When many people think about the effects of a car accident, they imagine physical injuries such as broken bones, spinal cord injuries and traumatic brain injuries. While vehicle crashes can certainly result in these types of injuries, they can also lead to severe emotional distress. If you have been struggling with your mental health after a car crash, it is important to speak to a mental health specialist right away.

Common Emotional Injuries That Result from Car Accidents

A vehicle collision is a traumatic event that can cause victims to suffer long-term emotional consequences. Mental health issues that may result from car accidents include:

• Post-traumatic stress disorder - It is not uncommon for car accident victims to experience shock, fear and anger following a vehicle collision. However, these feelings should subside over time. If they do not, post-traumatic stress disorder can develop. Common signs of this condition include recurring thoughts about the accident, trouble sleeping, and uneasiness about riding in vehicles.

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In the blink of an eye, a serious car accident can absolutely devastate a person’s life. Car accident victims not only deal with agonizing injuries, but they are also often left with massive financial stress as well. If you were hurt in an accident, you may be facing steep medical bills and vehicle repair costs as well as the financial burden caused by being out of work. These and other damages may be recoverable through a personal injury lawsuit. Accident reconstruction is often a crucial element of bringing a successful case.

How Can Accident Reconstruction Benefit My Case?

Car accidents are rarely straightforward. The at-fault party or parties may deny responsibility for the crash or even blame the victim for the injuries caused in the collision. Pile-up and multiple-car collisions are often especially confusing. Accident reconstruction is a process of evaluating evidence and data and “reconstructing” the accident scene. An accident reconstructionist may generate reports, models, diagrams, or computer animations that your lawyer can use to explain the accident and demonstrate liability. Accident reconstructionists may also provide expert testimony during a personal injury lawsuit. Statements and evidence from a well-respected, experienced accident reconstructionist will carry significant weight in a complex case.

What Is Involved in Accident Reconstruction?

Accident reconstruction starts with gathering data and evidence. Physical evidence like the position of the vehicles and the location of vehicle debris, guardrail damage, or skid marks are important clues in accident reconstruction. Many modern vehicles are equipped with accident data recorders (ADR) or event data recorders (EDR) that capture information about the force of the impact, the vehicle’s speed, brake application, and other vehicle data. Camera footage and photographs are also crucial pieces of evidence. The accident reconstructionist pieces together these clues to understand how the accident occurred and develop a timeline of events.

The year is not even half over and there have already been 137 fatal crashes in Illinois. Car accidents resulting in serious injury or death are not uncommon in Illinois – especially in populous areas like Cook County and DuPage County. Distracted driving, drunk driving, and other forms of negligent driving are often to blame for these accidents. However, the party who is liable for a car crash is not always another driver. In fact, sometimes the liable party is a municipality or government entity.  

Car Accidents Caused by Poorly Designed Roads

We trust that the government will design and construct roads that reduce the risk of car accidents. After all, this is what our taxes help pay for. Mistakes in the design, construction, or maintenance of roads can cause or contribute to crashes. Inadequate road markings, unsafe shoulders, unreasonably complicated intersections, or dangerous exit ramps may all be examples of poor road design. Insufficient or conflicting road signs and traffic signals may increase the chances of an accident at an intersection. Roadside hazards, hidden obstructions, and unmarked construction zones may also be the fault of a government entity.

A fully loaded tractor-trailer can weigh up to 80,000 pounds. When a truck collides with another vehicle or a pedestrian, the results are often catastrophic. If you were injured or a loved one was killed in a truck crash, you may be interested in pursuing a personal injury claim against the at-fault party. An injury claim may allow you to hold the liable party accountable for the truck collision and recover compensation for your damages. However, in order to build a credible claim, you will need to show evidence of the defendant’s negligence, the connection between your injuries and the defendant’s actions, as well as your damages.

Basic Components of a Successful Truck Accident Claim

Most truck accidents occur because a party acted negligently or carelessly. Legal responsibility for the accident may lie with the truck driver, the trucking company, the designer of a defective truck part, or a number of other parties.

Driving a commercial truck across the country is a challenging profession. Truck drivers must contend with long days, unpredictable work schedules, and erratic sleeping patterns. Fatigue can have a considerable impact on a person’s ability to drive – especially when people are maneuvering a large commercial truck. Sleepiness causes lowered reaction times, impaired decision-making, tunnel vision, and memory problems. Drivers who are extremely sleep deprived may even fall asleep at the wheel. Federal law has instituted restrictions designed to curb the frequency of fatigued driver truck accidents. Unfortunately, truck accidents caused by sleepiness or falling asleep at the wheel are still alarmingly common.  

Hours of Service Rules Are Intended to Prevent Fatigued Driving

Adults are supposed to get at least seven hours of sleep each night. The less sleep an individual gets at night, the greater their chances of being involved in a car accident the next day. In fact, a study published by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that missing as little as one or two hours of sleep nearly doubles the chances of being involved in a collision. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has enacted certain restrictions on the number of hours that commercial truck drivers may drive consecutively without stopping for a rest break. For example, truck drivers carrying property may drive for a maximum of 11 hours after being off duty for 10 consecutive hours. However, these regulations were recently loosened in order to provide truck drivers greater flexibility while dealing with increased demand due to COVID-19.