Common Injuries in Motorcycle Accidents

Motorcycle accidents can result in severe life threatening injuries, if not death. With very little protection between the rider and another vehicle or the open road, injuries tend to extend well beyond the familiar accident injuries of bruising and contusions. Instead, severe head, spinal, chest, abdominal, and lower extremity injuries are more common.

Among the more serious motorcycle accident injuries seen in emergency rooms across the country are head injuries. Most states enforce some type of helmet law for motorcycles, which has helped in reducing the overall number of severe head injuries. Four states though remain helmet free: Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, and New Hampshire. However, even with the consistent use of helmets, motorcyclists are still susceptible to traumatic brain injuries.

A sudden stop or a collision with another vehicle frequently results in a rider being ejected from their bike. This causes a myriad of impact injuries. Injuries to the chest and abdomen including fractures, punctured lungs, and damage to the spleen or liver are common, as are neck and spinal injuries. Herniated discs, compressed vertebrae fractures, and full or partial paralysis could lead to a life filled with constant pain.

Broken legs and arms and pelvic injuries are also familiar injuries for riders involved in an accident. Unfortunately, these injuries tend to be more complicated than just a broken arm or leg that generally heals given time. Instead, multiple broken bones or fractures mean a long road to recovery that may include numerous corrective surgeries with no guarantee that a life of chronic pain or limited mobility may not still loom on the horizon.

Road rash is a familiar concern for motorcyclist. Occurring when a rider is knocked off their bike and skids across a roadway, this skin and bone injury is intensely painful, and may result in permanent scarring and disfigurement.

The severity of these types of injuries tends to require long-term, expensive medical care and rehabilitation. If you are injured in a motorcycle accident because of the negligence of another, you may have the right to file a personal injury lawsuit, which could assist with your past, present, and future medical care expenses.

To learn more about your legal entitlements, it is important to speak with skilled auto accident lawyers, product liability attorneys, wrongful death lawyers, and Sacramento and Stockton personal injury attorneys.