Epworth Motorcycle Accident Injury Attorneys

Motorcycle Road Rash After an Epworth Accident

A common injury associated with motorcycle accidents is road rash, which results from skin being scraped across the road surface, causing lacerations and abrasions. Much like burns, motorcycle road rash is categorized by degree of severity. More serious road rash injuries require medical intervention to facilitate healing, while less serious cases can often be treated successfully at home. Wearing protective clothing, such as leather gear, while riding can decrease the possibility of serious road rash if the bike goes down in a crash.

Degrees of Motorcycle Road Rash

First-degree, or minor, road rash involves skin redness and probably does not warrant major medical treatment, since home treatment such as cleaning and antibiotic ointment often suffices for healing. Second-degree road rash is more serious, as the skin breaks, and while it may involve more discomfort and pain, it can typically still be treated at home. Third-degree road rash is a serious injury that affects all layers of skin, exposing the tissue beneath it and even damaging muscles and other structures. Medical intervention, such as skin grafting, is a common surgical treatment for third-degree motorcycle road rash.

Skin Grafting to Treat Motorcycle Road Rash

Skin grafting is a surgical procedure that must be performed in a hospital setting while the patient is under general anesthesia. Recovery after skin grafts can be lengthy and difficult, and patients recovering from skin grafts can require weeks in the hospital for observation of the donor and graft sites to ensure the body does not reject the transplanted skin. Movement can be limited for weeks following release from the hospital as the graft site heals, making a return to work or normal activity difficult for some time.

Who Should Pay Your Medical Bills After an Epworth Motorcycle Accident?

In Iowa motorcycle accident cases, it is rare for the other driver's insurance company to make payments toward your medical bills as you incur them, even when their liability is obvious and they have already paid for your property damage. The other driver's insurance company is not required to make ongoing payments, and insurance companies routinely make payments only at the time of a final settlement when they can obtain a release. You should not expect the other driver's insurance company to pay your medical bills as they come in.

Options for Getting Your Bills Paid

Instead, there are several avenues an Epworth rider can look to for payment while a claim is pending. These include your own health insurance from an employer benefits package, health insurance you have paid for personally, or health insurance obtained by a spouse or parent on your behalf. Medical payments insurance coverage on your own auto policy may also apply, and in some cases you may be able to receive this coverage both from the insurance company for the vehicle involved and from your own insurance company if you were not on your own vehicle. If you are not covered under an existing insurance plan, you may be eligible for coverage through HealthCare.gov or Medicaid. Personal funds can also be used if you are uninsured and able to pay medical bills as they are incurred.

If there are insufficient funds to pay doctors, hospitals, and other medical bills, an attorney's office can often help facilitate assignments in which the client authorizes the firm to pay the medical provider directly from any settlement or verdict. This will often satisfy the health provider, and many will wait until the time of settlement rather than pursue collection. Keep in mind that almost all insurance policies have a subrogation provision, which means they require reimbursement if you obtain money for your medical bills from another party or insurance company.

What if Your Motorcycle Accident Injuries Do Not Appear Right Away?

If you have been hurt in a motorcycle accident, sometimes you will not feel pain until later the same day or even the next day. Regardless of when your pain starts, you should seek medical care and treatment as soon as symptoms appear.

Why Symptoms Might Not Show Up Immediately

Adrenaline often spikes after an accident, and other hormones like cortisol can be released, which can temporarily make you feel no pain. Anyone who has lifted heavy weights or worked out too hard knows that muscle soreness does not always show up until the next day. Once you start feeling pain after an accident, it is important to promptly seek medical care to document your pain and begin your healing journey.

Is It Too Late if You Waited to Seek Care?

Waiting more than a week to seek medical care is not necessarily too late, but it will raise a red flag of suspicion with the insurance adjuster assigned to your case. Make sure you tell your doctor when the pain started and explain why you did not immediately seek medical care. Going to the emergency room, urgent care, or your regular doctor can be inconvenient, but failing to go can cost you your claim and case.

When New Pain Shows Up After Treating an Initial Injury

It is common for people and their doctors to focus only on the medical issue at hand right after an accident. For example, if severe neck pain that radiated into an arm is treated and resolves, but a new problem, such as shoulder pain, shows up afterward, that new pain should be reported immediately, since it is common for other problems to surface after one condition is treated. Sometimes the original injury was masking a secondary problem the whole time. Similarly, someone who sustains a serious leg injury may not experience back or hip pain until they are up and walking again, often with a limp that puts new strain on the body. These new problems and how they came about should be reported as well.