Summary: Truck crashes often cause traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, fractures, internal bleeding, and burns. Severity and documentation drive case value in California.
It happens in an instant. One moment you’re driving home from work on the 405 — the next, you see nothing but headlights in your mirror and hear the sound of metal collapsing around you.
When a fully loaded truck collides with a passenger vehicle, the physics are unforgiving. The average car weighs about 3,200 pounds. A commercial truck can weigh 25,000 to 80,000 pounds. The human body simply isn’t built to absorb that kind of impact.
In the aftermath, victims often face not only severe physical injuries but an entirely different life: surgeries, lost income, and the emotional trauma that follows. Families suddenly find themselves managing hospital bills, medical decisions, and insurance calls they never expected.
That’s why understanding how your specific injuries affect your case is essential. Each type of truck accident injury — from brain trauma to spinal cord damage — changes both your recovery and your right to compensation. The clearer those injuries are documented, the stronger your claim becomes.
Why Truck Accident Injuries Are Different
Getting hit by a passenger car is traumatic. Getting hit by a commercial truck is catastrophic. The forces involved in truck crashes create injury patterns that doctors and lawyers see nowhere else.
A typical car weighs around 3,000 pounds and might be traveling 35 mph in city traffic. A fully loaded delivery truck can weigh 26,000 pounds. A loaded semi can reach 80,000 pounds. When these vehicles collide with passenger cars, the energy transfer is enormous.
But weight isn’t the only factor. Truck accidents often involve unique crash dynamics: underride collisions where cars slide under truck trailers, override crashes where trucks roll over smaller vehicles, and jackknife accidents where trailers swing across multiple lanes.
These crash types create injury patterns that emergency room doctors recognize immediately. Certain combinations of injuries—multiple trauma affecting different body systems simultaneously—signal truck involvement even before doctors know the crash details.
From a legal standpoint, injury documentation drives everything — from medical care to case valuation. Severe or multiple injuries require specialized experts, life-care planning, and economic analysis to prove the full impact on your life.
Understanding what your specific injuries mean for your case helps you make informed decisions about treatment, settlement offers, and whether to pursue litigation.
Traumatic Brain Injuries: The Invisible Catastrophe
Brain injuries are the most devastating truck accident injuries I encounter, not because they’re always the most medically complex, but because they change who people are.
I’ve represented engineers who could no longer solve basic math problems, mothers who forgot their children’s names, and business owners who lost the judgment skills that built their companies. These aren’t just medical conditions—they’re identity erasures.
Traumatic brain injuries occur when the brain moves violently inside the skull during impact. The movement can cause bruising, bleeding, or tearing of brain tissue. In truck accidents, TBIs often result from direct head impact with vehicle interiors or from rapid acceleration and deceleration forces.
Mild TBIs and Concussions
Even “mild” brain injuries can have lasting effects. Symptoms include headaches, dizziness, memory problems, concentration difficulties, mood changes, and sleep disturbances.
The word “mild” is misleading because it refers to the initial injury severity, not the long-term impact. I’ve represented clients with “mild” TBIs who couldn’t return to work for months or needed career changes because their cognitive abilities had changed.
Insurance companies love to minimize mild TBIs because symptoms aren’t visible on standard imaging tests. They’ll argue that headaches and memory problems are subjective complaints rather than real injuries.
Proving mild TBI cases requires neuropsychological testing that documents cognitive changes objectively. These tests compare your current abilities to population norms and can reveal deficits that might not be obvious in casual conversation.
Moderate and Severe TBIs
More serious brain injuries can cause permanent disability, personality changes, and the need for lifetime care. Symptoms may include seizures, paralysis, speech problems, behavioral changes, and loss of consciousness.
These cases often result in multi-million dollar settlements because the lifetime care costs are enormous. But getting fair compensation requires extensive medical documentation and expert testimony about future needs.
I’ve handled cases where brain injury victims needed 24-hour care, specialized housing modifications, and assistive technology just to perform basic daily tasks. The economic impact extends far beyond medical bills.
