Police are unsure what caused a serious injury collision on Interstate 20, but they are certain that the crash killed two people and seriously injured several others, including an infant and a teenager.
Investigators believe that a Chevrolet pickup swerved to avoid a Dodge Charger and slammed into a retaining wall. The Charger’s driver and a pickup’s passenger died at the scene. All injured victims, including the two children, were rushed to a nearby hospital with serious injuries.
A dog in one of the vehicles was also seriously injured.
Personal Injuries in Vehicle Collision Claims
Only a handful of wrecks involve fireballs. These collisions are a bit more common in truck accidents. Large trucks often carry hundreds of gallons of diesel fuel. Diesel burns at a different temperature from gasoline. So, a fire is more likely.
On the other hand, every freeway wreck involves a huge amount of force. Airbags, seat belts, and other restraint systems cannot possibly absorb it all. As a result, these victims often sustain serious injuries, such as:
- Broken Bones: Shattered leg and arm bones are common in high-speed wrecks. The aforementioned safety restraint systems normally do not protect extremities very well. Many victims hit their arms and legs against dashboards and other solid objects. Since the force of the wreck often shatters these bones, these injuries are difficult to recover from and often permanent, at least to an extent.
- Head Injuries: These injuries are always permanent. Dead brain cells, unlike dead bone or skin cells, never regenerate. However, brain injury physical therapists can normally train uninjured areas of the brain to assume any lost functions. This process is long and laborious, and progress often comes in fits and starts.
- Internal Injuries: The same forces that crush bones and cause head injuries send internal organs slamming against each other. These impacts usually cause extensive bleeding. In fact, exsanguination (excessive blood loss) is often the official cause of death in a vehicle collision fatality.
Car crash injuries are notoriously difficult to diagnose and treat. So, a Marietta personal injury attorney normally connects victims with doctors who focus on injury-related matters. As a bonus, attorneys negotiate with these providers to defer billing and maybe even reduce the amount due.
Compensation for personal injuries such as these usually includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering. Additional punitive damages might be available as well, in a few extreme cases.
Pet Injuries in Vehicle Collision Claims
Emotionally, pets are family members, at least in most cases. But legally, pets are property. So, when they are injured in car wrecks or in other such incidents, the injury compensation rules are different.
If an animal dies because of someone else’s negligence, compensation is usually only available for the animal’s economic value. Different rules apply if the animal was a show dog or other animal that produced revenue for its owner.
If an animal survives and needs extensive medical attention, the veterinary bills are often almost astronomical. Legally, the insurance company must only pay these bills if they are lower than the animal’s economic value. So, attorneys usually negotiate with medical providers to reduce their fees.
Most animals are unrestrained in vehicles. Technically, Georgia’s seat belt law does not apply to animals. However, insurance company lawyers could argue that the lack of restraint contributed to the pet’s injury and reduce compensation accordingly.