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Home » Consumer Information » Motorcycle Accidents

Motorcycle Injuries

All motor vehicle accidents can be devastating, but motorcycle crashes are particularly brutal. About 3,000 motorcyclists die on an annual basis, while many others are severely injured. Surviving victims often suffer through life-altering disabilities as a result. According to the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF), 80 percent of motorcycle crashes are fatal. In 2005, motorcycles only accounted for two percent of registered vehicles, but they were responsible for ten percent of fatalities on US roadways. Research gathered by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) shows that the majority of these deaths stemmed from head injuries. Amazingly, less than 50 percent of these deceased riders had any protective headgear on.

Motorcycle accident survivors frequently experience "road rash," or painful scrapes and bruises caused from being thrown to the pavement. If it is an extreme case of road rash, victims may require a skin graft, which can result in substantial scarring. If a motorcyclist is involved in a crash, they are tremendously lucky if the worst injury sustained is road rash because there are much more painful and debilitating injuries. Based on a study conducted by AHRQ, the most severe injuries that riders wearing helmets receive are broken bones. 29 percent of these were leg fractures, while 13 percent consisted of arm fractures. Nonfatal head injuries accounted for 12 percent, and less than 10 percent suffered from a spinal cord or internal injury.

Types of injury

The following list describes the most common motorcycle injuries:

  • Head injury - affects the face, skull, and/or brain. These injuries are much more likely to result from motorcycle crashes than car accidents. Head injury often occurs when the motorcyclist is thrown from the bike, and their head collides with a solid object (e.g., pavement). It is especially prevalent when the rider is not wearing a helmet. A Traumatic Brain Injury has the potential to permanently hinder your motor skill functions.
  • Broken bones and internal injury - usually affects arms and legs, but essentially no bone is safe in a crash. Groin injuries caused by the sudden stoppage of the motorcycle colliding with a car or another stationary object. Fractures may need months to heal and could even result in permanent disability if the victim is young enough that their growth plates have yet to fuse together. Internal injuries or organ damage may not be evident until a physician conducts a thorough examination. These can be fatal if they are ignored.
  • Spinal cord injury and paralysis - damage to the vertebrae and connecting tissue that limits or completely restricts mobility depending on the location and extent of the damage. Paraplegia means the victim has loss of movement below the waist, while quadriplegia is from the neck down.
  • Road rash, burns, and lacerations - mild to severe injuries caused from sliding along the asphalt after ejection from the bike or while tipping the motorcycle to avoid colliding with objects or other vehicles in its path. Lacerations are deep cuts that often require stitches to heal properly. They result in scarring, nerve damage, and infection if not treated appropriately. Road rash is excruciatingly painful damage to the outer layers of skin caused by friction with the road's surface. The wounds are worsened if gravel and other debris are lodged into the inner layers of tissue. Heat produced by friction or scalding engine and exhaust parts can really burn the victim.

A motorcyclist involved in an accident may initially be in shock due to the extraordinary trauma that they have just encountered. When in shock, the victim may be unaware of the injuries they have sustained. For this reason, the victim should always seek immediate medical attention to determine exactly what is wrong with them. Most likely, an ambulance will arrive at the scene shortly.

Oftentimes, motorcycle injuries are tragic and ultimately result in long-term or even lifetime disabilities that leave them bedridden for months of recovery. Brain and spinal cord injury victims usually call for years of rehabilitation, operations, and costly therapy as they cope with their newfound lifestyles.