We probably all know at least one person who has broken a bone at some point in their life. A broken bone can happen in many accidents, from a slip and fall to a car accident. But while it’s a common injury, it still requires emergency care, and it can take people many months to fully recover. Because of this, breaking a bone can take a severe physical and financial toll.
If you’ve broken a bone in an accident in McAllen or the Rio Grande Valley that was someone else’s fault, you may be entitled to compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, and more. Our broken bone lawyers in McAllen are dedicated to helping accident victims get a fair settlement so that they can put their accident behind them and focus on their recovery.
Broken bones can happen in a wide variety of situations, from falling over while playing a sport to an innocent slip. Some people break their bones after only the slightest impact if they have a condition like osteoporosis, making the bones particularly brittle and vulnerable. However, others break a bone in an accident that wasn’t their fault, such as tripping on a loose tile at work or being rear-ended by a distracted driver. In these cases, you may be able to sue the other party for compensation — if you can prove that they were negligent or reckless.
A broken bone settlement can be sizable, depending on your unique circumstances. If you break a bone at work due to a work-related accident and your employer has workers’ compensation insurance, you can file a workers’ compensation claim. With this type of claim, you won’t have to prove that your employer was negligent — just that the injury happened at work — but your settlement will cover only your medical expenses and lost earnings.
If your employer doesn’t have workers’ comp, or if you break a bone in any other accident, you may be able to file a personal injury claim. This claim can be more challenging, as you have to prove the other party was negligent, but the settlement you could receive may be more substantial. If your injury ends up affecting your ability to go back to work and you can no longer perform the same role, or if your injury causes significant pain, suffering, and mental anguish, you may be awarded a higher payout.
There are many different ways someone can break a bone, but some of the most common include:
If you’ve been injured in any type of accident that wasn’t your fault, your first step should always be to seek medical treatment, even if you think you’ve only suffered a “minor” injury. What you feel is a sprain could be a fracture, and if the break doesn’t heal properly, you could develop an infection, or the bone might be misaligned, causing you problems later on. If you decide to file a lawsuit with the help of a McAllen personal injury lawyer, your medical records will go a long way toward proving your injuries.
There are four types of bone fractures. If you break a bone, it’s essential to know which type you have, as it’ll determine what treatment you need.
A closed fracture, also called a simple fracture, is when the broken bone stays within the body and does not push into or out of the skin. This type of fracture doesn’t carry the same risk of infection as open fractures, but it still requires immediate treatment. Closed fractures can cause blisters in the surrounding tissue, which can develop as soon as two days after the injury if not treated.
An open or compound fracture causes a break in the skin. This might fully puncture the skin and cause bleeding, which increases the risk of infection. An open fracture should be cleaned immediately by a medical professional and closed with stitches. This type of break often requires surgery to remove the diseased tissue and implant screws into the bone to support it while it heals.
A partial fracture, sometimes called an incomplete fracture, happens when the break doesn’t go all the way through the bone. This tends to cause the opposite part of the bone to bend. As the bone doesn’t separate into two, this is the least severe type of fracture, but an X-ray is still required to determine whether you need a splint or a cast.
A complete fracture is when the bone breaks into two or more pieces. A complete fracture might be transverse, where the break is straight across the bone; longitudinal, or along the axis of the bone; or comminuted, where the bone breaks into more than two pieces. The classification of the complete fracture will determine your treatment, but surgery is likely needed to realign and set the fractured bone.
If you break a finger or a toe, you can go to an urgent care clinic, where your broken bone will be treated as a minor injury. But not all bone breaks are equal.
A broken neck or back could cause permanent disability, while a compound fracture could get infected and is considered a medical emergency. But even the most “minor” of breaks have weighty consequences.
Beyond the immediate pain and discomfort of a broken bone, these injuries can affect a person’s life in multiple ways until the fracture is fully healed. Some of the common concerns associated with broken bones include:
If you’ve suffered this type of injury because of someone else’s negligence, a broken bone lawyer may be able to help you claim compensation.
A bone fracture may leave you and your household with considerable financial concerns due to overwhelming medical bills and lost income during recovery. However, you may be entitled to seek compensation for your losses. For more information about how we can help you prepare a personal injury claim, contact our McAllen broken bone injury lawyers by calling 855-LAW-NINJA today.
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