Motorcycles are economical and reliable forms of transportation. They are also fun to ride, and they typically don’t require a lot of maintenance. However, for all their benefits, motorcycles don’t offer doors, side panels, and other enclosures to protect riders in a crash. They also don’t have seat belts or other safety mechanisms that cars and trucks have. As such, motorcyclists are at a significantly higher risk of suffering catastrophic and fatal injuries in motorcycle accidents.
One major injury motorcyclists sustain in motorcycle wrecks is road rash. Road rash injuries in motorcycle accidents can cause severe abrasions that require prompt medical attention. Motorcycle accident survivors who suffer serious road rash injuries in a motorcycle crash may be entitled to compensation for medical bills, lost wages, loss of future earnings, and pain and suffering.
Motorcycle accident claims can be complex since insurance companies have a vested interest in paying out as little in damages as possible and may attempt to deny a claim. An Omaha motorcycle accident lawyer can help survivors understand their legal options and fight to get maximum compensation.
What Is a Motorcycle Road Rash Injury?
A common injury in motorcycle accidents, road rash occurs when the exterior layer of skin scrapes against a hard, abrasive surface, such as asphalt or concrete. A road rash injury causes abrasions, raw and inflamed skin, swelling, and bleeding immediately following the accident and for days afterward.
Removal of the protective outer layer leaves areas underneath the skin exposed to the elements. This results in pain and long-term scarring, along with an increased risk for infection, which can lead to sepsis.
Road rash can occur under various circumstances:
- Avulsion wounds are the most common type of road rash and occur when the skin is scraped off of the body. Depending on the severity, muscle and fat below the skin may be exposed in the process.
- Open wound rashes cause gaping wounds to the skin that often require grafts, stitches, or plastic surgery to repair.
- Compression wounds occur when a part of the body becomes trapped between the motorcycle and the road or another vehicle during an accident. This can lead to broken bones, bruising, severe road rash, and muscle damage.
The most common areas on the body for road rash include the:
- Legs
- Knees
- Upper and lower arms
- Palms
- Elbows
- Face
- Shoulders
While some people may consider a road rash wound to be minor compared with other injuries motorcycle riders sustain in motorcycle accidents, those who lose several layers of skin may require surgery and extensive medical attention to ensure that the injury heals properly. Doctors often have to use skin grafting procedures to protect and repair the body following a motorcycle accident.
How Can Road Rash Be Prevented?
Using protective gear is a good way to reduce the severity of road rash injuries. Wearing appropriate safety gear and protective apparel may not completely prevent or protect a rider from all injury in a motorcycle crash, but it goes a long way in reducing the seriousness of such injuries, including road rash.
- Helmet: Wearing a helmet prevents painful facial abrasions and possible disfigurement. It also decreases the odds of injury to the head, brain, and neck.
- Safety Goggles: Wearing safety goggles or a face shield protects the eyes and face from damage in a motorcycle accident. They also shield the eyes from debris and dust that can blind a rider and cause a serious accident.
- Proper Apparel: A durable leather or heavy-duty nylon jacket and pants act as a protective layer over the skin to prevent damage to the epidermis and dermis layers.
- Gloves: Protective gloves shield sensitive areas like the palms of the hands from scrapes and cuts in the event of an accident.
- Durable Footwear: Boots provide traction while on the bike and also protect the feet from abrasions if a rider is suddenly forced to put his or her foot down on the pavement.
The most severe types of road rash occur often when a motorcycle is traveling at a high rate of speed prior to the accident. Speed is the number one factor in determining the severity of motorcycle road rash injuries. While falling off of a motorcycle at 15 mph may be painful, hitting the pavement at 60 mph or more can cause severe road rash injuries that could prove fatal.
Other factors include weather conditions, the surface on which a motorcycle is traveling at the time of an accident, and how far the rider slides on the surface before coming to a stop.
More than 100,000 Americans each year are injured in motorcycle accidents due to a lack of proper safety equipment, especially during the warmer summer months. As they shed layers of clothing and leave the skin unprotected, riders are at an increased risk for road rash injuries.
What Are the Different Types and Severity of Road Rash Injuries?
