Motorcycle accident injuries can be extremely serious – or even catastrophic. If you’ve been injured in a bike accident, you could be entitled to financial compensation. Your best bet is to talk to a Glendale personal injury attorney who can help you determine whether you have a case.

Here’s what you need to know about motorcycle accident injuries.

Common Motorcycle Accident Injuries

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, you’re nine times more likely to become injured when riding a motorcycle than you are when you’re driving a car. The most common motorcycle accident injuries include things like:

1. Road rash
2. Facial fractures
3. Broken bones
4. Soft tissue injuries
5. Traumatic brain injury
6. Neck injuries
7. Spinal cord injuries

Each of these injuries has the potential to be incredibly serious – even life-threatening – and you should always seek medical attention after a motorcycle crash (even if you feel like you’re okay). Here’s a closer look at each of the main types of motorcycle accident injuries.

Road Rash

Road rash – a layman’s term for cuts and scrapes a rider can get by sliding across pavement – can be very severe. It can range from mild bruising and minor cuts or scrapes to muscle or nerve damage. Road rash is painful and can cause permanent scarring, as well. The severity often depends on the rider’s speed as well as the type of protective gear he or she was wearing at the time of the accident.

Facial Fractures

California’s helmet law is in place to prevent the most severe face and head injuries, but facial fractures are still common in motorcycle accidents. Often, these occur when a rider’s face hits the ground or another vehicle. Facial fractures can be incredibly painful – and they can cause permanent disfigurement in some cases.

Broken Bones

Broken bones are very common in motorcycle crashes, and they can occur when a rider hits the ground or another vehicle. Sometimes bones make a clean break (or aren’t even fractured all the way through) – but sometimes bones break so severely that they protrude from the skin. Bones can also be crushed when a rider is trapped between a motorcycle and another object, such as the ground or another vehicle.

Related: Which bones are most likely to break in a car crash?

Soft Tissue Injuries

Soft tissue injuries involve muscles, ligaments and tendons, and cartilage. A motorcycle crash can cause soft tissue injuries, either from the rider’s forward momentum when he or she comes to a stop or from the impact of the crash itself.

Traumatic Brain Injury

Even with a helmet, traumatic brain injury is possible in a motorcycle crash. TBI occurs when the brain hits the inside of the skull, which often happens in a sudden stop – so even if the skull never makes direct contact with the pavement or another object, the rider can suffer from a traumatic brain injury. Sometimes TBI takes time to manifest, which means you may not know you’ve suffered a brain injury until long after the accident. Because these injuries can be so serious (they can even cause permanent damage to the brain), it’s absolutely essential that you get checked out by a medical professional immediately following a bike accident, even if you feel fine at the time.

Related: Traumatic brain injury settlements

Neck Injuries

Motorcycle helmets are heavy, and while they’re there to protect your skull and face, they can weigh down your neck in a crash. After a motorcycle accident, whiplash is fairly common. Broken vertebrae in your upper spine are common, too.

Related: What is whiplash?

Spinal Cord Injuries

Spinal cord injuries can cause paralysis or death, and unfortunately, they’re common in bike accidents. Several small disks make up your spine, and if something happens to them – or if your spine twists unnaturally, causing damage to your spinal cord – you could become temporarily or permanently disabled.

Are You a Victim of Motorcycle Accident Injuries That Weren’t Your Fault?

If you were injured in a motorcycle accident that someone else is responsible for causing, you could be entitled to financial compensation that helps you pay your medical bills and other losses. Call us at 818-230-8380 or fill out the form below to tell us what happened. We’ll be happy to visit you at home, in the hospital or in our office – and if you’re entitled to compensation, we can help you get what you deserve.