Motorcyclists do not have the protection other vehicles provide, such as an outer enclosure, airbags, and seatbelts. The most that a motorcycle rider can do for protection is to drive defensively and wear a helmet and protective gear, such as layers of sturdy clothing. The force of a crash often ejects riders from their motorcycles. Common motorcycle injuries include:
- Fractures
- Spinal cord injuries
- Head trauma
The most common, however, is road rash. Road rash is a serious motorcycle injury that can result in a lifetime of pain and suffering, including permanent disfiguration, scarring, and limited mobility which can significantly impact your entire life. It is important to know how to treat road rash from a motorcycle accident.
Injured motorcyclists often need a motorcycle injury attorney on their side from the start to help them fight for compensation. Without a lawyer fighting for you, you may not recover enough money to cover all your medical expenses, future surgeries, and other damages. The motorcycle crash attorneys at Dolman Law Group are here to help you through this difficult time.
Motorcycle Road Rash Treatment Is Costly
Riding a motorcycle is risky because drivers in cars and SUVs have a difficult time seeing motorcycles and often cause serious car-motorcycle crashes. There were 5,172 motorcycle fatalities in the United States in 2017 and 550 motorcycle fatalities in Florida alone. Road rash wound care after an accident is extremely important. Receiving medical treatment after a motorcycle accident can reduce or prevent infection, scarring, and disability.
Treating road rash burns may be complicated and costly because there are often other types of motorcycle accident injuries that also need treatment. Medical personnel must remove all of the debris before further treatment takes place. Road rash cream may be used and open wounds usually require stitches.
Some wounds require plastic surgery and in severe cases, the victim may need to undergo a skin graft as well. As the victim of a motorcycle accident, you should never second-guess yourself when it comes to your health. It is always better to get a road-rash injury checked out by a doctor than to suffer at home and chance an infection.
First-Degree Road Rash Treatment
If you have no other injuries, road rash treatment at home may be possible. A first-degree road rash is a minor abrasion, also called a “raspberry.” How long does it take road rash to heal? A minor road rash should heal within two weeks with proper treatment. If you decide to treat your first-degree road rash at home, make sure to:
- Wash your hands. If your hands are covered in bacteria, you are more likely to get an infection.
- Rinse the injury. Try to remove any dirt or particles carefully under lukewarm water, but do not scrub your wound. If you cannot remove all the dirt and foreign bodies from the wound without scrubbing, seek medical attention. Cleaning road rash wounds can be painful but it is important to prevent infection.
- Cover the scrape with a thin layer of antibiotic salve or petroleum jelly and then apply a dressing. The coating will keep the wound hydrated, and the dressing will provide a barrier against infection. Change the dressing daily, or more frequently if it becomes wet or dirty.
- Get prompt medical attention if you see any signs of infection or if the wound is not healing properly.
Treatment for a Second-Degree Road Rash
Second-degree road rash goes through both the outer layers and deeper layers of the skin. However, it does not go through muscles and other tissue beneath the skin. You should seek medical treatment immediately if you have suffered a second-degree road rash. The doctor will clean the wound, remove any dirt or foreign objects, and apply an antibiotic ointment and a dressing. The doctor may recommend either an over-the-counter or prescription pain medication.
Treatment for a Third-Degree Road Rash
If you have a third-degree road rash injury, you should immediately go to the emergency room. Third-degree road rash can damage nerve endings, causing nerve damage and a loss of sensation. If your wound is painless, go to the hospital immediately.
These injuries go through the epidermis and dermis, and damage tissue below the skin, which can include muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, veins, arteries, bones, and internal organs. These injuries can be fatal if left untreated. Injured individuals may also require surgery to repair the skin. If you do not feel pain, you should not assume that your injury is minor. These severe injuries can penetrate and destroy all the layers of skin.
Types of Motorcycle Road Rash
There are three types of road rash. However, it is possible to have more than one type of road rash injury at once.
- Avulsion: An avulsion is the most common of the three types of road rash. Avulsion means that the skin has been scraped away, potentially exposing layers of fat, muscle, and even bone.
- Compression: In a motorcycle accident, part of the body may be trapped between two objects, usually the motorcycle and the road. As a result, bruising, muscle damage, and broken bones can occur.
- Open wound: Road rash that results in an open wound may require stitches or, in severe cases, skin grafts.
Degrees of Road Rash
There are three levels of road rash injuries, called degrees. Those levels, from mildest to most severe, are:
- First-degree: Minor road rash resulting from a motorcycle accident usually involves scrapes, slight bleeding, bruising, and redness. After receiving medical attention, most injured individuals can treat first-degree road rash at home.
- Second-degree: Second-degree road rash means that the abrasion breaks the skin. The underlying layers of skin remain intact, but you may be able to see them, and debris – such as dirt, rock, and glass – may become lodged in the wound and cause permanent scarring.
- Third-degree: Third-degree road rash involves deep wounds and severe abrasions, exposing muscles, tendons, nerves, and even bone. Because there may be significant bleeding and a risk of infection, the victim should seek immediate medical care.
Complications from Road Rash
After a motorcycle accident, you may feel lucky that you survived and not be worried about minor injuries. However, if you have been involved in a motorcycle crash, even a small case of bike rash may lead to medical issues and complications such as:
- Infection – Redness may be from inflammation, but if it spreads, you may have an infection. Swelling, fever, a foul odor, the development of pus, and foul odor are also signs that you have developed an infection, and you’ll need to see a physician to prescribe you antibiotics.
