Motorcycle Accident Spinal Injuries

Every time you mount your bike, you're entering a world of unpredictability, opening yourself up to the possibility of injury. Even with safety measures and adherence to the rules of the road, the truth remains—accidents can happen, often beyond your control. Whether it be due to a motorcycle defect or someone else's negligent driving, the aftermath of a bike crash, especially if it results in a spinal injury, can be world-shattering.

Motorcycle accident spinal injuries have the potential to permanently alter your year and even your life. Spinal injuries can affect your sensations, movements, strength, and body function below the injury site, changing your world in mere minutes. If you or a loved one have been injured in a traumatic motorcycle accident, you deserve to be compensated. One firm stands out among the others when it comes to understanding the plight of bikers - Steelhorse Law — a negligent driver's worst nightmare.

Understanding Your Spinal Cord and Why Injuries Are Serious

Your spinal cord is made up of bundled cells, nerve fibers, and blood vessels that make up a highway to send and receive signals from the brain. Spinal cord injuries (SCIs) occur when parts or all of that highway are damaged. These types of injuries can be caused by one of two ways: a direct blow to the spinal cord or damage to the tissue or bones. SCIs are extremely dangerous as millions of nerve cells around the spinal cord help to control our movements, including breathing. Damage to them can be life-threatening.

Motorcycle Accident Spinal Injury Statistics

Even as nationwide efforts have increased to encourage safe driving, accidents have continued alarmingly. According to a study published in Accident Analysis & Prevention, 869,000 spinal injuries annually occur in traffic accidents. While we're sure you always do your best as a responsible biker to respect the rules of the road and keep others safe, you can do even more to spread the word about the dangers of driving recklessly. Share the following motorcycle accident spinal injury statistics with your fellow riders and others to encourage road safety.

53.4% of on-road motorcyclists sustained a spinal injury in an accident (PubMed)
10.3% of spinal injuries resulted in death (PubMed)
Spinal injuries occurred in 11.2% of 1,121 motorcyclists that were studied (Researchgate)
The thoracic spine was most commonly injured by 54.8% of bikers (Researchgate)
Multiple vertebral levels were affected in 42.9% of 126 riders (Journal of Trauma)
Over 75% of accidents involving spinal injuries were polytraumas (Journal of Trauma)
Helmets can reduce the risk of cervical spinal injuries by 2.3 times (National Institute of Health)
The majority of spinal injuries in 126 riders occurred in men (88.9%), with females making up (11.1%) and a mean age of 30 years (National Institute of Health)

Motorcycle Accident Injury Symptoms and Injuries

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) reported that motor vehicle accidents, including bikes, are one of the top two most common causes of SCIs in the United States. Motorcycle accident spinal injury symptoms will not look the same for everyone. Depending on the severity and location of the injury, certain areas of the body may be afflicted with problems. For example, if the injury occurs higher on your spine, more of your body could be affected. If it's located lower on your spinal cord, there's a chance your legs and lower body will no longer function correctly, but your upper half will.

Symptoms of SCIs may include:

Numbness, tingling, or a loss of sensation in hands and feet
Pain or pressure in the head, neck, or back
Lower blood pressure
Muscle weakness
Unnatural positions of the spine or head
Loss of bladder and bowel control
Problems with walking
Difficulty breathing
Loss of movement
Changes in sexual function/fertility
Spasms or exaggerated reflexes

Emergency Intervention

If you even suspect that you've sustained an injury to your spine in an accident, see a doctor right away. Spinal injuries don't always immediately appear and, as such, may worsen if not diagnosed. Any sort of spinal injury is not to be taken lightly. Keep in mind that numbness and even paralysis can happen quickly. The sooner you see a doctor, the sooner you can determine the length of treatment. Emergency symptoms that require an IMMEDIATE response after a motorcycle accident include:

