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5 Motorcycle Injuries That Can Be Hidden by Shock and Adrenaline

Even the most well-equipped motorcyclists are likely to suffer injuries if they crash.

In many cases, motorcycle crash injuries are immediately noticeable. The loss of a finger, a compound fracture, or a spinal cord injury are obvious injuries that require immediate medical attention.

But sometimes, riders suffer injuries that aren’t immediately noticeable due to shock and a large release of adrenaline immediately before, during, and after their crashes.

Back Injuries

Back injuries can be debilitating, but they can also take hours or even days to fully “set in” for riders after accidents. Motorcyclists can injure virtually every part of their backs during crashes, including intervertebral discs, muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, and more. Riders who suffer severe back injuries may be able to walk from their crashes under their own power, but become bedridden later due to pain.

Road Rash

Road rash is one of the most common motorcycle crash injuries. It most often occurs when riders fail to cover a part of their bodies with proper riding gear, which then comes into contact with the surface of the road during a crash. Road rash may look minor immediately after a crash, but it can quickly worsen and become extremely painful and even life-threatening if the damaged skin becomes infected.

Traumatic Brain Injuries

Traumatic brain injuries are most likely to occur to riders who don’t wear helmets, don’t wear properly fitted helmets, or who wear helmets that aren’t DOT, Snell, or ECE-certified. Riders who suffer traumatic brain injuries during accidents may not experience the disabling symptoms, which include nausea, confusion, headache, insomnia, seizures, and more, until long after they’ve left the crash scene.

Broken Bones

Compound fractures (broken bones that protrude through the skin) are hard to miss after accidents and injuries. But simple fractures where the broken bone remains inside the skin can be masked by shock and adrenaline. It’s common for injured riders to stand up and walk on broken ankles, feet, and toes, or to attempt to pick up their bikes with broken hands and fingers—all without realizing the injuries they sustained until hours later.

Internal Injuries

Whether it’s from sudden deceleration during a crash or from blunt force impact with the road or another object, motorcyclists can suffer internal injuries, including internal bleeding and organ damage. These injuries are often marked by serious, debilitating pain, but that pain may take hours or even days after the injuries occur for riders to notice it and seek medical attention.

Why You Should Get Immediate Medical Attention After a Crash

There are two important reasons to seek immediate medical attention after a motorcycle accident.

First, it results in faster diagnosis and treatment of injuries that aren’t noticeable yet.

It often takes hours for crash-related shock and adrenaline to wear off. During that time, injuries can rapidly worsen due to swelling, inflammation, blood loss, infection, and more. Getting immediate medical attention can also diagnose or rule out dangerous internal injuries, which are common after motorcycle accidents.

Second, getting immediate medical attention creates proof that serious injuries occurred due to the motorcycle accident.

When riders wait too long to get treatment, insurance companies become more skeptical of their injuries, and say their injuries could have occurred due to other causes long after the crash. Medical reports from emergency responders, hospital staff, and specialists are important pieces of evidence in motorcycle accident claims.

Call Our Oklahoma Motorcycle Accident Lawyers After Getting Medical Attention

After getting experienced medical treatment, it’s important to get experienced legal representation. Even if you don’t think you’re injured badly enough to file a lawsuit, there’s a very good chance your injuries will become more serious and painful over the coming hours or days. It’s common for motorcycle accident victims to feel fine immediately after their crashes, only to wake up the next morning in so much pain they can’t work for weeks afterward.

At Parrish DeVaughn Injury Lawyers, our attorneys work hard to get our clients compensation for all of their damages, including their medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. We never leave money on the table when it comes to our clients’ financial recoveries, including taking at-fault parties to court.

Contact us today for a free consultation.