Road rash injuries typically fall into one of three categories, ranging from least severe to most serious:
- First-degree road rash is the least severe type of road rash, involving bruising, scraping, redness, and minor bleeding. It is often able to be treated at home by keeping the rash clean, applying a dressing, and maintaining proper hygiene practices while it heals.
- Second-degree road rash occurs when the scraping of the skin against pavement breaks the top layer, called the epidermis, but leaves the underneath layers intact. It’s very painful and requires medical attention to heal correctly. Again, wound hygiene is of the utmost importance in ensuring the best possible outcome in second-degree road rash injuries.
- Third-degree road rash is the most severe. Abrasions tear the dermis layer of the skin open, leaving nerves, tendons, muscle, fat, tissue, and bone exposed. Third-degree road rash is usually a medical emergency that requires immediate medical attention and extensive medical treatment, including skin grafts to repair.
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What’s Traumatic Tattooing?
In some cases, road debris and other foreign bodies can become trapped inside the affected area. If the debris isn’t removed properly, it can cause a condition known as traumatic tattooing. This can lead to scarring and permanent skin discoloration around the road rash wound.
What Complications Can Arise from Road Rash?
If left untreated, third-degree road rash can be dangerous and even deadly. Many patients report feeling more pain surrounding the perimeter of third-degree road rash than in the deepest part of the wound. The risk of infection is also highest with this severity of injury and can worsen symptoms, lengthen the healing process, and lead to permanent scarring and disfigurement. Signs of infection include the presence of fluid or pus, warmth emanating from the wound site, pain that increases after the first day, increased redness, excess swelling, foul-smelling drainage, fever, body aches, and chills.
In rare cases, motorcycle road rash can lead to blood poisoning, which occurs when an infection spreads throughout the bloodstream. Blood poisoning can cause septic shock, a life-threatening condition that may result in dangerously low blood pressure and multi-organ failure.
When to Seek Medical Care for Road Rash
The only way to know for sure what degree of road rash a person is dealing with is to seek medical treatment. To stave off infection and scarring, which are common in second- and third-degree road rash, the injured should seek medical attention immediately after an accident.
Even if a person doesn’t feel pain or believes the wound is minor, it’s important to see a doctor or other health professional to have the injuries assessed. Often following a traumatic event, the body pumps out large quantities of adrenaline that mask the presence of pain sensations. Injuries may actually be much more serious than initially realized once the adrenaline wears off.
Waiting to undergo treatment can put someone at greater risk for infection and other complications. Seeking medical care also creates a record of injuries and necessary interventions that were required in case a motorcycle accident claim is later filed. Medical records can prove to the court that the injuries someone sustained were a direct result of the accident caused by another driver’s negligence. They can be integral to the success of a personal injury case.
Pursuing medical attention also shows that someone took his or her injuries seriously immediately after an accident. Delaying such action could cause an insurance company or a jury to question whether or not injuries were as serious as claimed.
What Compensation Is Available If Another Driver Caused the Motorcycle Accident?
Due to the extremely painful nature of road rash injuries, they can have a negative impact on an individual’s overall well-being and mental health. The pain, suffering, and emotional turmoil that come with the prospect of a lengthy period of healing and possible permanent disfigurement can lead to anxiety, depression, stress, isolation, and financial difficulties.
After successfully navigating a motorcycle accident injury claim, individuals can receive various forms of compensation that include the following:
- Medical expenses
- Future medical expenses for any long-term medical treatment or rehabilitation
- Lost income
- Loss of future earning capacity if road rash injuries result in a permanent disability
- Loss of quality of life
- Emotional distress
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Loss of consortium
If the motorcycle accident killed a person, certain surviving family members may also pursue compensation through a wrongful death claim or lawsuit. The damages recovered can help with funeral and burial costs, final medical expenses, loss of support and income the deceased person provided to the family, and other associated expenses.
Contact an Experienced Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Today
Establishing liability and seeking compensation following a motorcycle accident can be complex and challenging. It’s vital to work with an experienced motorcycle accident attorney who has the skills and resources necessary to handle a claim effectively and increase one’s chances of obtaining a full and fair financial recovery.
The personal injury attorneys in Omaha at Berry Law have been assisting motorcycle accident survivors for many years. Contact us today to request a free consultation.
