Turn to Our Virginia Truck Accident Lawyers for Help If You Suffer Chronic Pain After a Collision
Picture yourself waking up to a throbbing headache and a sharp pain shooting up your spine. Now imagine having to endure this for weeks, months, or even years. This is the grim reality of chronic pain for many Virginia truck accident victims. After a collision with a semi-truck or tractor-trailer, they suffer severe long-term consequences affecting their ability to lead happy and productive lives. If the truck driver is at fault, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries and ongoing pain—and The Mottley Law Firm is ready to help.
How Chronic Pain Impacts Your Ability to Work
Once you’re discharged from the hospital or doctor’s office for emergency care after a truck accident, your road to recovery is likely still far from over. People who’ve been struck by semi-trucks commonly experience chronic pain. The major difference between car and truck accidents is one of magnitude.
When one vehicle is substantially larger than the other, the smaller vehicle typically experiences greater damage. While the commercial truck driver may walk away relatively unscathed, motorists and other occupants in regular passenger vehicles often don’t fare as well. Victims may suffer broken bones, traumatic brain injuries, internal injuries, and soft tissue damage. They may recover from acute pain in the short term, but long-term chronic pain can dramatically impact their ability to work.
People with more physically demanding jobs, like warehousing or construction, may find it impossible to do their tasks when they have chronic neck and back pain. Office workers and professional creatives may struggle to concentrate when they have frequent, unrelenting headaches. The lingering ramifications mean persistent pain exists long after the accident, stopping victims from returning to work as they once had. Some damage can be permanent—to be somewhat managed but never fully cured.
The Effect of Chronic Pain on Other Daily Activities
The impact of having to live with chronic pain extends well beyond employability and productivity. It also affects your day-to-day life, making otherwise mundane daily tasks feel practically impossible. Victims may no longer be able to enjoy the hobbies they once did or take care of their family and household in the same ways as before the accident.
The location of musculoskeletal injuries after truck accidents compromises your functionality in various ways. You may experience pain or reduced mobility in the spine, legs, or arms. Severe whiplash can make it excruciatingly painful to move your neck or turn your head. Numerous studies also indicate that chronic pain feeds into a vicious spiral of depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues. Victims may experience unexplained migraines and bouts of chronic fatigue, too, testing the limits of what they can accomplish each day.
Injuries That May Cause Chronic Pain After a Semi-Truck Accident
Some symptoms may be obvious immediately after a commercial truck smashes into your vehicle. However, other symptoms often aren’t apparent until weeks after the incident. Whether or not you notice the consistent pain right away, you may be able to connect the underlying injury to the accident with the semi-truck.
Common examples of injuries and conditions that cause chronic pain include:
Consult with your personal injury attorney before signing a medical release. Insurance companies may use your medical records against you to diminish or even deny your claim based on preexisting conditions or incomplete information.
