?

There are more examples of evidence we could include in this blog. However, these are well-known examples that might be used in a case. Truck accident claims require skilled attorneys with experience investigating these cases. If you or a loved one were hurt during a truck accident, then our attorneys could help you discover who is responsible. Depending on the circumstances, you may be able to file a claim for damages against the trucking company or other parties. The Texas truck accident attorneys at Mike Love & Associates, LLC have experience investigating and handling truck accident claims. Our attorneys can review your claim at no cost during an initial consultation. Injured? Call today for your free consultation.