Motorcycle accident injuries are generally much more serious than injuries sustained in car accidents. The severity of bike crash injuries is due to the motorcyclist’s lack of physical protection beyond clothing and a helmet (which is optional for riders over 18 years of age in South Dakota) and the absence of seatbelts on a motorcycle.
Even if you are wearing a helmet, if it doesn’t have a face shield, you can still suffer very serious facial and dental injuries if your motorcycle is struck by a larger vehicle. In addition to causing extreme pain, such injuries can interfere with your ability to eat, drink, speak, or work for an extended period of time. Treatment and repair can result in astronomical medical bills. If your accident is caused by another motorist, you may file a claim with that driver’s insurance company for your damages: medical expenses, lost income, property damage, and pain and suffering.
Common Bike Crash Facial and Eye Injuries
Because the bones of the face are delicate, you can easily break your nose, jaw, or cheekbones if you’re thrown from your bike and land with your face on the asphalt or hit your head on a pole or other object on the way down. Facial injuries not only cause great pain but also can result in scarring and disfigurement that require cosmetic surgery, which is extremely expensive. Even worse are injuries to the eyes:
- Fractures
If the bones surrounding your eye are fractured, the tissues inside the eye can be affected. Bulging or sunken eye sockets might result and require very costly surgery to repair.
- Lacerations
Eyelid lacerations can cause scratches on the cornea, which can, in turn, result in swelling, irritation, and blurred vision. Debris from the road can also get into the eye, damage your iris, and harm your vision.
- Optic nerve damage
A hard blow to the eye can compromise your optic nerve, which transmits images from the eyes to the brain. In the worst cases, complete or partial blindness can result.
If you’ve suffered a facial or eye injury in a bike crash, you should see a doctor as soon as possible, not only to begin treatment right away but also to document the damage you’ve suffered as a result of your accident. This documentation is crucial to your insurance claim or your court case if you should end up going to trial.
Motorcycle Rider Dental Injuries
Landing with your face on the road’s surface or striking an object as you fall can also cause painful and expensive dental injuries. It is not uncommon for the following dental traumas to happen in a motorcycle crash:
- Avulsed teeth are knocked completely out of the gum. If treated quickly, an avulsed tooth can be saved in some cases; otherwise, an implant or bridge is necessary to replace it.
- Dislodged teeth remain loosely anchored in the gum but can move or turn, making it hard for the victim to eat.
- Cracked or chipped teeth can sometimes be repaired by buffing. In other cases, porcelain veneers can help. Teeth that are severely cracked or broken might require caps or crowns for stability.
- A broken jawbone can sometimes be wired shut until it heals but might require surgery for a complete repair.
Unlike your bones, your teeth cannot heal themselves over time without dental attention. If left untreated, severe dental injuries can affect your life drastically, interfering with your ability to breathe, sleep, eat, and talk. They can also result in facial disfigurement. Implants, crowns, orthodontic work, oral surgery, and other complex dental procedures are prohibitively expensive for many people. Even those who have dental insurance are likely to pay out of pocket for treatment of serious oral injuries. For this reason, it’s very important that you seek medical or dental care immediately after your wreck and consult a motorcycle accident attorney to help you seek fair compensation for your damages.
Have You Suffered Facial or Dental Injuries in a South Dakota Motorcycle Accident?
An experienced motorcycle accident lawyer will know how to handle insurance adjusters who want to devalue or deny your accident claim. Contact us online or call us at 605-644-5003 to schedule a free consultation. You pay no attorney fees until we win your case.