Road Rash is a Common Injury in a Motorcycle Crash
Riding leaves you open to all sorts of injuries that those traveling in passenger vehicles don’t have to worry about. While we tend to focus on the big issues – like broken bones and traumatic brain injuries – road rash can get ignored or brushed aside.
Scraping along the pavement, however, opens up the skin and can cause gravel, debris, and dirt to be embedded in the tissue. It can seem minor, but these injuries can end up causing big problems down the road. The Car Crash Captain has the details on what to know about when dealing with road rash after a motorcycle accident.
Road Rash Varies in Severity
If you crash on your bike, there’s very little chance that you won’t slide across the pavement. The protective gear that’s worn can determine the extent of the road rash suffered.
Similar to sunburns, there are three stages of road rash.
A first-degree road rash damages the epidermis, the outside layer of the skin. It’s more superficial than anything, and should heal completely if treated quickly and properly. In the less severe cases, there’s minimal bleeding.
Second-degree road rash goes a little deeper. Not only is the outer layer of skin torn, but the other layers are as well. This can result in much more bleeding, but with proper care the injury should still heal – albeit they will take longer than the first-degree road rash.
Third-degree are the most serious. The road rash breaks through all layers of skin and tendons or muscle are exposed. Significant bleeding occurs, and even with proper treatment scarring is inevitable.
How to Treat Road Rash
No matter what severity, road rash should always be treated at the hospital following a wreck. This ensures that proper care is received, and there is a history of medical treatment that can be easily cited if insurance companies aren’t playing nice with your settlement.
First-degree should only need light cleaning to remove any dirt or debris. Sanitized and wrapped in a bandage to help keep the area clean.
Second-degree will need more extensive treatment, but it will largely look the same. Some of the deeper lacerations or gashes might need to be stitched closed.
Third-degree need to be cleaned and stabilized, but ultimately may end with skin grafts to help them heal without major disfigurement.
Complications that Can Arise
No matter what degree, improper treatment can lead to infection. If that occurs, then major medical issues can arise including infection or blood poisoning. Untreated, these can be fatal.
Even when the infections or sepsis (also called blood poisoning) are caught and treated, they can still lead to furthering complications. Those complications can lead to other illnesses, or in some cases amputation is necessary to remove the limb that is too badly damaged.
Herbert Law Group Helps You Recover
Most insurance companies will offer a settlement that covers everything you can see at the moment. If you have hospital bills, damage to your motorcycle, and lost wages, they’ll quickly tabulate them and offer the settlement.
What they’re hoping for is that you will accept the settlement offer, but then if future complications that arise, you are stuck paying for them yourself.
That’s why you need Herbert Law Group on your side. We know what you need to fully heal, and we’re ready to go to court when necessary to argue on your behalf.
If you’ve been in a motorcycle wreck, whether your injuries were “only” road rash, or something more, then we should talk about what happened. Call our offices at 214-414-3808, or fill out the contact form on our site and we’ll reach out to you for a free initial consultation.