Legal Implications of Brain Injuries
TBI cases require careful medical documentation from the beginning. Emergency room records, imaging studies, neurological evaluations, and neuropsychological testing all become crucial evidence.
The most important factor is establishing the link between the crash and the brain injury. Insurance companies often argue that cognitive problems existed before the accident or resulted from other causes.
Timing matters enormously. Clients who seek treatment immediately after crashes and follow medical recommendations consistently have stronger cases than those who delay treatment or miss appointments.
Brain injury cases often involve expert testimony from neurologists, neuropsychologists, and life care planners who can explain the injury’s impact to juries. These experts help translate complex medical information into understandable terms.
Spinal Cord Injuries: When Life Changes Forever
Spinal cord injuries represent every truck accident victim’s worst fear: the possibility of permanent paralysis and complete life upheaval.
The spinal cord carries signals between the brain and the rest of the body. When it’s damaged, those signals can’t get through, causing loss of movement and sensation below the injury level.
Truck accidents cause spinal cord injuries through several mechanisms. Direct impact can fracture vertebrae, sending bone fragments into the spinal cord. Severe twisting or compression can damage the cord directly. Even when vertebrae aren’t broken, the cord can be injured by swelling or bleeding.
Complete vs. Incomplete Injuries
Complete spinal cord injuries result in total loss of movement and sensation below the injury level. Incomplete injuries allow some signal transmission, which may preserve some movement or sensation.
The location of the injury determines its effects. Cervical injuries (neck area) can cause quadriplegia, affecting all four limbs. Thoracic injuries (mid-back) typically cause paraplegia, affecting the legs but not the arms.
Even incomplete injuries can be devastating. I’ve represented clients with incomplete cervical injuries who retained some arm movement but lost hand function, ending careers that required fine motor skills.
The Economics of Spinal Cord Injuries
The lifetime costs of spinal cord injuries are staggering. Initial hospitalization and rehabilitation can cost $500,000 to $1 million. Annual ongoing costs range from $70,000 for incomplete paraplegia to over $200,000 for complete quadriplegia.
These figures don’t include home modifications, vehicle adaptations, or assistive technology. Many clients need wheelchair-accessible housing, specialized vehicles, and equipment that can cost tens of thousands of dollars.
Lost earning capacity is often the largest component of spinal cord injury settlements. A 30-year-old professional who becomes paralyzed might lose $2-3 million in lifetime earnings.
Legal Challenges in Spinal Cord Cases
Spinal cord injury cases require immediate attention to preserve medical evidence and begin life care planning. The medical documentation must clearly establish the connection between the crash and the injury.
Insurance companies often argue that pre-existing conditions contributed to the injury or that the prognosis isn’t as severe as claimed. They may challenge whether clients really need all the care and equipment recommended by doctors.
These cases require expert testimony from spinal cord specialists, rehabilitation physicians, and life care planners. The experts must explain not just the current injury, but also the likely progression and future needs.
Home and vehicle modifications often begin during treatment, before legal cases resolve. Preserving receipts and documentation for these expenses is crucial for reimbursement.
Broken Bones and Orthopedic Injuries
Fractures might seem straightforward compared to brain or spinal cord injuries, but complex orthopedic trauma can be permanently disabling and surprisingly expensive to treat.
Truck accidents create high-energy impacts that cause fracture patterns rarely seen in other contexts. Simple breaks become compound fractures where bone pierces skin. Single fractures become comminuted breaks where bones shatter into multiple pieces.
Upper Extremity Injuries
Arm, wrist, and hand fractures are common when people brace for impact or when steering wheels and dashboards collapse during crashes. These injuries can end careers that require manual dexterity.
I’ve represented a surgeon whose hand was crushed in a truck accident. Even after multiple surgeries and months of rehabilitation, he couldn’t perform the precise movements required for surgery. His career was over at age 45.
Shoulder injuries often involve not just fractures but also damage to the rotator cuff and other soft tissues. These combined injuries can require multiple surgeries and cause permanent limitations in range of motion.
