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- Johnston Motorcycle Accident Injury Attorneys
- Phone: 641-792-3595
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The Most Common Serious Motorcycle Injuries in Iowa
When negligence leads to a motorcycle crash, the aftermath can bring fractures, road rash, and traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries. A proficient motorcycle accident attorney stands ready to help victims seek rightful compensation to lessen the physical, emotional, and financial repercussions of a crash.
Fractures and Broken Bones
In the event of a motorcycle collision, virtually any part of the body is susceptible to fractures. In cases of severe breaks where bones protrude through the skin, the risk of infection is significantly heightened. Specific fracture types can introduce further complexities as well. Prolonged immobilization required during healing, for instance, can elevate the risk of blood clots or bedsores, turning what might seem like a straightforward broken bone into a serious and medically complicated recovery process.
Road Rash
Road rash occurs when a motorcyclist's body makes direct contact with the ground, such as from skidding across pavement after being thrown from the bike. Like a burn injury, road rash ranges significantly in severity. The most serious cases cause damage to the tissues and muscles underneath the skin, well beyond the surface level. Complications such as infections can arise, often requiring skin grafts to expedite healing and cover exposed areas. Compensation for road rash injuries and the associated medical expenses can be pursued with the help of a motorcycle accident attorney. You can read more about motorcycle road rash injuries in Iowa and how they affect a legal claim.
Traumatic Brain Injuries
A severe traumatic brain injury from a motorcycle crash can affect a victim in a wide variety of ways depending on the severity of the impact. Mild concussions may bring about temporary confusion and headaches. More severe TBI can produce enduring complications that span from persistent problems with memory and concentration to shifts in personality that affect every relationship and aspect of daily life. Physical challenges include impaired movement, coordination difficulties, and potential psychological problems such as anxiety and depression. You can learn more about head injuries and their legal implications on the Walker, Billingsley and Bair website.
Spinal Cord Injuries
Spinal cord injuries from motorcycle crashes vary widely in severity, ranging from minor discomfort-inducing herniated discs to grave spinal cord damage. The implications extend to other regions of the body depending on the injury site, potentially causing chronic pain and even paralysis. Catastrophic spinal injuries can result in lifelong wheelchair dependency and the need for ongoing medical care. The toll from these injuries can encompass substantial medical expenses, long-term care costs, and lost wages that compound matters severely, especially when employment becomes unrealistic for an extended period.
Why Motorcycle Injuries Do Not Always Appear Right Away
One of the most common and dangerous misconceptions after a motorcycle crash is the belief that feeling relatively okay at the scene means you are not seriously injured. The reality is that many significant injuries do not present symptoms until hours or even the next day after the accident.
The Role of Adrenaline and Cortisol
Often your adrenaline spikes immediately after a crash, and other hormones like cortisol can be released, which temporarily mask pain and make you feel far better than you actually are. If you have ever worked out too hard, you know that muscle soreness does not show up until the next day. The same principle applies after traumatic injury. Once you begin to feel pain in the hours or days that follow, promptly seeking medical care to document your symptoms is essential both for your health and for the strength of your legal claim.
What If You Waited More Than a Week Before Seeing a Doctor?
Waiting more than a week to seek medical care after a motorcycle crash is not automatically fatal to your case, but it will raise a red flag of suspicion with the insurance adjuster assigned to evaluate your claim. If you did delay, make sure you tell your doctor clearly when the pain started and why you did not seek immediate care. Going to the emergency room, urgent care, or your regular doctor can be inconvenient after a crash, but failing to go can cost you your entire claim. Insurance adjusters are trained to use treatment gaps against injured victims, and any unexplained delay will be highlighted as evidence that your injuries were not as serious as you claim.
When New Injuries Emerge After Initial Treatment
It is common for people and their doctors to focus on the most immediate and obvious medical problems after a crash, but new conditions frequently develop as treatment progresses. For example, if a motorcycle crash caused extreme neck pain with pain radiating into your arm, and an MRI revealed a herniated disc requiring surgery, you might discover after the neck surgery that you now have problems with your shoulder. This happens because the neck and arm pain were so severe during recovery that they were masking the underlying shoulder problem.
Similarly, serious leg injuries can cause a rider to walk with a limp during recovery, which over time can result in low back and hip pain from overuse and altered movement patterns. Some riders who injure one arm begin relying heavily on the other arm during recovery, leading to overuse damage that develops weeks or months later. All of these secondary conditions are related to the original crash, and they should all be documented and reported to your doctor and your attorney as soon as they appear.
Proving Causation When Conditions Develop Months After the Crash
When new conditions are diagnosed months or longer after a motorcycle accident, your attorney will need to have a direct conference with your doctors to establish which conditions are causally related to the original injury. This is called a causation opinion. Some attorneys prefer to send a letter, but the more effective approach is to meet with your doctors in person. The critical distinction is that a doctor saying it is "possible" a condition was caused by the accident is not enough in the legal field. The injured person carries the burden of proof to establish that the condition was more likely than not caused by the injury accident. Attorneys who have worked with thousands of doctors understand how to obtain the specific opinions that a claim requires.
