Motorcycles are notoriously dangerous. Because of their smaller size, tendency to be in the blind spot, and lack of safety features, these two-wheel vehicles are often at risk. Moreover, the lack of safety gear, such as seat belts, airbags, and a metal structure, increases the chances of accident victims suffering horrific and life-changing injuries.
One such injury is amputation. When there is serious damage to a limb, medical professionals may decide that the best way forward is amputation. How common are amputations after a motorcycle crash, and what do victims need to know?
This article will answer these questions and more, ensuring that claimants have access to the information they need. Schuerger Shunnarah Trial Attorneys can also help with questions like What causes a high side motorcycle crash?
Understanding the Seriousness of Motorcycle Accidents
Motorcycle accidents are renowned for causing serious injuries. That's because these two-wheel vehicles lack protective measures that other passenger vehicles often include. When a motorcyclist crashes into another vehicle or a stationary object, the risk of serious injury, including limb loss, becomes all too real.
Amputations are a sad possibility because a motorcyclist's arms and legs are often the most common place where injuries occur. Because riders tend to be hurled off the vehicle in a crash, they tend to use their hands and arms to try and break the fall, resulting in serious damage to tissues, bones, nerves, blood vessels, and more.
The legs and feet are also at risk of serious injury. This is because they may be exposed and be crushed during a collision.
What Are the Most Common Types of Injuries Sustained in a Motorcycle Accident?
There are a number of different injuries that a victim might sustain in a motorcycle crash. Here are some of the most common:
Upper or Lower Extremity Injury
Undoubtedly, the most common injury is upper or lower extremity injuries. As explained previously, motorcycle riders simply do not have the protective gear to keep their limbs from being crushed or bearing the force of impact in a motorcycle crash.
As a result, broken bones are common, as are tissue damage, road rash, fractures, and sprains. Depending on the severity of the injury, medical professionals may decide to amputate the arm or leg.
In addition to arm and leg injuries, the following motorcycle crash injuries are also common:
Head Injuries
Although riders often wear helmets, it's important to remember that these safety devices cannot protect the wearer from all types of injuries to the head.
Because the brain often hits the inside of the skull during motorcycle collisions, traumatic brain injuries are not uncommon.
Internal Organ Damage
When a motorcyclist is flung from the seat of their two-wheel vehicle, they can also sustain broken ribs. These fractured bones can pierce vital organs in the chest, such as the lungs. Broken ribs can also pierce other internal organs in the abdomen, such as the spleen, kidneys, stomach, and liver.
Internal bleeding, bruising, loss of organ function, and more can result from such motorcycle injuries.
What the Statistics Say: How Common Are Amputations After a Motorcycle Crash?
While the psychological impact of amputations is unquantifiable, reviewing statistical data sheds light on the occurrence of this devastating outcome. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have undertaken research on the prevalence of amputations because of injuries sustained in motorcycle accidents.
How Many Victims Suffered Injuries to an Extremity?
It is estimated that over 61 percent of motorcycle crash victims suffer from an injury to an extremity. A considerable number of these injuries result in amputations, with the rate varying based on variables such as the severity of the impact, helmet use, and the presence of other cars. Sadly, studies show that the risk of amputation is higher in motorcycle crashes than in other forms of vehicle incidents.
Amputation Statistics
It is estimated that 4.3 percent of motorcycle accident survivors will have an amputation of the upper or lower extremities following a collision.
The Importance of Obtaining Legal Assistance for Motorcycle-related Injuries
Survivors who have suffered a severe injury that required amputations often find that their lives have changed forever. These devastating injuries can reduce their overall quality of life and result in a loss of enjoyment of life and reduced ability to carry out everyday tasks.
In some cases, it may even prevent a victim from returning to work, which can put a significant strain on their family. Moreover, more leg injuries mean more medical treatment.
Apart from the visit to trauma centers following the accident, victims often have to spend time in hospital and undergo surgery, which can result in high medical expenses.
Furthermore, motorcycle crashes often lead to multiple injuries, which can put a victim in further debt. In most cases, filing a personal injury lawsuit is the only way forward.
An experienced law firm can help survivors take their life back by preparing and presenting compelling evidence to back up their claims for compensation. By conducting their own investigations and consulting expert witnesses, a motorcycle accident lawyer can give an injured motorcycle rider a good chance at receiving the compensation they rightly deserve.
Here are some of the ways an attorney can assist motorcycle accident victims:
Provide guidance to help victims through the legal process
Offer support and counsel through a troubling time
Negotiate with the defendant or their insurance company to secure a good outcome
Defend the claim in court before a jury and judge
Schuerger Shunnarah Trial Attorneys Are Here to Help
When grappling with injury in the aftermath of a motorcycle crash, victims are often left with one option: pursue compensation. Because the injuries sustained in accidents involving motorcycles are often serious, the lives of those who have been injured are often life-changing. Schuerger Shunnarah Trial Attorneys can help with questions such as What is the common injury in motorcycle accidents?
Schuerger Shunnarah Trial Attorneys will help motorcycle riders who have had amputations recover the compensation they deserve to cover medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more.
Victims can contact the firm for expert legal advice and aggressive representation.