Since the weather is starting to change rather quickly, and you’re not sure how many more days you’ll have to take your motorcycle, you decided to ride to work. Unfortunately, that means you have to ride on the Beltway. Although you’ve only rode your motorcycle on the highway a few times before, you feel confident that it won’t be a big deal. So you get up to speed and merge off the on-ramp. So far so good.
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You make it to about two miles before your exit when mayhem strikes. The truck in front of you attempts to change lanes, not seeing the SUV next to you. He veers over, the SUV honks, and the trucker swerves back. Unfortunately, during the swerve, he loses control and decides to slam on his brakes. You’re only five feet from his back end when he stops. To avoid colliding straight into him, you lurch toward the shoulder. You try to keep your bike upright, but due to the angle in which you’re skidding, the front wheel gets caught, turns and flips the bike—sending you flying. You land about 15 feet in front of truck and skid about another 10 feet across the pavement—ending up being wedged between the barrier wall and an old blown out semi tire.
Your entire side is badly scraped and you can feel blood running down your face. The trucker comes barreling toward you to see if you’re alright.
“Do you need an ambulance? What types of injuries do you have...lacerations, avulsions, or compressions?”
In a daze, you respond, “Umm. What’s the difference?
Avulsion and Compression: Are You Prepared?
The National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration estimates that nearly 100,000 people a year are injured in motorcycle accidents. Although the injuries can range from minor to fatal, 90 percent of these injuries have one thing in common: road rash.
Road rash is the colloquial term for when your skin scrapes the ground after an accident. These types of injuries aren’t as severe as say head or spine trauma, but they can be extremely painful and require a lot of treatment, surgeries and care to prevent infections and long-term damage.
The three specific types of road rash in which you can suffer are:
- Avulsion injuries. An avulsion injury occurs when the outer layer of your skin is stripped away as a result of being thrown off your bike or dragged on the pavement. Underlying layers of muscle, fat, or bone can generally be seen—exposing the area to infection.
- Compression injuries. A compression injury typically results when a part of your body is trapped between the bike and either the road, or other stationary object (tree, car, building, etc.). The pressure and weight of the objects can cause bruising, crushing, twisting, or the severing of limbs and body parts.
- Lacerations, scrapes and cuts requiring stitches. These injuries are minor when compared to avulsion and compression wounds and occur when you scrape against a surface, often at high speeds. Stitches are required to close the open area and start the healing process. Due to the nature of these injuries and possible debris and dirt caught within the open wound—there is a great risk of infection.
Getting Relief for Your Road Burn
No matter the type of road rash you sustain, treatment and recovery can be extremely long, expensive, and painful. Thankfully, you don’t have to go through it alone. If you’ve recently been injured in a motorcycle accident, and have sustained moderate to severe road rash, contact us immediately.
Let our extensive knowledge and experience of motorcycle accidents work for you. Contact us today for a free consultation and review of your rights. Your injuries will most likely leave a permanent physical scar, not to mention the psychological scars. Don’t allow someone else’s mistake to permanently affect your life. Call now to get the justice and compensation your injuries deserve.
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