Common Motorcycle Accident Injuries
Compared to other vehicles, the dangers involved in crashing a motorcycle are high. Motorcycles lack many of the protections that are provided by standard passenger cars, such as safety glass, seatbelts, airbags, and a vehicle frame that’s designed to absorb force. As such, when a motorcycle accident occurs, the motorcyclist involved is at a high risk of suffering serious or fatal injuries.
If you or a family member has been seriously hurt in a motorcycle accident in Montgomery, Alabama, please contact our skilled personal injury attorneys to learn about your legal rights.
Understanding the Common Injuries from Motorcycle Accidents
The injuries incurred by a motorcyclist involved in a serious crash can be dramatic and catastrophic, diminishing the victim’s quality of life and leading to long-term harm and disability. Some of the most common motorcycle accident injuries include:
- Traumatic Brain Injuries. The brain is one of the body’s most vulnerable organs, and when it is impacted with force, punctured, rotated, or shaken violently, it may be injured. A traumatic brain injury, or TBI, can affect thinking, memory, language, speech, cognition, emotion, and sensation, and it may or may not heal with time.
- Spinal Cord Injuries. The spinal cord is one of the body’s most critical and amazing elements, responsible for carrying messages between the brain and the rest of the body. When the spinal cord is impacted, that ability to send and receive messages is stunted, too. As a result, the victim may suffer complete or partial paralysis from the site of the injury downward.
- Lower-Extremity Injuries. With no protections offered by the motorcycle itself, a motorcyclist who is involved in a crash will very likely suffer some sort of injury to the lower extremities. This may be the result of the legs being pinned or crushed between the motorcycle and another object or vehicle, or as a result of the force with which the legs hit the ground. Amputation injuries, crush injuries, and bone fracture injuries are all common.
- Internal Injuries. The internal organs of a body may be impacted in a motorcycle crash, either as a result of an external object or an internal puncture, such as a fractured rib puncturing a lung. Internal bleeding is serious, and it must be treated immediately.
- Fractures to bones in the legs, the ribs, and the arms, especially the wrist and collarbone, are all common in a motorcycle crash. However, there is no limit to where fractures may occur, nor how serious a bone fracture may be.
- Road Rash. Road rash, or road burn, is a painful and disfiguring type of injury. When a motorcyclist is thrown from his or her bike, the victim may skid along the ground for a period of time before coming to a stop. The combination of friction and the heat that is generated by the friction can lead to painful road rash injuries.
What to Do After a Motorcycle Accident with Injuries
If you have been involved in a motorcycle accident and have suffered injuries as a result, it’s important that you act quickly. Doing so is essential for your health and well-being and for protecting your right to file a claim.
Call the police. The responding officers will take down crucial information as part of their official accident report.
You should always seek medical care. Be sure to keep thorough records of all care received, and follow your doctor’s orders.
Take photos and notes. If you are able, get photos of the crash scene and your injuries. Also make note of any witnesses and their contact information.
Notify your insurer of the accident. However, do not give a recorded statement to your insurer or sign anything given to you by the insurance company without having it reviewed by an attorney first.
From there, we recommend hiring legal counsel. An experienced lawyer can open an investigation into your crash, determine its cause, identify the liable party, and start calculating your damages. Fault is often disputed in motorcycle accidents, so it is important to have a knowledgeable motorcycle accident attorney on your side to fight for your rights.
Determining Fault in Motorcycle Accidents
The state of Alabama recognizes a fault-based system of compensation. This means that in order for an injured party, motorcyclist or otherwise, to recover compensation after a motor vehicle accident, he or she must prove the fault of another party involved.
Alabama is also one of the few states in the nation that recognizes the antiquated system of pure contributory negligence, which holds that if a plaintiff contributed to his or her injuries in any way, the victim can be completely barred from recovering compensation.
This means that determining ─ and proving ─ fault in a motorcycle crash is of the utmost importance. Our lawyers work hard to prove fault, investigating your case and hiring accident reconstruction experts and other professionals to establish liability and build your claim.
How Our Motorcycle Accident Attorneys Can Help You
Our dedicated motorcycle accident attorneys will work tirelessly to pursue the full and fair compensation you need to recover from a serious crash. This includes:
- Investigating your case thoroughly to identify all possible sources of compensation
- Representing you in all conversations with the insurance company and other parties
- Hiring experts such as accident reconstruction specialists to support your claim
- Calculating the full extent of your damages, including current and future medical expenses, lost income, diminished earning capacity for the future, damage to your bike, pain and suffering, etc.
- Negotiating for a maximum settlement with the goal of making your financially whole again
- Litigating your case in court if the insurance company refuses to pay you the full compensation that you deserve
Contact a Montgomery Motorcycle Accident Attorney Now
Motorcycle-related injuries can have a significant effect on a person’s life long-term. If you have been harmed in a motorcycle crash, please contact us directly to schedule a free consultation with our motorcycle accident lawyers in Montgomery. Our motorcycle accident lawyer is here to help you through this difficult time and pursue the compensation you need to move forward with your life after a serious injury.