Internal Injuries from Motorcycle Accidents

Motorcycle operators and passengers are likely to suffer very serious injuries when they collide with a car, truck, another motorcycle, or a roadside obstacle. Unlike cars and trucks, motorcycles do not provide any physical protection for riders. There’s no hood, trunk, roof, or doors to absorb the impact. Many riders suffer two collisions: the first with another vehicle/object and the second with the road. The injuries riders suffer due to these collisions include traumatic brain injuries and many different types of internal/crush injuries.

What are the common types of internal injuries that motorcycle accidents cause?

At Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys, we handle all types of catastrophic, permanent, and serious injuries that motorcycle accident victims may suffer. Some of the internal injuries (as opposed to immediately visible like a traumatic amputation, a broken arm, or scars) include the following:

• Internal bleeding
• Internal organ damage that includes your brain, lungs, heart, liver, kidneys, small intestine, and spleen
• Traumatic brain injuries and other types of skull and head injuries
• Spinal cord damage that may include paralysis and disc herniation
• Broken ribs
• Punctured lungs
• Nerve, muscle, ligament, tissue, and tendon damage
• Injuries to your digestive system
• Damage to blood vessels

What are the risk factors for internal motorcycle accident injuries?

Some of the reasons motorcycle accidents cause internal injuries include the following:

• The rider is not wearing a helmet.
• The rider is not wearing a jacket.
• A motorcycle rider has certain physical disorders that increase the risk of internal injuries.
• A sharp object from the motorcycle, another vehicle, or obstacles on the road penetrates the rider’s chest, head, or stomach area.
• The force of the collision impacts the rider’s internal organs.

What factors indicate that a motorcycle rider may have internal injuries due to an accident?

If the police or any person with the injury has any suspicion that a motorcycle accident victim may have internal injuries, they should arrange for an ambulance or other emergency medical help. The faster paramedics and emergency medical technicians arrive, the faster they can identify the possibility of internal injuries, provide emergency medical care, and transport the victim safely to the nearest hospital.

The symptoms, diagnostic tests, and treatments for internal injuries vary depending on the location and type of internal injury.

Traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord damage

We discuss the symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of the injuries here:

Traumatic brain injuries

Spinal cord injuries

Internal bleeding

Some of the symptoms of internal bleeding include the following:

• The symptoms of internal head bleeding include weakness on one side of the body, numbness on one side of the body, tingling sensations in the hands and feet, a headache, difficulty swallowing, vision and hearing changes, communication difficulties, loss of coordination, fatigue, and loss of consciousness.
• The symptoms of internal bleeding in the abdomen and chest include abdominal pain, chest pain, lightheadedness, shortness of breath, bruises, nausea, vomiting, blood in the urine, bleeding from the mouth or other body parts, and tarry stool.
• The symptoms of bleeding into the joints or muscles include joint pain, joint swelling, and a reduction in the range of motion.

Diagnostic tests for internal bleeding include X-rays, CT scans, angiography, and other diagnostic tests.

Organ damage

According to the Cleveland Clinic, organ failure is life-threatening. Some of the signs of organ failure include weakness, loss of consciousness, confusion, loss of appetite, fever, chills, swelling of the extremities or abdomen, an irregular or fast heartbeat, fast-shallow breathing, and persistent abdominal or chest pain. Clinical signs of organ failure include jaundice (for liver failure) and cyanosis (for heart failure).

Diagnostic tests may include liver function tests, kidney function tests, blood tests, an echocardiogram, neurocognitive testing and brain scans, a pulmonary function test, an arterial blood gas test, CT scans, and an ultrasound.

Broken ribs

According to the Mayo Clinic, vehicle accidents and falls are common causes of broken or cracked ribs. A danger of cracked or broken ribs is that the sharp edges can damage major blood vessels, lungs, or other organs.

Possible complications, depending on which rib breaks, include tears in the body’s main aorta, tears in the lung, and other torn organs (liver, kidneys, or spleen).

Diagnostic tests for broken ribs include X-rays, an MRI, a CT scan, and a bone scan. The treatments generally include medications and therapy. In some cases, surgery may be necessary.

Compensation for internal injuries due to a motorcycle accident

Our skilled personal injury lawyers work with your physicians to confirm the diagnosis of an internal injury, review the medical care you will need, discuss every way your internal injuries will affect every aspect of your life, and the type of pain and agony you will have. Our motorcycle accident lawyers will demand compensation for all your current and future damages, including:

• All your medical bills including ER care, hospitalizations, surgeries, rehabilitative therapy, doctor visits, assistive devices, psychosocial counseling, and medications.
• The value of the income and benefits you lose because of your injuries, including long-term disability compensation
• Your physical pain and emotional suffering
• The property damage to your motorcycle
• Any scars or disfigurement
• The loss of bodily function, life’s pleasures, and consortium

Our record of recoveries includes a $3 million settlement for our client who suffered multiple fractures while riding a motorcycle due to the negligence of a delivery truck driver.

To discuss your internal injury claim, please call our office or complete our contact form to schedule a free consultation. We meet clients at our main office in Kansas City, MO. We also have offices in Lee’s Summit, Parkville, Blue Springs, St. Joseph (MO), Olathe, Kansas City (Victory Hills), and Overland Park (KS).