Lower Extremity Injuries
Leg and hip fractures from truck accidents often require complex surgical reconstruction. Hip fractures in younger patients may need total hip replacement, which typically requires revision surgery every 15-20 years.
Pelvic fractures can be particularly devastating because they often involve damage to internal organs, blood vessels, and nerves. Recovery may take years and require extensive rehabilitation.
Ankle and foot injuries might seem minor but can cause permanent walking difficulties and chronic pain. Clients who enjoyed hiking, running, or other physical activities may never return to those pursuits.
Complications and Long-Term Effects
Orthopedic injuries from truck accidents often develop complications that multiply treatment costs and disability. Infection, nonunion (bones that don’t heal properly), and chronic pain are common.
Many clients develop post-traumatic arthritis in injured joints, leading to additional surgeries and progressive disability. What begins as a broken leg can become a lifetime of pain management and joint replacements.
Complex regional pain syndrome can develop after seemingly minor fractures, causing severe chronic pain that’s difficult to treat. This condition can be more disabling than the original injury.
Economic Impact of Orthopedic Injuries
While individual surgeries might cost $50,000-100,000, the lifetime costs can reach hundreds of thousands when complications and future surgeries are included. Physical therapy, pain management, and assistive devices add to the total.
Lost wages during recovery can be substantial, especially for manual laborers who can’t work with casts or mobility restrictions. Some clients never return to their pre-injury jobs due to permanent limitations.
The non-economic impact—pain, suffering, and lost life enjoyment—can be significant. Clients who were active before their injuries often struggle with depression and lifestyle changes.
Burns and Disfiguring Injuries
Fire-related injuries in truck accidents are less common than other trauma but often result in the most devastating and visible consequences.
Truck crashes can cause fires through fuel spills, electrical system damage, or friction. Delivery trucks carrying flammable cargo create additional fire risks. Even when fires don’t occur, crashes can cause severe cuts and abrasions that result in permanent scarring.
Burn Classifications and Treatment
First-degree burns affect only the skin’s surface and usually heal without scarring. Second-degree burns damage deeper skin layers and may cause some scarring. Third-degree burns destroy all skin layers and always require skin grafts.
Fourth-degree burns extend into muscle and bone. These injuries often require amputation and create permanent disability beyond the cosmetic damage.
Treatment for serious burns involves multiple surgeries, prolonged hospitalization, and extensive rehabilitation. Burn victims often need occupational therapy to regain function and psychological counseling to cope with disfigurement.
Facial Injuries and Scarring
Facial injuries from truck accidents can involve fractures, lacerations, and burns. Even when plastic surgery achieves good functional results, visible scarring often remains.
The psychological impact of facial disfigurement can be more devastating than the physical injury. Clients describe feeling like strangers to themselves and avoiding social situations they previously enjoyed.
Children with facial scarring face unique challenges as they grow up looking different from their peers. The psychological counseling costs alone can reach tens of thousands of dollars.
Legal Valuation of Disfigurement
Burn and scarring cases require extensive documentation of the injury’s appearance and the victim’s psychological response. Before-and-after photographs become crucial evidence.
Expert testimony from plastic surgeons helps juries understand what reconstruction can and cannot achieve. Psychologists or psychiatrists may testify about the emotional impact of disfigurement.
These cases often result in significant pain and suffering awards because the injuries are visible and permanent. Juries can see the impact in ways that aren’t possible with internal injuries.
The victim’s age, gender, and occupation all affect case value. A young woman with facial scarring typically receives higher compensation than an older man with similar injuries, reflecting societal attitudes about appearance.
Internal Injuries: The Hidden Dangers
Internal injuries are among the most dangerous truck accident trauma because they’re not immediately visible but can be life-threatening if untreated.
The forces involved in truck crashes can damage internal organs without causing obvious external trauma. Rapid deceleration can tear blood vessels or cause organs to impact the ribcage or spine.
Abdominal Trauma
The liver, spleen, kidneys, and intestines are all vulnerable to truck accident trauma. These organs can be lacerated, bruised, or completely ruptured.
