Common Injuries in California Bicycle Accident Cases
Bicycle accidents can cause injuries ranging from cuts and bruises to traumatic brain injuries, spinal trauma, broken bones, permanent scarring, and other conditions requiring surgery or long-term medical care. Cyclists have very little physical protection when they are hit by a car, SUV, truck, rideshare vehicle, bus, or another motor vehicle. Unlike people inside passenger vehicles, bicycle riders do not have seat belts, airbags, doors, or a vehicle frame surrounding them.
The injuries can depend on how the collision happened, the speed and size of the vehicle, where the cyclist was struck, and how the rider landed. A cyclist may also experience several impacts during the same crash, including contact with the vehicle followed by the pavement, curb, another vehicle, or another object. These separate impacts can cause injuries to several parts of the body at the same time.
DAG Law Firm, APC represents cyclists injured in serious bicycle and e-bike accidents throughout California. You do not pay attorney fees unless we win your case, and there are no upfront attorney fees for qualifying bicycle accident matters handled on a contingency-fee basis. Call (323) 930-2020 or contact DAG Law Firm today to discuss your bicycle accident.
Why Bicycle Accident Injuries Can Be Serious
A cyclist can be exposed directly to the force of a collision because there is little protection between the rider, the vehicle, and the roadway. A rider may first be struck by a vehicle and then be thrown from the bicycle onto the pavement. Another impact may occur with a curb, parked car, traffic lane, or roadside object.
Some cyclists slide across pavement, are thrown over the handlebars, or suffer another collision after the first impact. Others may become trapped beneath a vehicle or strike several different surfaces during the same crash. Each impact can affect a different part of the body and produce a different injury.
Serious bicycle accidents can therefore cause several injuries at once. One rider may suffer a concussion, broken wrist, shoulder injury, road rash, and facial cuts in the same collision, while another may experience a spinal injury, leg fracture, internal trauma, and permanent scarring. The complete medical picture matters rather than only the most obvious injury at the scene.
Traumatic Brain Injuries And Concussions
Head and brain injuries are among the most serious conditions that can result from a bicycle accident. A cyclist’s head may strike a vehicle, windshield, hood, pavement, curb, or another object during the crash. A traumatic brain injury can also result from forces that rapidly move the head and brain even when there is no obvious skull injury.
A concussion is a type of mild traumatic brain injury, but the effects can still interfere with everyday life. Possible symptoms may involve headaches, dizziness, balance problems, nausea, sensitivity to light or noise, memory problems, difficulty concentrating, vision changes, mood changes, and sleep problems. Some symptoms may appear immediately, while others may become more noticeable hours or days after the accident.
More serious brain injuries can affect memory, speech, concentration, balance, mobility, personality, independence, and the ability to work. Some people may require extended rehabilitation, specialist care, or continuing medical treatment. Medical professionals should evaluate suspected brain injuries and determine what testing and treatment are appropriate.
A bicycle helmet can reduce the risk of serious head injury, but no helmet can prevent every injury. Whether a helmet was worn and who caused the collision are separate questions. People dealing with significant head trauma can learn more about DAG Law Firm’s brain injury practice.
Facial Injuries, Dental Trauma, Road Rash And Scarring
A bicycle collision can throw a rider forward into the roadway, a vehicle, or another object. The face may strike pavement, a vehicle hood, windshield, door, handlebars, curb, or another surface. These impacts can cause cuts, facial fractures, jaw injuries, nose injuries, eye injuries, dental trauma, and permanent scarring.
Dental injuries can include broken, chipped, or lost teeth as well as damage to the jaw and gums. Some cyclists may require dental reconstruction or treatment that continues well after the initial emergency care. Facial fractures and deeper wounds may also require specialist treatment, surgery, or reconstructive procedures depending on the injury.
Cyclists can suffer road rash when skin slides across pavement. These abrasions may affect the arms, hands, shoulders, hips, legs, knees, face, or other exposed areas. Some cases are relatively limited, while others can involve deeper tissue damage, embedded debris, significant wounds, and permanent changes to the skin.
Scars can differ in size, location, depth, visibility, and permanence. Serious facial injuries or road rash can sometimes require scar treatment or reconstructive care. The long-term effect depends on the specific injury, healing process, and individual cyclist.
Broken Bones, Shoulder, Arm, Wrist And Hand Injuries
Broken bones are common in serious bicycle crashes because riders may try to break a fall with their hands or land directly on an arm or shoulder. Wrist fractures can happen when a cyclist extends a hand toward the pavement during a fall. These injuries can interfere with typing, driving, lifting, manual work, household activities, and cycling.
