- Traumatic brain injury – Even with wearing a helmet, traumatic brain injuries are common in motorcycle accidents. These may include concussion and diffuse axonal injury. The injured person may be conscious or unconscious.
- Bone fractures – Broken bones are common in motorcycle accidents.
- Spinal injuries – Spinal injuries are the main reason why the victim of a motorcycle accident should not be moved. Additional injury can occur, leading to paralysis.
- Internal injuries – Internal bleeding and organ damage may be present without showing any symptoms.
What to Do if You Witness a Motorcycle Crash
To witness a motorcycle accident can be emotionally devastating. To see a person being thrown through the air and landing hard, or tumbling at high speed, is gut wrenching. The scene becomes engrained in the witnesses mind but that scene may also cause events leading up to it to become vague, resulting from dominant mental impact of the crash itself. It is important to the victim of the motorcycle accident that you do all that is possible to help reconstruct what occurred that day. A good witness is invaluable in helping the bike rider with his case in the future.
If you are the witness of a motorcycle crash, stop at the scene and call 911 immediately. The operator will ask about any injuries. You must assume that the rider was injured, even if the rider appears to be fine. Secure the scene as safely as possible, until emergency crews arrive, to prevent further accidents. Do not move the injured rider. Take as many pictures as possible from all angles of the motorcycle, any other vehicles involved, the roadway, any landmarks or anything else that may help to determine the cause and location. When police arrive, be sure to tell them exactly what you saw. You may not remember a day later. Was the motorcycle traveling at a safe speed? Was the rider staying within the proper lane? Was there any vehicle that contributed that did not actually make contact with the motorcycle?
The victim of a motor cycle accident will likely be injured to a point where he will not be able to gather information from witnesses, take pictures or even give an account to police. The victim needs a sound witness to step in and do what is necessary that his incapacitation prevents. Try to locate additional witnesses and get their names and contact information. They may decide to leave before the police arrive. This will be a great help to the victim in the future.
The victim of a motorcycle crash, either the rider or a passenger is likely to receive serious, or even life threatening, injuries including: