What Are ATV Accident Injuries?

Have you or someone you love sustained a serious injury in an accident involving an all-terrain vehicle? Do you need help paying medical bills related to your ATV accident injuries? What compensation you can seek for your personal injury can depend on the law of your state, so find local legal help by completing the contact form below or calling us today.

ATVs are fun, giving riders a way to explore the natural world. They are also workhorses, allowing individuals to tackle tough jobs without breaking a sweat. Still, like other types of motor vehicles, ATVs can be extremely dangerous to riders and passengers alike.

Some Common ATV Accident Injuries

When on a quad, a person is vulnerable to a variety of ATV accident injuries. These range from minor scrapes and bruises to death. Some injuries are more common on these vehicles, such as the following:

Traumatic brain injuries

A traumatic brain injury is damage to the brain, such as a concussion. TBIs may occur if you hit your head on a fixed object or fall off your ATV. While wearing a helmet may reduce your chances of sustaining a TBI, you can never eliminate the risk altogether.

Unfortunately, the symptoms of a TBI may not appear immediately after an accident. Therefore, it is critically important to seek a medical examination to be certain your brain has not sustained a grave injury in your ATV accident.

Spinal cord damage

Your spinal cord runs from your brain to the base of your back, allowing your brain to communicate with the rest of your body. If the spinal cord sustains some type of injury, you may experience localized or general paralysis.

Because ATVs weigh hundreds of pounds, you may sustain a spinal cord injury if your quad turns over on top of you. Sadly, this is a frequent occurrence when using ATVs for jumping or racing.

Broken bones

ATVs do not provide much protection for their riders, lacking roofs or other structures. In an accident, you may be thrown far from your vehicle and suffer broken bones. Whether fractures are minor or severe, they usually require medical intervention.

Even with prompt treatment, your broken bones may not heal correctly. If bones fail to heal, you may have a lifetime’s worth of pain and health-related complications.

Burns

An ATV’s engine and exhaust system may be as hot as 215 degrees. This high temperature is sufficient to burn human skin. Accordingly, if you touch a hot part of your quad, you may sustain significant burns.

These burns may require surgery and rehabilitation. They may also result in unsightly scars.

Internal Injuries

Your rib cage protects your heart, lungs, liver, spleen and other vital organs. In a high-impact ATV accident, you may crush your rib cage, putting you at risk of internal injuries. These including both organ damage and internal bleeding. If you do not receive emergency medical care for these injuries, they may be fatal.

Recovering from ATV injuries can be both time-consuming and expensive. Even with hard work and exceptional care, your life may never be the same again. Fortunately, in certain situations, it is possible to pursue financial compensation from the person who caused your ATV accident injuries.

The Injury Claims Process for ATV Accidents

If you want to file a personal injury claim related to an ATV accident, you must familiarize yourself with the laws of the state where the accident occurred. These laws outline which legal causes of actions are available, who may file them and when a claim must be brought.

Filing a legal claim for ATV accident injuries likely requires showing negligence. That is, you may need to demonstrate that the ATV’s owner or someone else acted negligently.

Most negligence claims have four elements you must prove:

• Duty – The owner of the ATV must have owed you a duty of care.
• Breach – The owner of the ATV must have breached his or her duty of care.
• Causation – The owner of the ATV must have been both the legal and actual cause of your injuries.
• Harm – You must have some injury the law recognizes.

If you can prove negligence, you may receive financial compensation for your injuries to help you cover medical bills, pain and suffering, and lost wages.

Some states prohibit or limit recovery if an ATV rider is found partly or mostly to blame for his or her injuries. Before you can proceed with the injury claims process, you must know if you live in one of these jurisdictions. If you do, you may have other legal options.

Work With an Experienced Local Lawyer

Personal injury law is incredibly complex and varies from state to state. Therefore, to boost your chances of receiving the compensation you need to support your recovery, it helps to have an experienced ATV accident lawyer on your side.

If an insurance company’s representative is refusing to process your claim or has given you a low-ball offer, a local lawyer can help you fight back. He or she can review the reasons for the company’s actions and mount an aggressive response.

On the other hand, if the responsible party does not have insurance, you likely need an attorney to help you obtain the compensation you deserve. This may mean filing a lawsuit. If that happens, your attorney can help you prepare your case, including proving the elements of negligence, wrongful death or another legal cause of action.

Moreover, most personal injury matters have a statute of limitations that requires you to act quickly. If you wait to explore your legal options until after the statute of limitations expires, you may be entirely out of luck. That is, you may not be able to recover anything, even if someone else was responsible for your life-altering ATV accident injuries.

Rather than hoping for the best, talk to an experienced local lawyer as soon as possible after an ATV accident. Submit a request online or call us today at (866) 345-6784 to get in touch with an experienced lawyer in your area!