Cyclists may also suffer fractures involving the hands, fingers, arms, shoulders, or collarbone. Shoulder injuries can include fractures, dislocations, rotator cuff injuries, joint injuries, and other trauma. A rider thrown onto one side of the body can experience substantial force through the shoulder and upper arm.
Some fractures can heal with immobilization and follow-up care, while others may require surgery, hardware, physical therapy, or an extended recovery. Hand and arm injuries can be especially difficult for people whose jobs depend on lifting, typing, tools, driving, or other frequent use of the upper body. The effect of a broken bone therefore depends on more than the fact that a fracture occurred.
The location of the fracture, treatment required, recovery time, and any lasting limits can all matter. A person who returns to normal activity after several weeks may have a very different experience from someone who needs surgery and months of rehabilitation.
Neck, Back And Spinal Injuries
The forces involved in a bicycle crash can place substantial stress on the neck and back. Potential injuries may involve muscles, ligaments, discs, nerves, vertebrae, and other structures. Symptoms and treatment can vary greatly depending on the location and seriousness of the injury.
Back injuries can interfere with sitting, standing, bending, lifting, sleeping, working, and other daily activities. Neck injuries can also cause pain, reduced movement, weakness, or symptoms involving nearby nerves. Medical professionals may use examinations, imaging, and other testing when appropriate to determine what is causing the symptoms.
More serious bicycle crashes can involve spinal trauma or damage to the spinal cord. Severe spinal injuries may affect strength, sensation, mobility, independence, and the ability to work. Some people may require hospitalization, surgery, rehabilitation, mobility equipment, home changes, or continuing medical care.
The long-term effect of a spinal injury depends on its location, severity, treatment, and medical outlook. Some people improve substantially with treatment, while others experience permanent physical limitations. Appropriate medical specialists are best positioned to diagnose these injuries and determine the necessary care.
Hip, Pelvic, Knee, Leg, Foot And Internal Injuries
The lower body can absorb significant force during a bicycle collision. A cyclist may suffer a hip injury after landing heavily on one side of the body, while more severe crashes can cause pelvic fractures when a rider is struck directly or thrown forcefully onto the road. These injuries can interfere with walking, standing, stairs, work, and independence.
Knee injuries may involve bones, ligaments, cartilage, tendons, or other tissue. They can make walking, standing, running, working, exercising, and returning to cycling more difficult. Some knee injuries require surgery or an extended period of physical therapy and rehabilitation.
Fractures can also affect the thigh, lower leg, ankle, or foot. Serious leg injuries may require surgery, mobility assistance, rehabilitation, and significant time away from work. The recovery period can depend on the type of fracture, whether surgery was necessary, and how well the injury heals.
Not every dangerous injury is visible from the outside. A cyclist struck by a vehicle can suffer internal injuries involving the chest, abdomen, organs, or blood vessels, and rib or chest injuries may make breathing, sleeping, and normal movement difficult. Appropriate medical professionals should evaluate symptoms that may indicate internal trauma.
Injuries From Dooring, Bike-Lane, Distracted-Driver And Hit-And-Run Crashes
Different types of bicycle crashes can create different injury patterns. A dooring accident may throw a cyclist forward or sideways after the rider strikes an unexpectedly opened vehicle door. Possible injuries include head trauma, facial injuries, broken wrists, shoulder injuries, collarbone fractures, knee injuries, and road rash.
A cyclist may also fall into an active traffic lane after striking an open door, which can create the risk of a second collision. The combination of the first impact and the fall can cause multiple injuries. Learn more about dooring bicycle accidents in California.
Bike-lane accidents can occur when motorists turn across the lane, enter it, leave a driveway, stop in the cyclist’s path, or fail to see the rider. The cyclist may be struck from the side, pushed toward a curb, or thrown into another traffic lane. Injuries can range from road rash and fractures to serious head and spinal trauma.
Distracted drivers may rear-end a cyclist, make an unsafe turn, drift into a bike lane, or fail to yield at an intersection. Learn more about bicycle accidents caused by distracted drivers in California.
Hit-and-run crashes can cause the same serious physical injuries as other collisions while creating the added problem of identifying the driver who left the scene. Brain injuries, fractures, spinal trauma, road rash, and internal injuries can all occur in these crashes. Learn more about hit-and-run bicycle accidents in California.
Truck, Bus, E-Bike And Other Serious Bicycle Accident Injuries
The type and size of the vehicle involved can affect the forces a cyclist experiences. A collision with a large commercial truck can cause severe injuries because of the truck’s weight and size compared with a bicycle. Possible injuries can include serious brain trauma, multiple fractures, spinal injuries, crush injuries, internal trauma, and fatal injuries.
