Understanding Back Injuries After a Trucking Accident in Portland, Oregon
Trucking accidents with commercial vehicles like tankers, big rigs, and other box trucks can be serious and deadly. These types of collisions are likely to cause catastrophic personal injuries due to their heavy force of impact. This is because a truck’s heavier weight means that it generates significantly more momentum and force in an impact than a smaller, passenger vehicle does at the same speed. One of the most common types of personal injuries in a crash are back injuries after a trucking accident in Portland.
Here at Kuhlman Law, we know that victims and their families who have been injured by a serious trucking accident need to have their rights to medical bills, lost wages, and other damages protected under Oregon law. This is particularly true for back injuries after a trucking accident in Portland because these injuries can result in long-lasting damage, take a long time to heal, and result in crippling disability.
Basic Anatomy of the Back
The back is a very complicated structure. Generally, it is comprised of a vertebral column that is a stack of vertebrae. There are five sections of vertebrae, including the cervical (neck), thoracic (mid-back), lumbar (lower back), sacrum (very lower back, top of hip/pelvis and fused), and the coccyx (very end or “tail” of the spine in the lower pelvis).
In the middle of the vertebrae is the spinal cord, which is the messenger super highway between the brain and the peripheral nervous system that branches out to the other extremities of the fingers and toes.
Between the vertebrae are soft discs that help cushion the vertebrae so they are not rubbing or damaging on each other. These discs are very resilient and can withstand pressure in an impact, but they can be injured.
Over the spinal column is also a complex matrix of connective tissue, ligaments, tendons, and massive muscle groups that make up your back. In fact, the back muscles, particularly the latissimus dorsi (also known as “lat”), is the second-largest muscle in the body and it is the widest muscle in the body.
Common Back Injuries From Big Rig Crashes
While the back and spinal column are well-protected and shielded with muscle, they are not impenetrable. That is especially true from a large trucking accident that can result in explosive impacts. Victims who are injured in a big rig crash could suffer serious personal injuries, including some of the following:
- Compression fractures of the vertebrae
- Spinal cord injuries, including paralysis such as paraplegia or quadriplegia
- Spinal stenosis
- Slipped disc
- Annular tears of a disc
- Crushed discs
- Spinal cord impingement
- Peripheral nerve impingement
- Disc herniations
- Torn muscles, ligaments, or tendons in the neck or back
- Need for a spinal fusion
- Need to a disc replacement
- Need for a pain inhibited or pain reduction surgery, include nerve ablation procedures, and
- Many other types of neck and back injuries after a trucking accident in Portland, Oregon.
Call our Trucking Accident Lawyer in Portland, Oregon for Help
If you or a loved one have been seriously injured or killed as a result of a trucking accident or collision contact the Oregon Truck Accident Lawyers at Kuhlman Law at our number below or fill out the intake form. We offer a free initial case evaluation and handle cases on a contingency fee which means that you pay no money unless we recover.
Our law firm handles cases throughout the state including Bend and Portland Oregon, Redmond, Central Oregon, Sisters, Madras, Multnomah County, Deschutes County, Salem, Eugene, Corvallis, Lane County, Medford, Gresham, La Grande, Albany, Medford, Beaverton, Umatilla, Pendleton, Cottage Grove, Florence, Oregon City, Springfield, Keizer, Grants Pass, McMinnville, Tualatin, West Linn, Forest Grove, Wilsonville, Newberg, Roseburg, Lake Oswego, Klamath Falls, Happy Valley, Tigard, Ashland, Milwakie, Coos Bay, The Dalles, St. Helens, Sherwood, Central Point, Canby, Troutdale, Hermiston, Silverton, Hood River, Newport, Prineville, Astoria, Tillamook, Lincoln City, Hillsboro, and Vancouver, Washington.
We also have an office in Minneapolis, Minnesota and take Trucking accident cases throughout the Twin Cities, including St. Paul, Hennepin County, Ramsey County, Dakota County, Washington County, Anoka County, Scott County, Blaine, Stillwater, and Saint Paul Minnesota.
Please act quickly, there is a limited time (Statute of Limitations) in which you can bring a claim under the law.
