82,686 motorcyclists were injured on U.S. roads in 2021. (NHTSA, Traffic Safety Facts)
Because motorcycles are different in size and shape than other motor vehicles, the injuries that motorcyclists suffer can be unique.
You may wonder how long motorcycle accident recovery may take you. Our Greenville motorcycle accident lawyer can recommend how to protect your health and your case in the wake of a crash. Contact Bobby Jones Law to begin today.
How Long Will It Take to Recover from a Motorcycle Accident?
How long it takes to recover from a motorcycle accident depends on the nature of the injuries and their severity. Minor injuries may heal in a few weeks, but it can take months or, one year or more to recover from serious injury. Receiving medical care and following your care plan can help promote healing.
Recovering from a Serious Motorcycle Accident: Potential Timelines
Understanding typical recovery times for various motorcycle accident injuries can help your well-being.
Head injuries
With brain injuries, there is significant variation in healing times based on the nature and severity of the injury. Most concussions heal in about three weeks. You don’t have to be knocked unconscious, although a brain injury can alter consciousness. Following a care plan, including physical rest and taking a break from things that make you concentrate, can prevent complications during your recovery after a motorcycle accident head injury.
If your head injury is a skull fracture, healing will take longer — 3–6 months. Surgery may be required.
Therapy may be needed to regain brain function. Younger people tend to heal more easily from depressed skull fractures.
Broken bones
Broken bone healing times vary depending on the type of bone, the type of break, and the health of the individual. The most typical healing time is 6–8 weeks, but it can be as short as 4 weeks for bones in the hand or wrist. A tibia fracture can take up to 20 weeks to heal.
Surgery may be required to set the bone if it is displaced. A complex break may require screws, pins, or plates. Healing takes several stages, including growing blood vessels in the area, growing a soft callus around the bone, and finally, the body forming new bone.
Burns, road rash
Most road rash and skin burns heal in about two weeks. It depends on how many layers of skin are affected. The deeper the wounds, the longer the healing time. Wound care is important to prevent infection, including making sure dressings are changed, and hands are washed before tending to wounds.
Organ damage
Blunt trauma can damage internal organs. A punctured lung may take up to eight weeks to heal. A tear in the liver or spleen may require procedures to stop and drain bleeding. A typical healing time frame for a liver laceration is 2–4 months, with complex injury requiring up to six months of healing time. Significant medical intervention may be required to treat a damaged organ.
Joints, ligaments, and muscle aches
Muscle pain should begin to subside in one or two weeks. Complete recovery may take three months or more. Ligament tears recover in 3–8 weeks. Rehabilitation may be needed to increase the range of motion and rebuild strength.
Whiplash
Even though whiplash is soft tissue damage, it can be extremely painful. It can prevent normal head movement.
Whiplash occurs when your head moves back and forth quickly in an unnatural way. Symptoms of whiplash may develop slowly in the days after a crash. Don’t be surprised if you feel your whiplash worsen as the days pass before symptoms start to decline. There is a risk of chronic pain, even after the whiplash symptoms have subsided.
Mental health injuries
A motorcycle crash may produce mental health injuries as well as physical injuries. Mental injuries – like depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, and avoidance behaviors should not be ignored. They require treatment just like physical injuries. Addressing mental health injuries can help with your physical healing.
Healing From a Motorcycle Accident Takes Time
Just like motorcycle accident injuries vary, so do motorcycle accident victims. Your age, physical health, nutrition, current health problems, and other factors may impact your motorcycle accident recovery.
Tailoring your medical care to your health status can help optimize a recovery plan.
How you heal can impact how long it takes
There are things that you can do to heal in the best way possible. Going to your medical appointments and following your medical care can promote healing. It can prevent complications.
You must balance trying to get back to normal too quickly with needing to rehabilitate through activity.
Rest and nutrition can be key factors. It’s important to do everything you can to heal, both for your health as well as for your claim for monetary compensation.
Permanent injury from a motorcycle accident
A motorcycle accident may cause permanent injuries. At the time of injury, your prognosis may be unknown. If you have permanent injuries, you may seek compensation for the ways that they impact your life, and related costs that are expected to arise.
Damages for Your Motorcycle Accident Injuries and Recovery Time
Your healing time is a factor in how much compensation you may claim for a motorcycle accident. The longer your injuries impact your life, the more you may receive in compensation.
A lawyer working with medical experts can help you evaluate how long your motorcycle accident recovery may take and the appropriate amount of compensation.
Talk to a Lawyer for Motorcycle Accidents
At Bobby Jones Law, we want you to receive fair compensation for your motorcycle accident recovery.
Contact us online now to talk about your case.
