Driving your motorcycle is exhilarating, but if you’re sharing the road with a careless driver, it can turn dangerous fast. Wearing a helmet can protect your head and face from the most serious injuries after a motorcycle accident. But there is only so much protection that your legs and feet have. Your lower extremities are subject to serious and life-changing injury after an accident, leaving you with chronic pain or reduced mobility. When you have suffered severe foot and leg injuries after a motorcycle crash, we can help. Contact The Joel Bieber Firm to schedule a free consultation with an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer today — don’t wait!
Most Common Foot and Leg Injuries After a Motorcycle Crash
Leg injuries are quite common, as the legs are exposed to several hazards in a motorcycle wreck.
Your leg could get caught between your bike and the other vehicle or pinned underneath the bike or car. Even if you’re wearing jeans or leather, the road itself can cause considerable damage if your leg scrapes along it. The force of the impact can cause your bones to shatter or force pieces of metal deep into your muscles.
Leg and foot injuries can take a considerable time to heal, and some of them carry the potential for life-changing consequences. Corrective surgery, a high risk of infection, and extensive physical therapy are often required to help motorcycle accident victims recover their physical abilities.
Road Rash
Road rash happens when the concrete or asphalt scrapes away the top several layers of the dermis. It removes your skin and sometimes the muscle beneath it. The most severe abrasions can expose the bone.
This is one type of foot and leg injury and it’s difficult to treat. The large open wound space makes it vulnerable to infection, and the jagged edges around the scrapes can make suturing challenging. Many people need extensive skin grafts to repair the damage.
Ankle Injuries
Ankles are delicate, with numerous ligaments, tendons, and small bones that can shatter easily. You may suffer from a dislodged joint after the accident, or a serious sprain or break.
Broken Bones
The small bones in the foot are vulnerable to crushing, shattering, or hairline fractures that can be painful. Even if you are wearing heavy boots, they may not offer enough protection if one of the vehicles rolls over your foot.
The fibula and tibia, the two bones in your lower leg below the knee, are especially vulnerable to fracturing or breaking completely after a motorcycle crash. They are much weaker than the femur (your thigh bone and the strongest in your body) and may require reconstructive surgery to heal properly.
Knee Injuries
The knee joint may receive considerable force in an accident, causing the ligaments and tendons to overextend or tear away from muscle or bone. Or you may fracture your patella and require an invasive, painful knee reconstruction surgery.
Leg and foot injuries are painful; recovery can take weeks or months. Many people require some form of surgery or have to wear a cast or boot, limiting their range of movement. Chronic pain as the injury heals, and pain from recuperative physical therapy, are also common for motorcycle accident victims.
An experienced motorcycle accident lawyer can help you seek compensation for your foot and leg injuries.
The Long-Term Effects of a Leg or Foot Injury
The best-case scenario after suffering foot or leg damage in a motorcycle wreck is that you will have to wear a cast or splint for a couple of months and forgo hobbies like playing sports or riding your motorcycle until it heals.
Unfortunately, our motorcycle accident lawyers see many clients who are unable to walk for months at a time, who cannot work because of their injuries, and who have permanent physical damage and chronic pain because of their leg and foot injuries.
Some people are unable to walk again and may need to have their vehicle and home modified for their new disability. Others can no longer work at their jobs. All of these outcomes place great financial burdens on those who have sustained leg or foot injuries.
Seeking Compensation After a Motorcycle Accident
If you didn’t cause the accident and are left with your life forever changed because of foot and leg injuries from the collision, then you may be entitled to file a personal injury lawsuit against the party that caused the wreck. This is how you can recover compensation for your medical bills and make up for the wages you missed from work.
Your motorcycle accident lawyer will evaluate your motorcycle accident lawsuit and seek a settlement that covers all of your medical costs, from the emergency treatment immediately after the accident to hospital stays and surgery. If you need physical therapy or other rehabilitative services, they will seek reimbursement for that, too.
You probably missed work because of your accident injuries. You are entitled to compensation for the money you didn’t earn. Replenish any sick or vacation time you took for your recovery.
If you have active job, are not able to fulfill your duties, and have been transferred to a desk job. If you took a pay cut with the transfer, you may also receive compensation for that.
You are also entitled to seek compensation for the pain and suffering you experience from your injuries. Leg and foot damage is painful, and you likely have a diminished quality of life after the wreck.
Do You Have Foot and Leg Injuries After a Motorcycle Accident?
If you were involved in a motorcycle collision and sustained foot and leg Injuries, we can help. The Joel Bieber Firm represents victims just like you and fights to hold the at-fault party accountable. Contact us today to speak with a motorcycle accident lawyer about your case.
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