A motorcycle leaves the body fully exposed to impact. Where a car's frame and airbags absorb a collision, a rider's own bones often take that force directly. Whether it's a single clean break or a fracture requiring multiple surgeries and permanent hardware, we know how to document these injuries and the real cost of recovering from them.
Fractures that look "simple" on day one can require follow-up surgery, hardware removal, or turn out to be nonunion months later. Call us before accepting any settlement so your claim isn't closed before your bone has actually healed.
Broken bones are among the most common injuries in motorcycle crashes, but the term covers an enormous range of severity — from a clean hairline fracture that heals in a cast to a comminuted, multi-fragment break that requires plates, screws, and months of physical therapy. The speed and force involved in a motorcycle crash tend to push fractures toward the more severe end of that range. A rider thrown from the bike, dragged across pavement, or pinned beneath the motorcycle absorbs forces that a seatbelt and airbag would otherwise distribute across a car's frame.
Open fractures — where the broken bone breaks through the skin — are particularly common in motorcycle crashes and carry a much higher risk of infection, additional surgery, and permanent complications than closed fractures. Even closed fractures from a motorcycle crash are frequently comminuted, meaning the bone has broken into three or more pieces, which generally requires surgical fixation with plates, screws, rods, or external fixators rather than a cast alone.
What makes fracture claims more complicated than they first appear is the gap between the initial diagnosis and the final outcome. A fracture that looks stable on the first X-ray can shift before it's fully healed. Hardware placed during the first surgery sometimes has to be removed or revised months later. And a bone that fails to heal properly — called a nonunion or malunion — can mean a second or third surgery long after the original insurance claim would otherwise have closed.
We build fracture cases around the full arc of recovery: emergency treatment, surgical fixation, hardware, physical therapy, time away from work, and the real possibility of complications that don't show up until later. Settling early, before a fracture has fully healed, is one of the most common mistakes injured riders make — and one of the most expensive, since a closed claim generally can't be reopened if a complication develops afterward.
Tell us about your injury and treatment so far. We'll explain, at no charge, what it may mean for your recovery and your claim.
If any of this applies to you, talk to us before signing anything from an insurer. The consultation costs nothing.
📞 (619) 514-0460 — Call NowWhere a rider breaks a bone usually depends on how the crash unfolded — whether they braced for impact, were thrown from the bike, or had a limb pinned or crushed. These are the fractures we handle most frequently.
One of the most common motorcycle injuries. A rider thrown onto their shoulder, or who instinctively braces with an outstretched arm, often fractures the clavicle. Severely displaced breaks frequently require a plate and screws to realign the bone properly.
Known medically as a FOOSH injury — fall on an outstretched hand — these happen when a rider instinctively puts a hand out to break a fall. The radius, ulna, or both can fracture, sometimes with the joint surface involved, which raises the risk of long-term stiffness or arthritis.
Common when a leg is trapped under a falling motorcycle or struck directly by another vehicle. These fractures are frequently open or comminuted and often require an intramedullary rod or external fixator to stabilize the bone while it heals.
The femur is the strongest bone in the body, so breaking it usually signals a very high-energy impact. Femur fractures almost always require surgical fixation and a lengthy recovery, and they're frequently accompanied by other injuries from the same collision.
Pelvic fractures result from severe, high-energy impacts and are frequently associated with internal bleeding and organ injury, since the pelvis surrounds major blood vessels and organs. These are among the most serious fractures we handle and often require extended hospitalization.
Common when a rider's foot is caught between the motorcycle and the ground during a low-side slide, or crushed in a collision. These fractures often involve the joint itself, which can affect long-term mobility even after the bone heals.
This is why a fracture from a motorcycle crash is treated very differently, medically and legally, than the same type of break from a simple fall.
A broken bone case isn't just about the cost of the first cast or surgery. These are the issues that most often shape how much a fracture claim is actually worth.
Plates, screws, rods, and pins are often left in place permanently, but some hardware is designed to be removed once the bone has healed — meaning a second surgery months down the line. We make sure that future procedure is accounted for in your claim, not left for you to pay out of pocket later.
Bones don't always heal correctly or on schedule. A nonunion means the bone fails to heal at all; a malunion means it heals in a misaligned position. Both can require additional surgery and aren't always apparent until months after the original injury — which is exactly why settling too early is so risky.
Surgically repaired fractures, especially those involving a joint, typically require months of physical therapy to regain strength and range of motion. That cost — and the lost time at work it represents — is a major part of a properly valued fracture claim.
Fractures that extend into a joint surface significantly increase the risk of developing arthritis in that joint years later. This long-term risk is a real, medically recognized consequence of the injury, and it belongs in any honest accounting of what the fracture has cost you.
Be cautious. "Healing well" on an early X-ray doesn't rule out future hardware removal, stiffness, or arthritis down the road, especially with fractures that involved a joint. We generally recommend waiting until your treating doctor confirms you've reached maximum medical improvement before any settlement is finalized, so the claim reflects your actual outcome rather than an early guess.
Yes — significantly. Open fractures carry a real risk of infection, and treating one often means additional surgeries, extended antibiotic treatment, and a longer recovery than a comparable closed fracture. These additional costs and complications are a legitimate part of your claim, and we make sure they're fully documented.
Future medical needs, including planned hardware removal, are factored into your claim's value through your treating physician's records and, where needed, a medical cost projection. You shouldn't have to absorb the cost of a surgery that exists only because of the crash, even if it happens after your case is otherwise resolved.
Yes. Fracture severity doesn't always correlate with vehicle speed — a leg pinned under a motorcycle in a low-speed tip-over can produce a serious break just as easily as a higher-speed collision. What matters for your claim is the injury itself and who was at fault, not how fast the vehicles were moving.
It depends on your treatment timeline. We generally wait until your fracture has reached maximum medical improvement — meaning your doctors don't expect further significant change — before submitting a settlement demand, since that's the only point at which the full cost of the injury is actually known. For fractures requiring multiple surgeries, that can take longer than a simple break, but rushing the process usually costs riders money in the end.
It depends on the severity and location of the fracture, whether surgery and hardware were required, your recovery timeline, and any lasting complications like stiffness or arthritis risk. We review every fracture case individually, factoring in both your medical costs to date and what your treating physicians expect going forward. Learn how we calculate settlement value, or call for a free, honest assessment of your case.
Multiple fractures from a single crash are common in motorcycle cases, and we treat them as a single, coordinated claim rather than separate injuries. That matters because recovery from one fracture can be complicated by another — for example, a broken wrist makes it harder to use crutches for a broken leg — and we make sure that compounded impact on your recovery and daily life is properly reflected in your claim.
Whether your break is still healing or you're facing a second surgery, the timing of your settlement matters. Call now for a free, honest conversation about your case — before any offer is on the table.
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