Liver lacerations can cause severe internal bleeding that requires emergency surgery. Spleen injuries often necessitate removal of the entire organ, which increases infection risk for life.
Kidney damage can lead to chronic kidney disease requiring dialysis or transplantation. Intestinal injuries may require multiple surgeries and can cause chronic digestive problems.
Chest Injuries
Blunt chest trauma can cause pneumothorax (collapsed lung), hemothorax (blood in the chest cavity), or cardiac contusion (bruising of the heart).
Rib fractures are common and can puncture lungs or damage blood vessels. Multiple rib fractures can impair breathing and require mechanical ventilation.
Aortic injuries are often fatal but survivors may need complex vascular surgery and face lifelong complications.
Delayed Symptoms and Diagnosis
Many internal injuries don’t cause immediate symptoms. Adrenaline and shock can mask pain and other warning signs. Some bleeding occurs slowly over hours or days.
Clients often feel fine immediately after crashes but develop abdominal pain, shortness of breath, or other symptoms later. These delayed presentations can complicate legal cases because insurance companies question whether the injuries were really caused by the accident.
Emergency room evaluation after truck accidents should include imaging studies to identify internal injuries even when symptoms aren’t obvious. CT scans can detect bleeding and organ damage before they become life-threatening.
Long-Term Consequences
Survivors of serious internal injuries often face ongoing medical problems. Surgical complications, adhesions from abdominal surgery, and chronic pain are common.
Some clients require multiple surgeries to address complications or repair damage that couldn’t be fixed initially. Others develop chronic conditions like irritable bowel syndrome or chronic pain syndromes.
The economic impact includes not just immediate medical costs but also lifetime treatment for chronic conditions and complications.
Psychological Trauma: The Injury No One Sees
Every serious truck accident victim suffers psychological trauma, but this aspect of injury is often overlooked in legal cases despite being eligible for compensation.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is common after truck accidents, especially when victims thought they were going to die or witnessed others being seriously injured or killed.
Symptoms include flashbacks, nightmares, anxiety, depression, and avoidance of driving or being a passenger. Some clients can’t return to the intersection where their accident occurred or drive the same route to work.
Impact on Daily Life
Psychological trauma can be more disabling than physical injuries. Clients who were confident drivers before their accidents may become afraid to drive anywhere. Others develop panic attacks when they see large trucks.
Sleep disturbances are common and can affect job performance and family relationships. Some clients require career changes because they can’t concentrate or handle stress the way they did before their accidents.
Treatment and Recovery
Psychological treatment often includes therapy, medication, and sometimes specialized treatment programs for trauma victims. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and cognitive behavioral therapy are common approaches.
Recovery can take months or years, and some symptoms may never completely resolve. The ongoing treatment costs can be substantial, especially when combined with other injury treatment.
Legal Recognition
California recognizes psychological trauma as a compensable injury, but proving these cases requires expert testimony from psychologists or psychiatrists.
The key is establishing that the psychological symptoms resulted from the accident rather than pre-existing conditions or other life stressors. This requires thorough psychological evaluation and documentation of the timeline.
How Injuries Affect Your Legal Case Value
Understanding the relationship between injury severity and case value helps you make informed decisions about settlement offers and litigation strategy.
Medical Expenses
Past medical bills are usually the easiest damages to prove and recover. Keep all records of emergency room treatment, surgeries, hospitalizations, physical therapy, and other care.
Future medical expenses require expert testimony from doctors who can explain what treatment you’ll need and how much it will cost. Life care planners often prepare detailed cost projections for serious injury cases.
Lost Wages and Earning Capacity
Past lost wages include time missed from work during initial recovery and ongoing medical treatment. Provide tax returns, pay stubs, and employer statements documenting your earnings.
Future earning capacity losses require expert testimony from economists or vocational rehabilitation specialists. These experts consider your age, education, career trajectory, and how your injuries affect your ability to work.
Pain and Suffering
Non-economic damages compensate for physical pain, emotional distress, and loss of life enjoyment. These damages often exceed economic losses in serious injury cases.
