Accidents can occur unexpectedly, and one typical injury is bone fractures. Dealing with a severely broken bone can be financially, emotionally, and physically challenging. If you sustained the injury due to another person’s negligence, you must understand your legal options and rights to ensure you receive the maximum compensation you deserve. In this blog post, you will learn more about severe bone fractures and seek compensation from the defendant.

What is a Bone Fracture?

A fracture occurs when there is a crack or break in a bone. The fracture can be complete or partial.

A bone could fracture in various ways. For instance, a closed bone fracture occurs if a crack in your bone neither tears via the skin nor damages nearby tissue.

On the other hand, a compound bone fracture occurs if the break in the bone harms nearby tissues and penetrates your skin. Typically, these fractures are more severe than minor fractures due to the potential risk of infections.

Types of Bone Fractures

There are different types of bone fractures, including the following:

  • Comminuted fractures — The impact crushes the bone into many fragments.
  • Avulsion fracture — A ligament or muscle pulls on your bone, breaking it.
  • Hairline fracture — This type of fracture is a minor, partial bone fracture.
  • Fracture dislocation occurs when a joint dislocates following a bone joint fracture.
  • Crush, compression, or fracture — The fracture occurs around your spine’s spongy bone.
  • Impacted fracture — It entails a bone fragment impacting another bone after a fracture.
  • Stress fracture — Repeated strain or stress may fracture a bone. It is common among athletes.
  • Longitudinal fracture — The fracture occurs when it extends along the length of your bone.
  • Greenstick fracture — The bone partially breaks on one side but not entirely. Please note that the rest of your bone can bend.
  • Pathological fracture — You are more likely to suffer from this fracture if you have an underlying medical condition that weakens your bone.
  • Oblique fracture — The fracture happens opposite to your bone’s long axis.
  • Intra-articular — It occurs when a fracture extends into the surface of a joint.
  • Spiral fracture — The fracture occurs when your bone twists during a breakage.
  • Transverse fracture — It involves a straight break that occurs across your bone.

Bone Fracture Symptoms

While bone fracture symptoms may differ with each individual, common signs include the following:

  • Trouble moving or using the injured area or surrounding joints
  • Sudden pain
  • Swelling
  • Inability to bear weight
  • Warmth, redness, or bruising
  • Obvious deformity

The signs of a fractured bone can seem like other health challenges, making it essential to consult your healthcare provider for a comprehensive diagnosis.

What Causes Bone Fractures

Numerous factors cause bone fractures. They include the following:

  • Car accidents
  • Trauma
  • Direct blow
  • Falling from an elevated height
  • Repetitive motions or overuse can tire your muscles, putting more pressure on your bones and causing fractures.
  • Health conditions like cancer in the bones or osteoporosis weaken the bone, increasing the risk of a bone fracture.

Complications of a Broken Leg

These complications can include the following:

  • Ankle or knee pain
  • Osteomyelitis (bone infections) — If your broken bones are cut via the skin and cause wounds, the open fractures could be exposed to germs that can result in infections.
  • Delayed or poor recovery — A severe fracture might not recover entirely or quickly. It is common in open tibia fractures due to reduced blood flow to the bone.
  • Blood vessel or nerve damage
  • Compartment syndrome — High-impact injuries like traffic-related collisions commonly cause this condition. It causes swelling, muscle disability near the fractured bones, and pain.
  • Arthritis — Fractures extending into poor bone and joint alignment can cause arthritis years later.
  • Unequal leg length — A baby’s long bones grow from the ends of the bones in soft regions known as plates. If the growth plate is fractured, the limb might become longer or shorter than the other limb.

Some of these complications can have severe consequences, like amputation or loss of use of a limb. These complications can only be apparent until the recovery process. Therefore, it is vital to take all types of bone fractures seriously.

When filing a personal injury claim after sustaining a broken bone injury, it is wise to consider various potential complications when determining your compensation amount.

Don'ts After Suffering from a Bone Fracture

You should not do the following after suffering from a bone fracture caused by another person’s negligence to increase your chances of receiving maximum compensation:

  • Move unless the broken bone is stable
  • Attempt to reposition a suspected spinal injury
  • Test the bone’s ability to move
  • Try to straighten the bone or modify its position unless there are signs of hampered blood circulation and no professional medical personnel is nearby.
  • Move an individual with an injured hip, pelvis, or upper leg unless necessary. If you must move the individual, pull them to safety by their clothes, like by the shoulders of pant legs, shirt, or a belt.

The No-Fault Laws in Florida Do Not Absolve a Driver From Liability

The legislature created no-fault laws tailored to lower litigation since courts are overburdened with personal injury cases from traffic-related accidents. The regulation requires every motorist to have personal injury protection (PIP) insurance coverage, guaranteeing compensation irrespective of the liable party.

The law has a medical threshold for receiving compensation. In other words, your bone fracture injury should satisfy specific qualifications before you can file a personal injury claim against the negligent party. You should file your claim against your personal injury protection provider if the injury does not qualify. 

No-fault rules only work to ensure that those involved in the vehicle accident are provided adequate emergency medical care. It does not prevent you from proving the defendant’s fault or suing for damages, especially if you suffered serious broken bone injuries.

The personal injury regulations define severe injuries as physical harm that is characterized as any of the following:

  • Substantial and long-term disfigurement or scarring
  • Permanent
  • Substantial and long-term loss of bodily functions
  • Caused death

If you, or anyone you know, suffers bone fracture injuries that are eligible under one or more of these descriptions, you should consult a personal injury attorney immediately.

