Motorcycle Accident Lawyer in Sun City Center Discusses Common Leg Injuries and Recovery

Sun City Center Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Outlines How to Protect Your Rights

Even the highest-quality motorcycle gear can’t protect riders from the risks of a high-impact collision. In a crash, few parts of the body are exposed to greater danger than the legs, feet, and ankles. Leg injuries have serious consequences, both for your body and your bank account. I want to assure you that you should never have to pay out-of-pocket for an accident that wasn’t your fault. A our Sun City Center motorcycle accident lawyer at DeLoach, Hofstra & Cavonis, P.A., I've spent decades helping Florida motorcycle accident survivors fight for their rights.

Keep reading to learn more about common motorcycle crash leg injuries, or fill out our online contact form to schedule your 100% free consultation with me. 

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Motorcycle Accident Leg Injuries and the Risk of Long-Term Complications 

You don’t have to crash to hurt your legs in a motorcycle accident. As many riders learn early, simply dropping your bike at a red light or in a parking lot can cause damage that far exceeds the costs of wounded pride and scratched fairings. In a collision with another vehicle, though, the risk of severe leg injury increases exponentially. 

As a motorcycle accident lawyer in Sun City Center, FL, here are just a few types of leg injuries my clients have suffered: 

Road Rash

Your skin can’t win against asphalt and concrete. Road rash, one of the most common types of motorcycle accident-related leg injuries, is caused by the skin being scraped against pavement or another hard surface. It isn’t actually a rash, but a complex abrasion of shredded tissue, burst capillaries, and road debris. Aside from being incredibly painful, serious cases of road rash sometimes require surgery and skin grafts.  

Burns

Anyone can be burned in a car accident, but motorcycle riders face risks from underneath their own seats. Many makes and models of bikes—especially cruisers and café racers—have exposed exhaust manifolds, which heat up to temperatures exceeding 500 degrees Fahrenheit. If you go down on the  street or get trapped underneath your bike, your pipes might cause serious burns to skin and tissue that’s not thoroughly protected by boots or armor. 

Leg, Foot, and Ankle Fractures

Broken bones are the most common serious lower extremity injuries diagnosed in motorcycle accident survivors. More than one-third of these injuries are to the tibia or the fibula—the two long bones that serve as your lower legs’ main source of stability and support. 

Crush Injuries

These are caused by the intense compression of tissue and bone—the sort of force that your body could encounter if it comes to rest underneath your motorcycle, or is trapped between two large vehicles. 

The severity of crushing injuries varies greatly. In the most serious cases—when bone and tissue are pulverized—doctors may have no choice but to amputate a digit or limb to prevent necrosis or tissue death from spreading to other parts of the body. 

Infection

Infection is an underrated source of danger that poses a greater risk of long-term disability than road rash, a fracture, or a burn. Almost any part of your body exposed to the road could later become infected, whether as a consequence of debris-related contamination or a surgical complication. 

Protecting Your Rights After a Sun City Center Motorcycle Crash 

I’ll say it again: you should never have to pay out-of-pocket for any injuries or property damage you experience in a motorcycle accident that wasn’t your fault. However, the choices you make in the days, weeks, and even months after a crash have a direct effect on the course of settlement negotiations. Here’s what I recommend to preserve your rights to physical and financial recovery. 

Always Take Care of Your Health

You don’t need a lawyer or an insurance adjuster to tell you to see the doctor after being injured in a serious motorcycle crash, but staying on top of appointments, referrals, and recommendations can be much more difficult—especially if you’re in pain, or trying to balance a return to work with you’re the rigors of recovery.   

However, being proactive about your physical well-being is a step you can’t afford to miss. In Florida, accident victims are expected to make a good-faith effort to protect their health. If you don’t follow your doctor’s orders, treatment advice, and follow-up care, you could be on the hook for the costs of any resulting complications. 

Exercise Caution When Interacting with Adjusters

You should always proceed with caution if an insurance adjuster asks you to:  

• Answer detailed questions about your accident.
• Provide a recorded statement.
• Sign a records release authoring access to your health history. 

Insurance adjusters need some of this information for their investigation but can seize on oversights and omissions to begin compiling a narrative that shifts greater blame for the accident onto your shoulders. 

Get a Second Opinion Before Accepting an Offer 

If the other driver was clearly at fault, their insurance company might offer a settlement within a matter of weeks. However, you should always get a second opinion before accepting—while this initial offer seems generous, it might not provide full accident compensation for all of the damages you deserve in a personal injury lawsuit. 

Depending on the circumstances of your motorcycle accident, you could be entitled to damages for expenses and losses including, but not limited to, the following:  

• Your outstanding medical expenses
• Anticipated care needs 
• Physical rehabilitation
• Elective surgery, including reconstructive surgery 
• Lost income from work
• Diminished earning potential
• Pain and suffering 
• Mental anguish
• Disfigurement 

Florida doesn’t cap the damages you could receive in a personal injury lawsuit, but there is a strict statute of limitations—only two years. If you wait too long to take action, you could lose your rights to a proper financial recovery, so don’t hesitate to arrange a consultation with me to learn more about your options. 

Let Our Motorcycle Accident Lawyer in Sun City Center Help With Your Leg Injury Claim

Our Sun City Center motorcycle accident attorney can’t take away the pain or loss of your injury, but we can work to help you obtain the compensation you deserve to protect you and your family. To request a consultation with our proven injury attorney, please take a moment to click the button below and fill out our online contact form.

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We have conveniently located offices across Florida in Seminole, Sun City Center and New Port Richey. For immediate assistance, give us a call 727-777-6842 now.