The number of motorcycle accidents continues to climb, with profound, if not life-claiming, injuries affecting both the driver and passenger of a motorcycle in an accident. The injuries sustained in this type of roadway accident can be life-shattering, impacting victims’ health permanently.
Severe injury from motorcycle accidents is not uncommon in Texas and often requires the knowledge of an experienced attorney to navigate the legal system. If you are in Corpus Christi, John Flood’s legal team is always ready to answer your questions, helping victims through the legal process after they are injured in a motorcycle accident.
Motorcycle Accident Statistics
Recent statistics note that nearly 3,000 motorcycle drivers and passengers were either fatally or suspected to be severely injured in accidents in Texas. Speed continues to be a significant cause of all accidents, with motorcyclists suffering more catastrophic injuries from these incidents. Rarely does a rider in a motorcycle accident walk away from an accident without injuries.
Why are motorcycle injuries so severe compared to injuries sustained in other automobile accidents? Understanding what causes these risks can lead to a better understanding of the possibility of sustaining a severe injury if you are involved in a motorcycle accident.
The Vulnerabilities of Motorcycles
Motorcycle accidents place riders in highly vulnerable positions, leading to debilitating injuries. The damage from these injuries can persist throughout life, affecting your ability to work, maintain the activities you once enjoyed, and require continued medical care.
Minimal Protection
The pull of the open road and the freedom to ride with unobstructed views draw motorcyclists to this passion. However, when a motorcycle accident occurs, there are not any seatbelts, airbags, or cab surrounds to offer protection. Motorcycle crashes are 80% more likely to end in injury or death compared to car accidents, which experience death or injury rates at 20%.
A motorcycle lacks the crashworthiness and protective characteristics of an enclosed vehicle. Clothing and a helmet are the only protective gear of a motorcycle rider.
A rider’s lower extremities can be severely damaged by the crushing weight of a motorcycle in an accident. Injuries to the motorcyclist’s legs, ankles, knees, and feet may not be life-threatening but require ongoing rehabilitative treatment from the damage.
The Nature of Motorcycle Accidents
A common pathway to injury for motorcyclists is ejection from the motorcycle. With the bike coming to a sudden stop, the rider will be ejected, forcibly striking any object in their path, including the ground, at a high rate of speed. When ejected, the force of impact can lead to significant injuries in the body.
Injuries To the Upper Extremities
Natural reflex inclines riders to extend their arms to break impact in an accident. This response can lead to broken arms, fingers, elbows, shoulder injuries, and permanent nerve damage due to intense strikes.
Head Injuries
Head injuries from ejection are some of the most commonly sustained injuries in a motorcycle accident, leading to damages that range from minor to severe, often causing permanent physical and emotional disabilities. Permanent disabilities can lead to costly treatment that is required throughout life. Some of these severe head injuries include:
- Traumatic brain injury
- Coma
- Seizures and paralysis
- Brain swelling and hemorrhaging
- Speech and vision problems
Some injuries from head trauma may not be immediately recognizable but have a direct correlation to the injuries sustained in an accident. There may be no exact cure, but only a course of rehabilitation designed to help the injured person function in their daily life to the best of their ability after sustaining permanent injury. These medical conditions can include but are not limited to:
- Anxiety and depression
- Memory loss
- Disorientation
- Loss of motor skills
- Loss of coordination
Face and Neck Injuries
Your face and neck become vulnerable parts of your body in a motorcycle accident, even when wearing a helmet. The impact from ejection on your face and neck can be severe and cause:
- Disfigurement and permanent scarring
- Whiplash
- Severe damage to the neck leading to spinal injury
- Nerve damage
- Emotional distress resulting from the traumatic event
Vehicle Mass
The exposed body of a motorcyclist is no match for the weight of a car, truck, or tractor-trailer in a crash. Drivers of automobiles and trucks are often unaware of the presence of motorcycles. Another common cause of motorcycle accidents with an automobile is the driver of the car turning across the path of an oncoming motorcycle.
Distracted driving also contributes to accidents with motorcycles, leading to severe injury. Blunt force trauma from the impact of a vehicle ranging in weight from 2,500 pounds for compact cars to 80,000 pounds for fully loaded semi-trucks can permanently debilitate a motorcycle rider and cause sustained injuries to many body parts, if not kill them.
Thoracic damage, or damage to the trunk of the body, can lead to severe injury in motorcycle accidents. Most of the body’s primary organs are located in this region, and any damage to these organs can be fatal. Damage to organs is very typical from punctures caused by broken ribs. Additional internal injuries often occur to the:
- Heart
- Lungs
- Kidneys
- Liver
- Spleen
Overcoming the Injuries of a Motorcycle Accident in Corpus Christi
Many Texans have been the victims of motorcycle accidents, sustaining severe injuries that have a lifelong impact. Riders and passengers of motorcycles are some of the most vulnerable travelers on a highway, often suffering life-altering injuries due to the negligence of other motorists. Except for protective clothing and a helmet, motorcyclists and their passengers have no protection from the injuries sustained from larger vehicles or immobile objects that a rider may come into contact with during impact or ejection.
The ability to recover from a severe injury sustained in a motorcycle accident may rest in your capacity to receive quality, ongoing care, and therapy that can target your injuries and support your recovery. Securing this help can be costly, affecting your financial stability and impacting your entire family.
Experience matters in the fight to regain your life. John Flood’s legal team is ready to help you determine and secure the compensation you deserve for damages sustained in a motorcycle accident in Corpus Christi. Contact us to speak to a motorcycle accident lawyer. You are not alone in your fight.
