Manson Motorcycle Accident Injury Attorneys

Motorcycle riders face a much higher risk of catastrophic injury than drivers of passenger vehicles. Data collected by the Iowa Department of Transportation reports that there were 64 motorcycle fatalities in a recent year, and 46 of them involved a motorcyclist who was not wearing a helmet. Wearing a helmet could save your life, but it is not mandatory in Iowa. The Manson motorcycle attorneys at Walker, Billingsley & Bair want local riders to understand head injuries and concussions, road rash, and spinal cord injuries that can result from a crash.

Motorcycle Head Injuries and Concussions from Accidents

There are a number of different types of head injuries. Motorcyclists could suffer a relatively simple concussion that improves after a couple of days or could end up in a coma with a traumatic brain injury. Many head injuries from a motorcycle accident are traumatic brain injuries in which the brain violently moved around within the skull. Others are penetrating injuries, in which an object is embedded into the brain tissue. Intracranial hemorrhaging may also occur when blood from the trauma pools in the brain and puts pressure on brain tissue, restricting blood flow. All of these conditions can be fatal if proper treatment is not administered immediately.

Long-Term Consequences of Motorcycle Head Injuries

Like any type of severe head trauma, the consequences of a motorcycle accident head injury can be long-term and life-altering. Victims of a brain injury may experience communication problems, cognitive limitations, trouble with mobility and balance, fine motor skill limitations, hearing and vision problems, lost feeling in parts of the body, and emotional and mental health problems like depression and anxiety. The effects will vary greatly from one patient to the next, depending on the type of head injury and severity of the damage.

Helmets, Head Injury, and Motorcycle Accident Claims

Iowa does not require motorcyclists to wear a helmet. But even if it is within a motorcyclist's rights not to wear one, not wearing a helmet might indicate the biker's contributory negligence for head injuries specifically. If the biker suffered a leg injury instead, helmet use would not have an effect on that injury or the resultant accident claim. But in the case of a head injury, a defendant may argue that the motorcyclist's decision not to wear a helmet contributed to the injury's severity. If a motorcyclist is found contributory negligent, he or she would recover damages minus his or her own degree of negligence, and if the claimant's fault is more than 50 percent, he or she cannot recover damages at all.

Motorcycle Road Rash After an 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, road rash is categorized by degree of severity. More serious cases 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.

Degrees of Motorcycle Road Rash

First-degree, or minor, road rash involves skin redness and probably does not warrant major medical treatment, since home treatments like cleaning and antibiotic ointment often suffice. Second-degree road rash is more serious, as the skin breaks, and may involve more discomfort and pain but can typically still be treated at home. Third-degree road rash is a serious injury that affects all skin layers, exposing the tissue beneath and even damaging muscles and other structures. Medical intervention, such as skin grafting, is a common surgical treatment for third-degree road rash, and recovery can be lengthy and difficult, requiring weeks in the hospital for observation of the donor and graft sites.

Seeking Compensation for Road Rash

If you were involved in a motorcycle accident with another vehicle and the other party is at fault, you may be entitled to compensation by filing a motorcycle accident claim, including damages for medical expenses, property damage, lost wages during treatment and recovery, and pain and suffering. Proving fault is a key element of a successful case, as is proper documentation of your losses, including medical records, bills, police reports, and witness statements.

Motorcycle Accidents and Spinal Cord Injuries

Spinal cord injuries are one of the most serious types of injuries riders sustain, affecting approximately 11 percent of motorcycle accident victims, according to a St. James University Hospital study published in the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery. Motor vehicle accidents are the most common cause of spinal cord injuries overall, accounting for about 40 percent of all new spinal injury cases, according to the Mayo Clinic. Upon collision, a rider's vertebrae can become crushed, compressed, or dislodged, causing the injury, and damaged ligaments or spinal discs can affect the spinal cord as well.

Types of Motorcycle Accident-Related Spinal Cord Injuries

There are two basic types of spinal cord injuries. A complete injury means the rider has experienced a total loss of sensation and movement below the site of the injury. With an incomplete injury, some loss of sensation and function occurs, but it is not total, and there are varying degrees of incomplete spinal cord injuries. Sometimes it takes weeks or months to determine exactly to what extent the victim's condition will remain. The St. James University Hospital study found that isolated injuries to the spine occurred in over 23 percent of riders, multiple vertebral levels were affected in over 42 percent of riders, the thoracic spine was the most commonly injured area at 54.8 percent of cases, the lumbar spine was injured 30 percent of the time, 27 percent of riders injured their cervical spine, and neurologic injury occurred in nearly 20 percent of the accidents.

Complications Spinal Cord Injury Victims Face

After a spinal cord injury, there are numerous changes in body function that can cause health complications, including blood clots, pressure sores, breathing difficulties, uncontrolled muscle movements, loss of bladder or bowel control, increased risk of urinary or kidney infections and bladder stones, blood pressure problems, susceptibility to lung problems and pneumonia, muscle atrophy, weight issues, sexual and reproductive function issues, and muscle, joint, and nerve pain.

The Dangers of Undiagnosed Vertebrae Fractures

Undiagnosed compression fractures can lead to serious long-term complications, including kyphosis, or curvature of the spine, which causes deformity and can compress organs. Other complications include chronic pain, reduced physical function, impaired lung function, decreased ability to perform daily activities, and depression, anxiety, and decreased enjoyment of life. If vertebral fractures are left untreated, the painful symptoms will increase over time, eventually causing the person to become disabled. In many cases, compression fractures are hairline and may not initially show up on X-rays, so persistence in seeking treatment is essential.

Mental and Emotional Impact of Spinal Cord Injury

The physical complications above are only part of the picture, since many motorcycle riders have severe mental and emotional issues following such a severe injury. According to a study published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, there was a two-fold increase or more in the probability of an emotional disorder in spinal injury victims. Researchers noted that nearly half of spinal cord patients wind up suffering from mental health problems including depression in 37 percent of cases, anxiety in 30 percent, clinical-level stress in 25 percent, and post-traumatic stress disorder in 8.4 percent.