Statutes of Limitation

Florida has a statute of limitations stating the stipulated time for filing a claim. You should file your case within two years of your accident.

If you miss the deadline and there are no available exemptions, your case is dead. If you file a claim, the judge will dismiss it. The court could even penalize (sanction) you.

SOL Exceptions 

Some of the circumstances that can result in an extension include the following:

  • You are lawfully disabled — A legally disabled person (minor and those the court considers insane) has seven years from the date of their injury to file their claim.
  • The liable party goes into hiding or leaves the state.
  • Discovery rule — Sometimes, you do not know you have sustained a severe broken bone injury. In that case, it would be unfair if your filing time starts ticking away. The law gives you more time to file to address the situation. The clock begins ticking on the date you learn of your injuries or the date you should have learned of them.

Modified Comparative Negligence Law

Florida’s personal injury law functions under the regulations of modified comparative negligence. You cannot qualify for any damages or compensation if you are more than fifty percent accountable for your severe bone fracture injury.

If the judge or jury determines you are at fault less than fifty percent, your likelihood for compensation decreases by that amount. For instance, suppose you suffered a bone fracture in a car crash, and you are twenty percent liable for the collision. In that case, the judge will reduce your compensation amount by 20 percent.

Handling this facet in a personal injury claim can be challenging. Therefore, you need an aggressive and experienced lawyer who can identify faults, fight false assertions, and defend your right to receive the compensation you need and deserve.

Why You Need Skilled Legal Representation

Personal injury laws and processes can be complicated and challenging to comprehend without the assistance of legal counsel. An experienced and proven lawyer can help you in the following ways:

  • Determining your claim’s validity
  • Gathering evidence
  • Negotiating with insurers
  • Hiring professional expert witnesses
  • Safeguarding your legal rights
  • Submitting relevant paperwork on time
  • Maximizing the compensation amount
  • Taking your legal matter to trial if necessary

While you can bring your personal injury claim without legal assistance, it can result in denials, intimidation by insurance firms, and subpar settlement agreements. Legal counsel representation allows you to focus on healing mentally and physically following an accident. Allow your lawyer to pay attention to obtaining the most favorable case outcome.

Legal Counsel Works on a Contingency Fee Basis

Personal injury attorneys receive fees from the agreed percentage of the damages awarded if your case is successful. If the client’s case is unsuccessful, the lawyers do not receive any payment.

The contingency fee basis makes filing a personal injury case easy, meaning you will not be required to pay an upfront fee. The lawyers you retain to represent you will also base their evaluation on merit. For example, is the case winnable?

The contingency fee basis also helps you secure an incredibly accurate evaluation of your case's viability from the very start. A plaintiff lawyer has no reason to persuade you to pursue a weak case.

Damages Recoverable in Personal Injury Claims

Before you can receive compensation for your severe bone fracture injuries, you must prove the following elements of negligence:

  • Duty of care — The defendant was legally supposed to avoid your injury. For instance, all motorists owe other road users a duty of care when driving. This means that they should drive cautiously and comply with traffic laws.
  • Breach of duty
  • Causation — You should prove there is a relationship between the defendant’s conduct and your broken bones injury.
  • Damages — The injury resulted in financial losses.

Some of the pieces of proof you can use to establish negligence include the following:

  • Medical records
  • Photos of the injury and accident
  • Police reports
  • Surveillance footage
  • Accident debris and physical data
  • Witnesses’ testimony
  • Expert witness’s testimony  
  • The recoverable damages in a car accident include the following:

You should not incur losses after suffering injuries due to another person’s negligence. Instead, you should pursue compensation for the non-economic damages and economic damages below:

Loss of Income

When filing a personal injury claim, you can include any loss of income you incurred if you have missed time from work due to injuries. Loss of income can be wages, salaries, bonuses, commissions, benefits, and other types of income.

However, you must have evidence of your loss of income and proof of income before the accident. You can request your employer to provide copies of your pay history and a statement of missed work time.

Medical Costs

The medical costs could be expensive based on the nature of your injuries. You should include all reasonable medical treatment costs in the personal injury claim. These medical costs could consist of:

  • Surgeries
  • Doctor’s bills
  • Ambulance transportation
  • Emergency room and hospital costs
  • Personal care or in-home health care
  • Therapy and counseling for depression, PTSD, anxiety and other psychological issues
  • Medical devices, medications and medical supplies
  • Physical therapy and other types of therapy, like occupational and vocational therapy

Although your medical records will contain some documentation to show medical expenses, you should safely keep all receipts for over-the-counter medications or supplies to ensure you receive reimbursement for every medical expense.

Pain and Suffering

These damages compensate for chronic and physical pain, immobility, disfigurement, emotional distress, reduced quality of life, and scarring.

Wrongful Death

If your loved one succumbed to the injury, you, their executor (personal representative), can take legal action to recover compensation on behalf of the deceased’s estate and surviving beneficiaries. The compensation can include burial expenses, loss of income, loss of the deceased's support and services, and medical bills.

Contact a Personal Injury Attorney Near Me

While most people break a bone at some point and heal without complications, some fractures can be severe. A severe injury can result in extended recovery, giving up employment, and the need for costly adaptations. You could qualify for compensation if another person’s negligence caused your injury. The legal team at Jacksonville Personal Injury Attorney can analyze your claim and answer your questions during a free case review. If your claim is valid, we can advise you of your rights and aggressively fight for your compensation. Please contact us at 904-800-7557 to schedule your initial consultation.