How To Evaluate Your Health After a Bicycle Accident

Personal Injury Lawyer

Anyone who gets hit by a car while on their bike is likely to experience very painful injuries, such as soft tissue wounds, head trauma, broken bones, internal bleeding, and much more. Depending on where the person was hit and whether they hit the windshield, ground, or other objects, he or she may need to be ushered to the emergency room right away. Whatever you do, do not hesitate to get yourself medical attention and speak with a bicycle accident lawyer in Salt Lake City, UT after being in a bike accident.

If you find yourself ever involved in a bike accident, you may want to evaluate your health in the following ways until medics have arrived:

Check Your Head

Even if you were wearing a helmet, you could have sustained a head injury. Head injuries are something that people may ignore because there isn’t always a visible external wound. Head injuries can be internal, where the brain bleeds or swells, or a concussion occurs. Signs of a head injury can include confusion, brief loss of consciousness, cracked helmet, vision changes, vomiting, and nausea. If the accident was strong enough to crack your helmet, then chances are your head endured a heavy force of impact.

Breathe In and Out

You may have punctured a lung or broken your ribs after being hit by the car. Many people may assume there’s no treatment for these conditions, but this is a false belief and emergency services should be sought the very same day. If you breathe in deeply and feel any pain, then you must usher yourself to the emergency room. A cracked rib in itself may appear minor, but it can hit into your lung, which is an issue that must be taken seriously.

Listen To Your Body

If you have symptoms such as numbness, tingling, or inability to move fingers/toes, then you may have sustained a spinal or neck injury. Spine-related injuries are very serious, so if you think you may have injured this area, then lay still in a safe spot until medics arrive. If you continue to move your neck, you may be making things worse and increasing your odds of permanent damage to your spinal cord.

Check Your Abdominals

If you hit the handle bars or another object hard enough, the tissues and organs in your abdominal area may have gotten damaged due to the impact. Gently place your hands on the abdomen and touch around to see if any areas are more tender, sore, or painful than others. If your stomach appears hard or distended, you may have internal bleeding. In the event of internal bleeding, you will need medical treatment immediately.

Soft Tissue Wounds

External physical injuries are much more easy to notice. Depending on the severity and type of soft tissue damage, you may need a first aid kit, stitches, surgery, or another kind of advanced medical care. While waiting for the ambulance, apply firm but gentle pressure to the bleeding area.

Thanks to Rasmussen & Miner for their insight into personal injury claims and evaluating your health after a bicycle accident.