Philadelphia Road Rash Injury Lawyer
Motorcycles are often fun vehicles, but they carry serious risks if riders don’t protect themselves properly or take unnecessary risks. Motorcycles do not afford their drivers the same measure of protection from collisions or accidents as closed vehicles do, and riders should always protect themselves with safety gear when riding, including helmets, pads, and road leathers.
Speak to a Philadelphia motorcycle accident lawyer to learn more.
What is Road Rash?
Motorcyclists often suffer from a common but painful injury after an accident – road rash, which is a friction burn that results from sliding across roads at high speeds. As with other types of burns, a degree scale categorizes road rash:
- First-degree road rash is similar to “rug burn” and is not a serious condition. The skin is usually reddened and tender and may be somewhat painful but usually heals quickly.
- Second-degree road rash means the skin is broken. A victim may require medical treatment, but typically, over-the-counter medicines can treat second-degree road rash.
- Third-degree road rash is the most severe. The entirety of the skin layers are broken down to the underlying tissues and the victim’s flesh may have embedded debris. This severe injury requires immediate medical intervention.
The circumstances of the accident will determine the severity of the injury. Usually, the rider’s speed is the most important factor. Riders thrown from their vehicles at high speeds have a much higher chance of sliding farther, harder, and faster, resulting in a more serious road rash injury.
Third-degree road rash requires medical attention, and the victim needs to find it quickly. Since the skin is completely broken, they are susceptible to infections and permanent scarring, among other complications, if they do not receive treatment in a timely manner.
What Can Road Rash Victims in Philadelphia Do?
All drivers are required to follow traffic laws and maintain awareness of their surroundings. Motorcycles are harder to spot than other, larger vehicles, but that does not excuse a driver that hits a motorcyclist. If someone does hit a rider, he or she should be accountable and should be responsible for covering the victim’s medical expenses, property damage, the costs of any necessary ongoing treatments, and pain and suffering.
Motorcycle riders should also bear in mind that Philadelphia and the state of Pennsylvania operate under a comparative negligence law for personal injuries. This means that victims could have their amount of compensation reduced by their percentage of fault in an incident if the court determines that they contributed to their injuries in some way.
For motorcycle accidents, this may mean the rider was operating his or her motorcycle at unsafe speeds or engaged in unsafe driving practices. One such practice very common with motorcycles is “lane-splitting,” in which a motorcyclist will skirt between lanes of traffic or share the same lane space as another vehicle instead of moving with the flow of traffic. If victims suffer injuries from a collision that safe driving practices could have prevented, they may not be able to claim as much compensation since they were partially at fault.
Regardless of the situation, anyone who is injured in a motor vehicle collision should be able to claim damages if it resulted from someone else’s negligence. Road rash, like any other burn injury, can be extremely painful. Severe road rash can require skin grafts and possibly even physical therapy if the damage is severe enough to impair the victim’s mobility. If you’ve been involved in a motorcycle accident and suffered road rash injuries, finding a reliable accident attorney in Philadelphia will make obtaining damages for your injuries much easier.
At the Ciccarelli Law Offices, our team of injury attorneys in Philadelphia has experience in all types of personal injury cases, and we fight tirelessly on behalf of our clients. Reach out to our team if you have any questions or if you want to start reviewing your case today.