When you suffer a severe injury to a limb like an arm or a leg, you may face amputation. These kinds of accidents are incredibly difficult and debilitating. Motorcyclists are more likely to suffer amputations in crashes.
Amputations are serious and life-changing. There are far too many of these kinds of injuries in and around Atlanta.
There has been some research in this area that suggests more motorcyclists are losing limbs in crashes.
In 2008, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration published a paper entitled Lower-Extremity Injuries in Motorcycle Crashes.
It noted an increase in motorcycle wrecks with injuries from 1997 to 2006. The number of riders involved in crashes rose by 61 percent from 1997 to 2006.
Motorcycle crashes carry a higher amputation risk
Deaths rose from 2,028 in 1997 to 4,654 in 2006, a 129 percent increase. Most incapacitating and deadly injuries occurred when the initial point of impact was the front of the motorcycle.
Lower-extremity injuries were the most common injuries suffered by motorcyclists who were treated in level I and II trauma centers, followed by upper-extremity and head injuries.
Injured motorcyclists sustain more leg injuries than any other type of lower-extremity injury. Bone fractures were more common than soft-tissue injuries.
Amputations are likely to be more prevalent when a motorcyclist is involved in a crash with a heavy vehicle such as a truck.
In September, in Van Buren County in Michigan, for example, a motorcyclist’s leg was amputated above the ankle after he collided with the back of a semi-truck’s trailer.
According to media reports, Van Buren County sheriff’s deputies said the semi-truck driver slowed to a near stop because of a traffic back-up.
The 26-year-old motorcyclist from St. Joseph did not see the back-up in time and struck the trailer.
Amputations are often the direct result of a wreck. However, medical conditions and illnesses can also result in the removal of a limb.
If you are more than 50 percent to blame for a crash in Georgia, you are not entitled to compensation. However, every year many motorcyclists are hurt due to the actions of other drivers. Often a car or a truck is making a turn and fails to see a rider.
Motorcyclists are more than 30 times more likely than car drivers to lose their lives in a crash. The lack of an external protection means injuries are often far more serious.
You should always wear protective clothing like leathers to protect your legs from road rash and other injuries.
If you have been injured in a motorcycle accident due to the actions of another driver, please call our Georgia motorcycle injury lawyers today at (404) 913-1529.