What you’ll learn from this article:

• Head injuries, like skull fractures, are common in Indiana motorcycle accidents. 
• Because there are many types of head injuries, you need a doctor’s diagnosis.
• A motorcycle accident attorney can help you seek the resources you need for what could be a long and difficult recovery.

Were you in an Indiana head injury motorcycle accident? If so, you could be diagnosed with head trauma that changes your life forever.

A Centers for Disease Control (CDC) study found that 34.3% of motorcyclists hospitalized after road accidents had some type of head injury. Brain injuries were found among 4.8% of non-helmeted riders and 1.7% of helmeted riders. 

This landmark CDC study led to a nationwide push for stronger motorcycle helmet laws. However, Indiana is one of the few states with no universal helmet law and requires helmets only for riders under age 18 and non-licensed permit holders.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently conducted a new head injury study, finding that motorbikes have a 26 times higher risk of death than other forms of transportation. Up to 80% of deaths on motorbikes are due to head injuries.

It can take months or years to heal. Full recovery isn’t always possible. Motorcycle head injuries sometimes take an extreme toll on injured survivors. For example, the motorcyclists in the NIH study had an overall employment rate of 80% before experiencing moderate to severe TBIs, but just 15% of them could remain employed three months after their accidents.

Types of Head Injuries From Motorcycle Accidents

Many types of head injuries arise from motorcycle accidents including concussions, fractures, and traumatic brain injuries. Head injuries are generally divided into two main categories: closed injuries, which happen inside the head, and open or compound injuries, which involve skin perforation, bleeding, and skull exposure.

Types of skull fractures include:

• Basilar skull fracture, which is a broken base of the skull
• Comminuted fracture of the skull, which occurs when the skull breaks into three or more shards of bone
• Compound perforated fracture of the skull, or an open and protruding wound
• Depressed fracture, which involves sunken-in trauma
• Diastatic skull fracture, or a fracture along the suture lines of the skull
• Incomplete skull fracture, which is a partial but not complete break
• Linear skull fracture, which is a straight-line break

If you have a skull fracture, it’s likely that you also have bruising, scratches, and/or hematomas. A hematoma is an area of bleeding that may be visible either on the surface or below the skin as a subdural hematoma.

How Do You Know If You Cracked Your Skull?

Believe it or not, skull fracture symptoms aren’t always obvious at first. A closed skull fracture might not be apparent until you have a splitting headache and can’t maintain your balance.

Headaches, bruising, dizziness, and exhaustion are some of the most common symptoms of a minor to moderate skull fracture. If you have a severe skull fracture, you could have bleeding, loss of consciousness, and trouble with breathing and motor function.

Skull fracture symptoms include:

• Bleeding from any area of the head, eyes, ears, or nose
• Bruises anywhere on your head or neck
• Confusion or cloudy thinking
• Convulsions or seizures
• Dilated pupils
• Drainage from the eyes, ears, or nose
• Drowsiness
• Headaches or throbbing pain in the head
• Irritability or restlessness
• Losing consciousness
• Nausea
• Slurred speech
• Stiffness in the shoulders, neck, or head
• Swelling or a hot feeling on the skin of the head/neck
• Trouble balancing
• Visual disturbances
• Vomiting

Call 911 if you’re experiencing severe symptoms that threaten your respiration or circulation. Seek immediate medical attention for any head injury symptoms, especially if you’ve recently been in a motorcycle accident.

Poynter & Bucheri Accident Recovery – Indianapolis Motorcycle Accident Attorneys

After your motorcycle accident, you deserve adequate time and resources to get your life back on track. Head injuries can be so serious that they cause temporary or permanent health problems, not to mention ongoing financial and interpersonal stress.

You have the right to pursue compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, and more. By hiring a motorcycle accident lawyer, you lift a huge burden during a challenging time in your life.

If you were in a head injury motorcycle accident, contact the Indiana attorneys at Poynter & Bucheri Accident Recovery at 1-800-265-9881. We’ll provide a free accident case review to help you understand your legal options and pursue the motorcycle accident compensation you need.