Hit on a motorcycle? Know what to expect

As you were traveling in your Pikeville neighborhood, a local who wasn’t paying much attention backed out into your path. There was no time to avoid the crash, so you ended up hitting the side of their vehicle head-on.

The next thing you knew, you were waking up in the hospital. You’ve become one of the many victims of a motorcycle crash.

Motorcycle crashes cause a full range of injuries

Motorcycle crashes cause injuries ranging from minor to acute. Some of the potential conditions that could occur include:

• Brain injury
• Headaches
• Whiplash
• Back pain
• Chronic pain
• Shoulder pain
• Road rash
• Neck pain
• Broken bones
• Leg, knee and foot injuries

After a crash, it’s vital that those who are injured are seen by a medical professional. For many, doing that begins a process of healing. Your medical provider needs to take tests such as an X-ray, an MRI, a CT scan and others to make sure you are not bleeding internally and to see the full extent of your injuries.

After doing this, your medical provider can begin designing a plan for your care. Depending on the injuries you’ve suffered, that may mean going through surgery, taking pain-relief medications, having physical or occupational therapy or other treatments.

How can you prevent injuries in a motorcycle crash?

One of the easiest ways to prevent injuries in a motorcycle crash is by wearing a helmet and the right riding gear for the type of riding you plan to do. Even if you’re thrown to the ground, a helmet helps protect your head and neck from the full force of the impact. Your riding gear helps prevent road rash and may pad your body against the impact, reducing the likelihood of broken bones.

Other ways to reduce the risk of a crash include taking a motorcycle safety course and slowing down, so that you can better identify when other drivers make mistakes and have the time to evade them.

If you are injured, the recovery process can be long. You may need to be treated for your injuries for months or years. Sometimes, the serious nature of injuries means that you’ll remain disabled for the foreseeable future. In that case, you may be unable to return to work or do the things you love, which is why a claim being filed against the responsible party is necessary, even if the incident was unintentional. A Pikeville motorcycle accident lawyer can help you file a claim and win the compensation you deserve.