Road Rash From a Motorcycle Accident

Speak with a motorcycle accident attorney 24/7 to learn more about your legal right to compensation after experiencing road rash after a motorcycle accident.

What is Road Rash?

There is understandably much focus on the severity of any injury that is caused by a motorcycle accident.  Head trauma, spinal cord damage, and broken bones are indeed common and can be life-threatening. Another less severe injury actually occurs in just about every motorcycle accident.  Most motorcycle accidents end with the driver and his passenger on the ground – either from being ejected off of the vehicle or when the bike falls over.  This contact with the pavement can cause an injury to the skin called road rash.  Not always just a scrape, road rash can be severe and require medical attention.

The lack of safety restraints, such as a seatbelt, makes motorcyclists susceptible to hitting the ground in an accident.  Any unprotected skin that is scraped along the pavement will likely be wounded.  In severe cases, the wound may be so deep that muscle and even bone are exposed.  Treatment can be difficult, and complications include nerve damage and infection.

A road rash injury is generally categorized in the same way as a burn injury.  

• A first-degree road rash is usually no more than a mild irritation to the skin that will most likely heal by itself.  
• Second-degree road rash causes a break in the first layer of skin.  While not considered overtly serious, there is a risk of infection if not treated appropriately.  Any number of bacteria could have entered the skin from the road pavement.  
• Third-degree road rash is the most severe and will generally require extensive medical treatment.  The skin is almost completely gone and will need to be treated with skin grafting.  This type of injury is often seen when the driver is thrown from the vehicle at such a high force that his body slides across the pavement before coming to a stop.

How to Treat Road Rash & Recover Compensation

Not only is treating road rash painful, but it can also be expensive. Additionally, there may be scarring after the road rash has healed. A motorcycle accident attorney can present evidence of all of the medical procedures you had undergone as well as the scars when presenting your compensation case.  Not only will the monetary damages be considered, but also any permanent scarring and disfigurement.  

When reckless or careless behavior causes an accident, no injury, no matter how small, should be overlooked when presenting your case.  Even a mild case of road rash is painful.  Speak with an experienced St. Louis motorcycle accident attorney about your accident and the extent of your injuries to ensure your legal right to compensation is protected.