Five Things the Insurance Company Does Not Want You to Know After a Motorcycle Crash
Insurance companies are among the richest and most powerful corporations in the United States. They donate millions of dollars annually to politicians in an effort to reduce the rights and compensation available to injured Iowans so they can increase their profits. What they cannot control, however, are the judges and juries who ultimately decide compensation when a case goes to court. Here are five critical things insurance companies actively conceal from motorcycle accident victims.
1. The Insurance Company Is Legally Allowed to Lie to You
There is no law requiring the insurance company for the other side to tell you the truth or to act in your best interests. This is why an adjuster will often act friendly and attempt to build trust with you, especially if your injuries are serious. This tactic is sometimes called the "Mr. Nice Guy" or "Mrs. Nice Lady" routine. It is a very bad idea to trust an insurance adjuster, because their job is to pay you as little money as possible. They are not required to treat you fairly, and in fact, adjusters often receive promotions and bonuses for building a track record of paying less than cases are actually worth. They will not tell you what your rights are, the best way to proceed with your claim, or anything else that works in your favor.
2. You Are Not Required to Give a Recorded Statement
Insurance adjusters will tell you that they need a recorded statement in order to evaluate your claim. This is not true. You have no legal obligation to give the insurance company for the other side a recorded statement. The reason they want one is so they can ask questions designed to produce answers that can later be used against you. For example, if they ask whether you have ever had back pain before and you say no, but your medical records show a chiropractic visit ten years ago, the insurance company's attorney will use that inconsistency to make you appear dishonest. Your credibility is critical in any injury case, which is precisely why the adjuster attempts to damage it as early as possible.
3. Their "Final Offer" Is Usually Not Their Best Offer
During settlement negotiations, insurance companies often present a figure as their final offer when it is nothing of the sort. In the experience of attorneys who negotiate with insurers daily, most so-called final offers have significant room to improve. Making a counteroffer carries little risk, as it is highly unlikely the insurer will withdraw the offer entirely in response. In some cases, filing a lawsuit and progressing through the legal process is what it truly takes to get the insurance company's real best offer on the table.
4. They Will Intentionally Frustrate You to Force a Low Settlement
When the friendly approach does not produce a quick, cheap settlement, insurance adjusters sometimes shift to deliberate frustration as a strategy. They know that a low initial offer will make some victims angry, and they also know that a certain percentage of injured people will accept a low-ball figure simply to stop dealing with the adjuster altogether. If you have sustained serious motorcycle injuries that may have lifelong effects on your health, handing your case to an experienced injury attorney removes the adjuster from your daily life entirely. Your attorney will handle all communications with the insurer while you focus on healing.
5. They Will Not Pay Your Medical Bills as You Incur Them
Insurance adjusters frequently tell motorcycle accident victims to send their medical bills directly to the insurance company. However, this does not mean those bills will actually be paid in a timely manner. This is a strategy designed to encourage victims to settle cheaply later, when collection calls from creditors, hospitals, and doctors create financial pressure. In car accident and personal injury cases, it is best to have medical bills paid by your own health insurance and medical payments coverage under your motorcycle or auto policy. Otherwise, years may pass before the underlying case is resolved, your credit rating may be damaged in the meantime, and you could ultimately be left holding unpaid bills.
Before speaking with any insurance adjuster, signing any forms, or accepting any settlement offer, motorcycle accident victims in Johnston should speak with a qualified attorney. Injured Iowans who trusted what an insurance adjuster told them and failed to protect themselves have lost their entire cases as a result. You can also request a free copy of the Iowa Consumer's Guide to Motorcycle Crashes: 9 Insider's Secrets to Keep Your Case on 2 Wheels, available at no cost or risk.
The Full Scope of Compensation Available to Johnston Motorcycle Crash Victims
The financial toll from severe motorcycle injuries can be enormous, encompassing substantial medical expenses and long-term care costs for victims and their families. Lost wages compound matters significantly, especially when employment becomes unrealistic for an extended period. Getting help from a motorcycle accident attorney allows injured riders to pursue comprehensive compensation that accounts for financial damages as well as the emotional component, including pain and suffering.
Victims of serious motorcycle accidents should seek consultation with an attorney, because damages in these cases are often extensive and the road to fair recovery is rarely straightforward without legal representation. Before you call, you should also review what past clients have said about any attorney you are considering at Avvo.com or on Google, and you should be able to find or request examples of past case results from the attorney's website.
Injured on a Motorcycle in Johnston? Call for a Free Consultation Now
Whether your injuries were immediate or developed days after the crash, and whether the insurance company has already contacted you or not, the attorneys at Walker, Billingsley and Bair are ready to protect your rights. Consultations are always free, and you pay nothing unless your case is won.
Call 641-792-3595 anytime, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. An in-house Spanish translator is available. You can also contact the firm online to get started today. Not ready to call? Request a free copy of the Iowa Consumer's Guide to Motorcycle Crashes and learn your rights before taking any action.