Understanding Road Rash Injuries

The most common causes of road rash injuries are motorcycle accidents, bicycle accidents, skateboard accidents, scooter accidents, and pedestrian accidents. When a person suffers this type of injury, they may experience excruciating pain, discomfort, road debris embedded in their skin, and other life-threatening complications.

If you are a victim of a motorcycle accident that resulted in road rash injuries in Charlotte, you may be eligible to file a personal injury claim and seek compensation for your injuries and other losses.

What is road rash?

Road rash is a type of injury caused by friction. When a person on a bike or motorcycle is struck by a vehicle, they may experience road rash after being pushed across the roadway and scraping their body on the rough surface. Individuals ejected from their vehicle during a crash may also suffer road rash if they come into contact with the pavement.

Road rash can occur to any area of a person’s body, but the most common places are the hands, knees, elbows, and forearms. Therefore, when riding a motorcycle or bicycle, it is best to wear some type of protective outerwear to shield your body from road rash in the event of an accident. You should also wear a helmet and closed-toe shoes to prevent road rash on your feet.

What are the treatments for road rash?

If you experience road rash, it is critical to visit your local emergency room or make a doctor’s appointment as soon as possible. Even if you believe your road rash is minor, you should have it checked out to ensure that there is no debris lodged inside your skin. Road rash can lead to serious infections that could cause more medical problems. A doctor can also teach you how to properly care for your road rash wounds and prevent scarring after leaving the hospital or doctor’s office. Some of the steps they will likely recommend include:

• Make sure you wash your hands thoroughly before touching your wounds.
• Lightly wash the road rash injuries. Do not scrub or apply too much pressure.
• Try to remove any particles that enter the wound, such as dirt, grass, or dust.
• Apply an antibiotic ointment to the road rash injuries.
• Place a bandage over the road rash. This will keep debris and particles out of the open wounds. However, do not forget to change the bandage as often as your doctor recommends.

Road rash is not always mild. It can be so severe that your bones or muscles become exposed, or glass and other dangerous objects can become stuck in your skin. In addition, you can lose a lot of blood and develop a serious infection. If you notice any of these conditions or your road rash injuries cover an extensive part of your body, you should seek medical treatment right away. There is a possibility that you could need stitches, surgery, skin grafting, or other forms of treatment.

What are the long-term consequences if you do not seek treatment for road rash?

If you do not seek medical care and leave your road rash untreated, long-term consequences may occur, such as:

• Scarring and disfigurement: One of the most common consequences of road rash injuries is scarring and disfigurement. Although you can still experience scarring and disfigurement with treatment, you can reduce the severity of any scarring. Scarring and disfigurement can lead to tightening of the skin, swelling, changes in the color of the skin, and increased itching. In addition, depending on how serious the scarring and disfigurement is, it could affect your use of a certain limb or body part.
• Permanent nerve and muscle damage: Untreated road rash can result in permanent nerve and muscle damage. These injuries can lead to numbness, pain, tingling, stiffness, and other symptoms that affect your daily life and routine. If the nerve and muscle damage is severe, you could also experience mobility issues.
• Disability: Most of the time, medical providers will recommend surgery or skin grafts when road rash is severe and extends beneath the skin. If you leave serious road rash untreated, your chances of experiencing disability may increase. For example, you may have trouble walking with a severe road rash on your leg, which could lead to becoming temporarily or permanently disabled.
• Infections: Road rash may expose bones, muscles, ligaments, and tissue. As a result, dirt, debris, dust, and bacteria can enter the open wound and make its way to your bloodstream. When this happens, infections are likely to occur. Depending on what type of infection you are diagnosed with, it can be difficult to treat with antibiotics, causing it to spread to your organs. If you do not treat serious infections, you could experience sepsis or organ failure, which can be life-threatening and even fatal.
• Mental health problems: Severe road rash injuries can be traumatizing, especially if they cause serious scarring, disfigurement, mobility issues, and other complications. As a result, many people who have road rash injuries and do not get the proper care can experience mental health problems. This may be depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and more.

At Price, Petho & Associates, our Charlotte personal injury attorneys have the knowledge, experience, and skills to help you with road rash injuries. Therefore, if you suffered a road rash injury in a car accident, bicycle accident, motorcycle accident, or pedestrian accident, our legal team is ready and available to assist you. We inform you of your legal rights, guide you through each step of the legal process, and advocate for the compensation you need and deserve for your injuries, medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more. Call our office or submit our contact form to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation in Charlotte today. We also have offices in Rutherfordton and Rockingham for your convenience.