Typical Injuries Suffered By Riders of ATVs

Canadians enjoy taking part in outdoor activities. Some of them travel over all types of terrain using an ATV. Unfortunately, travel over certain types of terrain can increase the chances for an accident.

Body parts most often affected by an ATV-related injury

• If the rider hits the handlebars, then that could cause harm to the rider’s abdomen or upper body.
• Certain bones can break: any of the bones in a leg or an arm; also, either collar bone.
• ATV riders frequently sustain back injuries.

Even when riders wear a helmet, the sudden accelerations or decelerations can cause the brain to hit the inside of the skull. That can lead to development of a concussion or a traumatic brain injury. Those conditions can have late-appearing symptoms. Multiple body parts get affected if the rider falls off the seat and onto the ground. Sometimes the ATV’s wheels run over a fallen rider.

A serious but unnoticed injury

That is the internal bleeding that can result from an impact to the rider’s abdomen or upper body. The loss of blood goes undetected. The one symptom is a feeling of tenderness in the affected region.

The serious nature of this particular problem highlights the rider’s need for a medical examination following involvement in any type of ATV-related accident. An examining physician can search for signs of bruising, another indication that blood is being lost within the body of the examined rider.

Possible late-appearing symptoms

• Finding it hard to think clearly
• Struggling to concentrate
• Difficulty with recalling facts
• Headaches
• Dizziness
• Blurry vision
• Loss of energy
• Nausea
• Disturbances in sleep patterns

The late-appearing symptoms do not show-up an any given order. The parent of a child with an ATV should pay close attention to complaints about headaches or difficulty with focusing on a subject being presented in the classroom. That parent should not assume that the child/teen is just being lazy.

Also, parents should not disregard a child’s demonstration of undue anxiety or frustration. That is another symptom that can be linked to a traumatic brain injury. Unfortunately, it is also one that often gets overlooked, because some youth can be moody.

Invite the young ATV rider to share stories about his or her rides. That can work to alert a parent to the possible existence of an unseen problem. Parents must watch for signs that an ATV might have a dangerous defect.

If a given ATV’s rider has complained about trouble braking or about the tires’ poor performance, then it is possible that the vehicle had that defect at the time it was purchased. If that proves to be the case, then the manufacturer might be charged with production and marketing of a defective product, with the help of an Injury Lawyer in Waterloo.