Pain or pressure in the head, neck, or back
Loss of bladder and bowel control
Loss of movement control
Muscle weakness
Numbness, tingling, or loss of feeling in the hands and feet
Trouble with balance and walking
Trouble breathing
A twisted neck or back

Common Injuries

Motorcycle accident spinal injuries have many dangers. They're among the most challenging injuries to treat due to the severity of damage and body parts they affect. The most common spinal injuries are:

Whiplash
Herniated/ruptured spinal discs
Broken vertebrae
Pinched nerves
Muscle strains
Spinal Stenosis

Dangers of Spinal Damage

When getting examined by a doctor, you will hear them refer to spinal injuries as "complete" or "incomplete." If your injury is categorized as "complete," the nerves running from the point of injury down can no longer connect with your brain. A declaration of an "incomplete" injury means your spinal cord is still able to send and receive some messages from the brain. Another way to say this would be the amount of feeling that is lost after an accident. As we said before, injuries may be temporary or long-term. Let's review what this means in more detail.

Short-term effects

If you've been injured in a motorcycle accident, your nerve fibers across the site of injury could be damaged. If this happens but there is little injury to the nerve cells, most people will completely recover. Fact joint — hinge-like sections that hold your vertebrae together — injuries may cause significant pain or even include a total loss of mobility, but only until you fully recover. Other short-term effects of a motorcycle accident spinal injury may present as:

Paresthesia— An abnormal feeling in the skin that can occur anywhere, but most commonly in the arms and legs. Paresthesia feels like tingling, burning, prickling, or numbness.
Anxiety — A future-oriented feeling of tension, apprehension, or uneasiness. It may be caused by stress when faced with a problem or physical change leading to physical problems.
Blood clots — A clump of dried blood that blocks blood flow in a vessel. Blood clots may cause difficulty breathing, chest pain, unexplained coughing, swelling, warmth, and skin discoloration.
Depression — A persistent low mood or loss of interest in activities for long periods. It may present as irritability, sleeping problems, appetite changes, sadness, poor concentration, etc.

Long-term effects

Victims suffering from spinal cord injuries may face long-term effects varying in severity. Permanent entire paralyzation is one possibility, caused immediately upon injury or developed over time from your spinal cord's bleeding and swelling. Motorcycle accident spinal injuries could also cause paraplegia, tetraplegia/quadriplegia. Paraplegia affects the trunk (chest and stomach), legs, and pelvic organs, while tetraplegia — also known as quadriplegia — affects the arms, hands, trunk, legs, and pelvic organs. Other long-term effects may include chronic pain and:

Pressure ulcers — Areas of damage to the skin and tissue underneath are caused when the skin and tissue are put under pressure for a prolonged period. These are also known as bed sores.
Osteoporosis is a bone disease that develops when bone density and mass decrease or the structure changes. Symptoms typically do not occur, but it increases the risk of fractures.
Cardiovascular dysautonomia (CVAD) is a variety of conditions that impair the autonomic nervous system's control of circulation, which regulates heart rate, blood pressure, and homeostasis during stress.
Neurological complications — A spinal injury may cause cognitive impairment, deep vein thrombosis, neurogenic bladder dysfunction, and more. Other complications could include strokes, dementia, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, seizures, or restless leg syndrome.

Steelhorse Law is the Firm That Stops Biker Bias.

Unfortunately, when you've been involved in a motorcycle accident, severe injuries are a very likely possibility. Such injuries are extremely serious and may take months to recover from. In some cases, you may never fully recover. On top of all the challenges you'll be facing during this time, you'll need to figure out how you'll be paying for your medical care. Not to mention bike repairs. A lot is going on at once. Let an experienced, diligent law firm take care of getting your bills covered for you. Steel Horse Law fits the bill- and gets it paid.

For dedicated legal representation that's passionate about protecting accident victims' rights, talk to Steelhorse Law. We'll fight on your behalf to the very last second. To schedule a free consultation, give us a call today.