- Intense pain
- Permanent scars
In order to avoid the development of these complications, you should seek medical attention right away after a motorcycle accident if:
- A large object embedded in the wound
- A large surface area is covered by road rash (such as an entire limb)
- Road rash wound will not stop bleeding
- Muscle or bone is visible
Emotional Consequences of Road Rash
In some ways, road rash is less serious than other potential motorcycle injuries, such as traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury, but road rash can still cause pain and leave permanent scars. An altered appearance can negatively affect a person’s outlook and self-confidence. The scarring and disfigurement from road rash injuries can cause emotional and psychological suffering that is far more than skin deep.
For example, road rash scars have been known to result in:
- Depression: There is no simple relationship between the degree of scarring and psychological well-being. Even relatively small scars can affect someone’s self-confidence and enjoyment of life. In some cases, it may lead to clinical depression.
- Stress and anxiety: For some accident victims, every time they look in the mirror, they relive the trauma of the accident. Many victims are also distressed by their appearance and how others react to it.
- Ongoing pain and discomfort: Victims may need to undergo plastic surgery, particularly if the accident involved facial bone fractures or soft tissue damage. Each additional surgery means ongoing pain.
- Social isolation: Facial scarring can affect personal relationships and other social activities. For people whose jobs depend on their looks, such as actors and models, facial scarring can ruin a career.
How to Prevent Road Rash
The Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) recommends that all motorcyclists wear properly fitting protective gear to help prevent or reduce injuries. In spring and summer, the weather is warmer, so motorcyclists often wear lighter clothing, leaving more skin exposed to the dangers of road rash. The most important piece of motorcycle safety equipment is a helmet that complies with federal regulations.
Helmets protect riders’ heads in four ways:
- The outer shell protects a rider’s head from penetrating objects.
- The shell also protects the head from abrasions should it hit the pavement.
- The liner of the helmet has shock-absorbing qualities that absorb the shock from a collision and collapse slowly.
- The foam liner keeps the head comfortable and the helmet fitting snugly.
Motorcycle drivers over the age of 21 are not required to wear a helmet under Florida law, provided that they carry an insurance policy with at least $10,000 in medical benefits. However, eye protection is always required for motorcycle riders in Florida. While many may not legally be required to wear a helmet while riding a motorcycle, doing so benefits your health and a potential motorcycle accident claim since it demonstrate’s you take your safety seriously.
Other Motorcycle Safety Equipment You Can Wear
Recommended pieces of motorcycle safety equipment include:
- Face shields to protect from the sun during the day and from the glare of vehicle lights at night. Face shields protect a rider’s face from wind, flying debris, and insects.
- Gloves protect a rider’s hands from sun, wind, and cold, as well as from abrasions in the event of a crash.
- Jackets, pants, and similar clothing protect a rider’s body from the elements, but more importantly, this protective gear minimizes the severity of road rash injuries. Jackets designed for motorcyclists are usually made of either leather or specialized man-made fabrics, like Cordura or Kevlar, and often include special padding in key areas of the body, such as the elbow.
- Boots designed for motorcyclists usually come up above the ankle and have built-in ankle protection and oil-resistant soles for a solid grip on the ground.
- Over time, exposure to engine and wind noise can damage riders’ hearing. Foam earplugs and noise-canceling earbuds can help protect riders’ ears from wind noise and engine noise, but can also cut the sounds you need to hear.
What Dolman Law Group Can Do For You After Your Road Rash Motorcycle Accident
The personal injury attorneys at Dolman Law Group know that sharing a road with other motor vehicles has its risks. Our law firm has a long history of successfully recovering compensation for our clients that have been severely harmed in motorcycle accidents. Our motorcycle accident lawyers will negotiate for the true value of your damages via the following:
- Promptly investigate the accident and determine what happened and who was at fault for your injuries.
- Go over your road rash accident in detail, figure out if you have a viable claim, and determine the legal options you can pursue.
- Answer all the questions and concerns you have regarding this road rash accident.
- Secure the evidence necessary to prove liability and damages.
- Obtain experts such as engineers, accident reconstructionists, and doctors to help prove fault and the extent of your damages.
- Ensure that all legal motions and documents are filed before time expires.
- Take on the negotiations with the other side and fight for the fair settlement you deserve.
- Proceed to trial, if necessary, and fight for the maximum compensation you need.
If you or a family member were harmed by road rash injury, do not hesitate to seek legal help. Instead, call a motorcycle accident attorney today for a free case review.
Contact Dolman Law Group for Help With Your Road Rash Motorcycle Accident Claim
If your motorcycle accident injury was caused by the negligence of another party then you may be able to seek compensation for the damages you have suffered. Dolman Law Group specializes in assisting motorcycle accident survivors with severe injuries by providing legal insight and skills garnered over years of experience getting satisfied clients the compensation they need. Our motorcycle accident attorneys are the best option you have at evening the odds with insurance companies that can take advantage of someone not well-versed in personal injury law.
Dolman Law Group will deliver on our reputation as a large firm with the resources necessary to aggressively seek compensation on your behalf while also the close communication and personal touch one would expect from a smaller firm. If you were injured in a motorcycle accident because another motorist was negligent, contact a motorcycle accident lawyer today to learn more about your legal options. To contact Dolman Law Group about your motorcycle accident, either call our office at (727) 451-6900 or fill out a contact form online.
Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA 800 North Belcher Road Clearwater, FL 33765 (727) 451-6900
