I went through this just a few weeks ago. Didn't tear my legs up, just bounced my head off the pavement (thank goodness for new helmet!) and got mega-bruises. I did as Singletrack mind suggested and as I had read about (but unfortunately forgot until I'd already banged myself up) and loosened the tension on my pedals. That's all it took. I love clipless now. I've had some near misses when unclipping with only one foot (I am right handed, tend to unclip left at stops) but on this forum somewhere I learned to turn the handlebars slightly in the direction of where you're unclipping (left for me) as this helps avoid the problem you describe.

Good luck. Don't give up. Try loosening the tension and riding around a big parking lot. You can do it! You have plenty of company, as you'll see if you do a search on "clipless" in this forum. Hope your boo-boos heal soon.