Truck accidents may also involve more than the individual driver. The trucking company, employer, vehicle owner, maintenance provider, or another party may need to be reviewed depending on how the crash occurred. Learn more about truck accident claims.
A cyclist hit by a city bus, school bus, shuttle, charter bus, or another passenger vehicle can also suffer serious trauma. These accidents may involve head injuries, broken bones, spinal trauma, internal injuries, and other conditions requiring substantial medical care. Public transportation cases can also involve transit agencies and different government claim procedures, depending on the transportation provider. Learn more about bus accident claims.
E-bike riders can suffer many of the same injuries as people riding traditional bicycles. Head injuries, facial trauma, fractures, road rash, spinal injuries, and internal injuries can occur depending on how the crash happened. Children can also suffer serious bicycle accident injuries, including head trauma, facial injuries, fractures, dental injuries, cuts, and abrasions.
Treatment, Recovery And Long-Term Effects
Bicycle accident treatment can range from limited outpatient care to emergency hospitalization and surgery. A serious injury may require ambulance transportation, emergency treatment, diagnostic testing, specialist care, surgery, physical therapy, occupational therapy, rehabilitation, or medical equipment. The amount and type of care depend on the cyclist’s injuries and medical circumstances.
Recovery can continue long after the initial hospital or doctor visit. Some cyclists recover fully, while others experience long-term changes involving strength, mobility, balance, range of motion, cognitive function, work, independence, or their ability to return to cycling. Additional surgery or future medical treatment may also be necessary in more serious cases.
A bicycle accident injury can interfere with employment. Someone may miss shifts, work fewer hours, have medical restrictions, or be unable to return to the same type of job. Work records and medical restrictions may help show how the injuries affected employment.
Cycling itself can also be an important part of a person’s life. For some people it is their main transportation, exercise, recreation, competitive sport, or social activity. An injury that prevents someone from returning to riding can therefore affect everyday life differently depending on the individual.
Medical Records, Injury Photos And Bicycle Damage
Medical records can help document the injuries evaluated after a bicycle crash and how treatment progressed. These records may include emergency care, diagnoses, imaging, surgery, specialist visits, physical therapy, rehabilitation, medical restrictions, and follow-up care. Medical bills and other treatment records may also become relevant when evaluating the effects of the injury.
Photos can help preserve how visible injuries changed during the healing process. Bruising, road rash, cuts, swelling, stitches, and scars may look very different days or weeks after a collision. Photographs taken at different stages may help create a clearer record of those changes.
The bicycle and damaged equipment can provide additional information about the crash. Depending on the accident, useful items may include the bicycle, helmet, clothing, shoes, gloves, cycling computer, and other equipment. A damaged helmet, for example, may show that it experienced an impact, although medical professionals must still determine whether the cyclist suffered a head or brain injury.
Information about how the crash occurred and information about the cyclist’s injuries answer different questions. A serious injury does not automatically establish who caused the collision, just as clear responsibility does not automatically establish the full medical impact. Learn more about who may be liable in a California bicycle accident and how much a California bicycle accident case may be worth.
California Bicycle Accident Resources And How DAG Law Firm Can Help
Bicycle accidents can cause brain injuries, broken bones, facial and dental injuries, spinal trauma, road rash, internal injuries, permanent scarring, and other conditions requiring substantial treatment. The seriousness of an injury can depend on the vehicle involved, type of impact, how the cyclist landed, and whether the rider suffered more than one impact during the crash.
After a serious bicycle accident, immediate health and safety generally come first. When circumstances allow, preserving photos, medical records, the damaged bicycle, witness information, video, and other records may also help create a clearer picture of the crash and resulting injuries.
DAG Law Firm’s California bicycle accident resources provide more information about what to do after a bicycle accident, who may be liable, how much a bicycle accident case may be worth, California bicycle laws, distracted-driver bicycle accidents, dooring accidents, hit-and-run bicycle accidents, and bicycle accident filing deadlines.
DAG Law Firm, APC represents cyclists injured in qualifying bicycle and e-bike accidents throughout California. Whether a collision involved an unsafe turn, bike lane, opening vehicle door, distracted driver, hit-and-run motorist, commercial truck, public bus, or another serious crash, the specific injuries, treatment, insurance, records, and circumstances matter. Learn more about California bicycle accident claims and the types of cases DAG Law Firm handles.
You do not pay attorney fees unless we win your case, and there are no upfront attorney fees for qualifying bicycle accident matters handled on a contingency-fee basis. Call (323) 930-2020 or contact DAG Law Firm today to discuss your bicycle accident.
