Lower Extremities Injuries in New York Motorcycle Accidents

When you think about the design of a motorcycle, it’s not surprising to learn that serious injuries are common in motorcycle accidents. However, in its publication on  Lower Extremity Injuries in Motorcycle Crashes, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) points out the unique implications when feet, ankles, shins, thighs, and hips sustain trauma. Some of the biggest economic costs are medical bills, which start at $21,000 for hospitalization alone. Other losses climb quickly, as you could be out of work and be permanently disabled because of lower extremity injuries.

If you suffered injuries to the lower part of your body in a motorcycle collision, it’s good to know that you have options to recover damages for your losses. You’ll need a skilled New York motorcycle accident lawyer to assist with the process, but you might benefit from reviewing some basic information.

Statistics on Motorcycle Crashes and Lower Extremity Injuries: There are almost 8.7 million motorcycles registered in the US according to recent data, but the number of fatalities and serious bodily injuries is proportionally much higher as compared to victims in auto crashes. In addition to the NHTSA data mentioned above, other figures reveal the problem with injuries to the lower extremities:

• Front and side impact collisions account for the highest number of incapacitating injuries in motorcycle accidents, at 60 percent.
• Approximately 47 percent of all motorcycle injuries occur to the lower extremities, with upper extremities falling in second place at 40 percent.
• A victim is most likely to suffer injuries to the leg as a whole in a motorcycle collision. The pelvis, knee, and thigh rank next in terms of severity.
• Though hip injuries only account for 4 percent of all lower extremity injuries in motorcycle crashes, they tend to be severe. More than 37 percent of all hip injuries involve dislocation.

Unique Causes and Risk Factors in Motorcycle Accidents: A motorcycle is a motorized vehicle just like many others on the road, so many of the same factors may cause or contribute to a crash. The biggest issue is violations of New York Rules of the Road as established by the Department of Transportation. Speeding, drunk driving, failure to yield, ignoring traffic signals, improper lane changes, texting while driving, and many other forms of misconduct are examples.

However, there are some factors that make motorcycle collisions unique. A few notable issues include:

• As a two-wheeled vehicle, a motorcycle is less balanced. Many conditions that don’t affect four-wheeled cars can have a significant impact for a rider, such as potholes, slick surfaces, and sharp curves.
• Motorcycles don’t feature the same metal barrier that protects individuals in passenger vehicles.
• Upon impact, a motorcycle rider will almost always be ejected or fall off the vehicle. The secondary impact of the victim’s body hitting the ground can be just as severe as the initial collision.
• Being a narrower, lower profile vehicle, motorcycles aren’t always visible to other drivers. The potential for crashes is considerable when motorists don’t know that a rider is nearby.

Set up a Free Consultation with a New York Motorcycle Accident Attorney

While lower extremity injuries are common in motorcycle crashes, there are legal remedies available to you no matter what part of your body was hurt. However, the claims process can be complicated and it doesn’t get easier if you need to file a lawsuit to recover monetary damages for your losses. For this reason, you should rely on our lawyers at The Mandel Law Firm to assist with your case. We can tell you more about your options after reviewing your circumstances, so please call (646) 770-3868 or go online to set up a consultation at our Manhattan office right away.