Being in an accident that causes you to suffer a broken bone can have a significant impact on your life. While your fractured bone will probably heal overtime, you may not be able to work while it heals. In addition, you may have to undergo time-consuming and painful physical therapy. If you get a broken bone because of someone’s negligence, you need a bone fracture lawyer.
WHAT TYPE OF FRACTURED BONE INJURY DID YOU SUFFER?
Treatment for broken bones (broken and fracture mean the same thing and are used interchangeably) can mean surgery, bone grafts, casts and physical therapy. We handle claims involving all types of injuries involving bone fractures and compound fracture injuries, including those to the neck, back, lower and upper extremities.
Additionally, broken bones can also come with tears or detachments of ligaments and tendons from bones.
Lastly, such injuries can also include torn cartilages, such as meniscus or rotator cuffs.
WHAT TYPES OF ACCIDENTS CAUSE BROKEN BONES INJURIES?
There are all types of accidents that may cause broken bone injuries.
Car and truck accidents, motorcycle and bicycle accidents lead to broken bone injuries. Slip and fall accidents and dog bites cause fractured bones.
Indeed, in almost any accident that a person can get injured could lead to broken bone injuries.
THERE ARE SEVERAL TYPES OF FRACTURES RECOGNIZED BY MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS
In general, we separate fractured bones into different categories:
Stable fracture
This is where the fracture occurs and the bones barely move out of place.
Displaced fracture
This type of fracture occurs when the ends of the bone at the break point do not line up with one another.
Oblique fracture
An oblique fracture is one in which the bones break at an angle.
Transverse fracture
This type of fracture occurs when the bones do not line up and are incredibly unstable.
Spiral fracture
A spiral fracture occurs when there is a twisting force involved. In fact, spiral fractures occur in cases of physical abuse or slip and fall accidents.
Open fracture
These types of fractures occur when the bone breaks through the skin. This can lead to additional complications, including bleeding and the possibility of infections.
Regardless of the type of broken bone, it is important to understand that medical care is needed.
In fact, broken bones can take weeks or months to properly heal. Consequently, fractured bones injuries can have a significant impact on a person’s quality of life.
WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IF YOU ARE IN AN ACCIDENT THAT CAUSES YOU TO SUFFER A BROKEN BONE INJURY?
If the negligent actions of someone caused you to suffer a fractured bone, there are several steps you should take. These actions can help make sure you recover the compensation you deserve.
For instance, it is crucial that you seek medical care if an accident causes an injury to you. Remember, the initial severity of an injury may not be immediately apparent. In fact, symptoms of a serious injury can take hours or days to appear.
If you can do so safely, take photographs of the accident scene. If it was a car accident, get pictures of the roadway and damages to the cars involved in the accident.
Additionally, if there were any eyewitnesses, get their names and contact information.
Depending on how the accident occurred, you need to report the incident to the authorities. For example, report a car accident to the police.
Likewise, if you are in a slip and fall accident, report the accident to the property owner or manager.
Contact a personal injury attorney as soon as possible. The sooner a bone fracture lawyer gets involved, the more likely you will recover full compensation for your losses.
It is important to understand that there are time limits involved when filing these cases in court. Every state has a personal injury statute of limitations. That is, a lawsuit has to be filed within a specified time. If the injured person does not file the personal injury suit in the time allowed, they cannot recover any compensation for their losses.
Notwithstanding the above, it is important to get personal injury attorneys involved in your case as soon as possible. For instance, evidence has to be persevered. Your bone injury lawyer needs to identify at-fault parties.
As another example, skill witnesses may have to be hired to reconstruct accident scenes or insect cars or trucks involved in a motor vehicle accident.
Likewise, investigators may have to locate witnesses or take pictures of a construction site accident scene.
Consequently, the sooner you hire a personal injury lawyer, the sooner he/she can build your case to get you the compensation for your injury you deserve.
Lastly, you need to continue all medical treatments recommended by your doctors until they say you have reached maximum medical improvement.
Discontinuing care before this point could cause the insurance companies to undervalue or deny your claim.
WHAT ARE MY DAMAGES IN A FRACTURED BONE INJURY CASE?
There are multiple damage claims victims can make in broken bone personal injury cases:
Medical expenses
You may seek compensation to recover the costs of the medical care given to you (even those for which insurance paid).
Lost wages
As part of your fractured bone claim, you may recover the wages you lost because you had to miss work because of the accident that gave you the broken bone.
Pain and suffering
This type of damage is subjective. Nonetheless, it is widely recognized in personal injury law. As a result, you can tell the jury how badly your broken leg hurts you.
In addition, you can tell the jury how you got physical therapy for weeks and you still have pain and stiffness in your leg. That is pain and suffering.
Disability
Furthermore, you can tell the jury about the long-term injuries you have and how they affect you. Perhaps you work in a warehouse and are required to lift or move boxes and other bulky items. But the residual pain and discomfort from your broken shoulder interferes with that. You can tell that to the jury about.
Future medical treatment
If you suffered a compound fracture of a limb, you may need medical and physical therapy treatment for the foreseeable future. You (and your doctor) can tell the jury about your expected future treatment.
IF SOMEONE’S NEGLIGENCE CAUSED YOU A BROKEN BONES INJURY, YOU NEED A BONE FRACTURE LAWYER
If someone’s negligence caused a broken bone injury to you, a close friend or a loved one, you need an experienced broken bone injury attorney. First, we will investigate the incident in which you were injured. Next, we will determine who caused the accident. Lastly, we will fight to get you the compensation you deserve for your personal injury claims.
Therefore, contact us at our Hammond office at (219) 200-2000 or online at alexmendozalaw.com for an initial free consultation.