There’s no formula for calculating pain and suffering, but more severe injuries generally result in higher awards. Permanent disabilities, disfigurement, and ongoing pain increase these damages.
Special Considerations for Truck Accident Cases
Truck accidents often involve higher insurance coverage than car accidents, meaning more money is available for settlements. Commercial trucking policies typically provide $1 million or more in liability coverage.
Federal regulations governing trucking companies can provide additional grounds for liability and increase settlement values. Companies that violate safety regulations face higher exposure.
The use of expert witnesses is more common in truck accident cases due to their complexity. These experts help prove liability and damages but also increase litigation costs.
Working with Insurance Companies
Insurance companies representing trucking companies are more sophisticated and aggressive than typical auto insurers. They have specialists who handle truck accident claims and know how to minimize payouts.
They’ll challenge the severity of your injuries, argue that pre-existing conditions contributed to your problems, and offer quick settlements before you understand your full damages.
Never accept the first settlement offer without consulting an attorney who specializes in truck accident cases. Initial offers rarely account for future medical needs or the full impact of your injuries.
Frequently Asked Questions About Truck Accident Injuries
What are the most common truck accident injuries in California?
Truck crashes often cause traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, fractures, internal bleeding, and burns. The extreme forces involved mean multiple body systems are injured at once — far more than in a typical car accident.
How do my injuries affect the value of my truck accident case?
The more severe and long-lasting your injuries, the higher the potential compensation. Permanent disability, disfigurement, or brain injury often lead to significant settlements due to lifetime medical costs and lost earning capacity.
Can psychological trauma be part of my claim?
Yes. California law allows recovery for emotional distress, PTSD, anxiety, and related psychological injuries. Documentation from licensed mental-health professionals helps prove how trauma affects your daily life and relationships.
Do I need medical experts for a truck injury case?
Absolutely. Serious truck accident cases often involve neurologists, orthopedic surgeons, and life-care planners who document future treatment needs and economic impact. Experienced attorneys coordinate these specialists for you.
What should I do after a truck accident in Irvine or Orange County?
Seek medical attention immediately — even if injuries seem minor. Then contact a truck accident attorney in Irvine before speaking with insurance adjusters. Quick action preserves evidence and protects your rights.
Getting the Legal Help You Need
Truck accident injury cases require attorneys with specific experience in both trucking law and catastrophic injury litigation. The extent of your injuries often determines the value of your claim. A truck injury lawyer in Orange County can ensure every injury is documented and fully compensated.
At Kubota & Craig, we’ve represented hundreds of truck accident victims across Irvine, Orange County, and Southern California. Our attorneys partner with medical and financial experts to present the full picture of each client’s losses.
Time is working against you. Medical evidence is most powerful when it’s fresh, and insurance companies use delays to their advantage. Let us start building your case while you focus on getting better.
You pay no attorney fees unless we win. Call (949) 218-5676 or visit www.kubotacraig.com or our Google Business Profile to schedule your free consultation today.
About the Author:
By Yoshiaki C. Kubota, Esq. | Published: November 4, 2025
Yoshiaki C. Kubota, Esq. is a founding partner of Kubota & Craig, PC, a California-licensed attorney since 1994 (State Bar #175555), and a seasoned trial lawyer with more than 30 years of experience handling catastrophic truck-injury cases throughout California.
Legal Disclaimer:
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every case is unique, and outcomes depend on specific facts and circumstances. This communication is attorney advertising under California Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 7.3. For legal advice about your situation, consult a qualified attorney.
Sources:
- Cal. Civ. Code §1714 (Comparative Fault)
- Cal. Civ. Code §2338 (Respondeat Superior)
- Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §335.1 (Personal Injury SOL)
- Cal. Gov. Code §911.2 (Government Claims – 6-month notice)
- FMCSR (selected): 49 CFR Parts 391 (Driver Qualifications), 393 (Parts/Securement), 395 (Hours of Service), 396 (Inspection/Maintenance)
