The broken leg

[Anonymous]

In late September of 2001 I was riding a few miles north of English, Indiana on highway 37 when I pulled off the highway onto a gravel road to get something out of the fairing. It was a 1981 GS850G with all Vetter equipment ie. fairing, bags and trunk. After getting what I needed I proceeded to head back up on the highway when the rear tire lost traction and the bike slid sideways VERY quickly and landed on it's right side with my right foot underneath the right saddlebag. In the process of going down I was pulled completely off the bike so that both legs were on the right side of the bike....thank God! I had a full tank of gas so gas was pouring out around the gas cap and the engine was still running. I managed to reach the switch and shut the bike off. My left leg I believe was bent at the knee so that I was sitting on my lower leg with my right foot still under the saddlebag. I was trying to figure out how I was gonna get out from under the bike. I made the mistake of turning the handlebars the wrong way the first time and inflicted a bit more pain on myself.....not good! I straightened out the handlebars and pushed back against the bike trying to lift it up enough to get out. It took three or four attempts to get it high enough so that I could pull my foot out of my shoe and finally get free. I managed to stand up on my good leg and saw a car coming down the highway. I flagged a guy down who was on his way home from work. He stopped and picked the bike up for me while I went and sat on the hood of his car. When he came back to his car he gave me 3 or 4 tylenol and some cold coffee to wash them down with. We talked a few minutes and I decided since my shoe was already off, I'd take off my sock and take a look at the damage. My foot and ankle were swollen to say the least but I had no idea that my leg was broken. I did a bit of grumbling about having done that to myself while we were talking......IT HURT! He asked me if I was going to call someone to come and get me. I did have a cell phone with me but decided instead to just ride it home because I didn't know if I could get someone to go get my bike before someone else did! I thanked him for stopping to help me and then I hopped over to my bike and got on and headed down the highway. I put my foot on the peg for a while and then up on the side of the engine for a little heat. The ride wasn't too bad for having a broken leg. I was concerned that I might lose my balance whenever I had to stop for traffic lights etc but thank God that never happened. When I got back to town I went to my place of work (car dealer) and showed my co-workers what I'd done to myself. We sat on the benches in front of the showroom discussing my lack of insurance and what I should do. I ended up calling my insurance man and discovered I had a thousand dollars of medical on the bike policy. I still at this point had no idea my leg was broken but decided that I'd go get it checked out. I figured that there'd be no way to spend more than a thousand dollars on a mashed foot and leg. I just thought it was mashed and all I'd have to do was stay off of it and wait for it to heal up. WRONG! I called home and told my wife that I'd had an accident on the bike and for the garage door to be open when I got home. I rode home and parked the bike in the garage. My wife and 14 year old son were waiting in the garage for me and helped me into the car so we could go to the ER. I had some doctor from India tell me it didn't look good but they would X ray my leg and find out for sure what was wrong. BTW all the docs I encountered were real impressed that I rode 60 miles home! NOT! It turned out that I had dislocated the large bone in my lower leg at the ankle and had broken about an inch and a half off of the small bone that goes down beside the outside of my ankle. They told me that I needed surgery that night and sent me to U of L hospital in Louisville, Kentucky....about an hour away. A buddy from work took me up in an Expedition to the ER at U of L....Not a pleasant ride whatsoever! My leg was going into overdrive by that time! My parents live in Louisville and were there when I arrived. The crew at U of L gave me 8mg of morphine which was still not enough as far as I was concerned. They did the same things at U of L as they did at my hometown hospital and then told me that they couldn't operate because of the swelling! I spent $700 for nothing at U of L! My parents took me back home and I didn't have surgery until 10 days later in Jasper, Indiana. Dr Norris in Jasper put a titanium plate and screws in the small bone that was broken to hold it together while it healed. He's a great doctor and I highly recommend him if anyone needs any orthopedic work done!! Thanks Dr Norris! Total cost to put me back together again was $7000! Ouch again! I still have the plate in my leg and can't wait to be rid of it. One bump to the side of my ankle where the plate and screws are is NOT GOOD! It's like getting poked with something from the inside out! I would have never guessed that such a seemingly minor accident would cause so much pain trouble and expense! All of the doctors of course scolded me for riding to begin with let alone riding with a broken leg. Hey I didn't know! LOL I sold that bike to a good friend of mine who still has the bike. I still have my 82 GK and another 1100G as well. I can't quit riding! I've had too many bikes and have ridden too long to quit now!

[Anonymous]

Ow Ow Owwww....

Paul.....
As one who has done a "lowside" I can't help but cring immensely and I thank my lucky stars that I and those like myself in a simple type crash haven't been injured.
Please tell me you had some kind of insurance to pay for all that!
Rick........

[Anonymous]

Wish I could

Hey Richard
I sure wish I could tell you that I had insurance to cover that accident! I had a thousand dollars of medical on my bike policy and that was it. I got the pleasure of cashing in some stock in my 401k to pay the bills. It killed me to sell that stock when the market was going to hell. I did however save 20% buy paying the bill in full. btw This was an outpatient surgery done in a clinic rather than a hospital and I didn't take the physical therapy that they advised I take. Has anyone priced physical therapists lately? I can't say that I regret passing on the therapy. My leg works fine and I have no limp whatsoever.

[Anonymous]

GS850 is heavy

Don't usually respond but... in '82 dropped my '81 GS850G (full Vetter) and broke my left ankle and foot in several places. Was alone but got the bike up and headed home. Foot throbbing horribly I timed stop lights and stop signs to ensure I wouldn't stop. Pulled along side a friend and tried to get him to follow me but he didn't get the message. Made it home, put right legt down to steady bike, used hand to lower side stand, crawled off the bike into the house. When my wife returned from work she took me to the hospital. Was laid up for 12 weeks! Still have the GS850G but realize I don't want this bike on top of me. The old adage is about not having a wreck is true - it's not if you have had a wreck, it's if you have had your wreck yet!

[SqDancerLynn1]

I have 5K medical on my MC insurance, was an extra cost. I almost had to use it. Did a 25mph low side 4 months ago :x only brused ribs, minor road rash and very sore ankle.

[Jay, the Hero]

This one makes me glad I'm in Ontario. Medical insurance is pretty good up in Canada

[Anonymous]

Hey all,

Since we are on the topic of insurance my current MC insurance company does not cover personal injury whatsoever, just liability. I was told by several people who have gotten injured riding their bikes that there health insurance picked it up. Do any of you have experience with this? My husband is checking into this at work in a round about way as not to set off any whistles if you know what I mean. I know some insurance have decided to have wavier regarding "dangerous" sports. I took the MC insurance so I could get the bike insured for now but I want to check into this to make sure that we are covered through his insurance at work if something should happen.

[mdole]

Currently my medical insurance covers accidents on motorcycles, skiing, and other dangerous sports. It even covers me for trials competition events. HMO New Mexico Blue Cross and Blue shield is the insurance carrier I currently have. However their coverage varies as what is covered and the limits are specified contractually with each employer.

But talking with the guys I ride trials with and from what I?ve read in the AMA magazine you had better check because many insurance companies are changing what the cover and are not being very informative about the changes until you need the coverage.

There are some other possibilities for insurance. We get event insurance through the AMA and there are offerings for supplemental health insurance to cover injuries in competition.