Broken bones and fractures are among the most common, yet serious injuries sustained in Lafayette car crashes. These injuries often result in expensive medical bills, especially for more complex fractures requiring surgery, and prolonged recovery periods.
At Galloway Jefcoat, our experienced Lafayette car accident attorneys have extensive experience managing injury cases for crash victims, including those who sustained serious fractures. Our trusted law firm is deeply committed to supporting our clients throughout the legal process and fighting tirelessly to holding at-fault parties accountable for their negligent actions. Call our law offices today to find out we can help and whether you may have a case.
What Are Some Common Types of Bone Fractures After a Crash?
The impact from a car accident is more than enough to cause victims to sustain mild to severe, or even multiple, fractures. Some of the most common types of broken bones resulting from a collision may include:
- Compound Fractures: Where the bone breaks through the skin, creating a high infection risk and requiring immediate medical attention, including surgery.
- Comminuted Fractures: When the bone is fractured in at least two places, requiring surgical repair. These fractures can take as long as a year to fully heal.
- Transverse Fractures: These fractures are unique in that they run horizontally perpendicular to your bone’s axis. This can happen in a car crash when there is a direct impact against the steering wheels or dashboard. Essentially, a transverse break goes all the way through the affected bone.
- Compression Fractures: Forceful compression on the spine during collisions, particularly in rollover accidents, are common. When this type of fracture occurs, it may cause the vertebrae to collapse. This injury is more common to the front of the vertebrae, rather than the back. Over time, this can cause victims to stoop forward.
- Stress Fractures: Small, hairline cracks in the bone that may develop after seemingly minor collisions. These fractures are more common in lower extremities and can worsen over time.
- Greenstick Fractures: This type of fracture is unique in that it is a partial break. The name comes from the way the bone bends on one side of the bone enough to splinter or crack without breaking all the way through. Greenstick breaks are more common in younger children, as their bones are far more flexible than older children and adults.
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What Are the Symptoms of Bone Fractures After a Crash?
Fractures, especially stress fractures that may not be noticeable right after a crash while you are still feeling the effects of adrenalin. Typically, they are diagnosed through an X-ray or other imaging scan that can detect a fracture.
Most bone fractures can be diagnosed when you seek emergent care right after a crash, especially if you inform the treating doctor that you were in a car crash. Smaller fractures that do not pierce the skin might get missed initially, so it is important to watch for these symptoms in the days that follow. These are some common indicators of broken bones:
- Severe Pain: More severe fractures are often accompanied by an intensifying pain when you move or apply pressure to the injured area.
- Visible Deformity: Where the limb or body part appears visibly misshapen or bent at an unusual angle.
- Swelling and Bruising: Around the injury site, swelling and bruising often noticeably develop within minutes to hours after impact.
- Limited Mobility: You might find it difficult or impossible to use the affected body part normally.
- Grinding Sensation: Known medically as crepitus, this grinding sensation may occur with a fracture where broken bone fragments rub against each other.
- Numbness or Tingling: You may experience numbness or tingling in areas below the fracture if there is nerve compression.
- Audible Cracking Sound: When a bone breaks some people may hear an audible sound upon impact.
How Do Broken Bones Impact the Value of an Accident Claim?
Broken bones significantly enhance the value of a car crash claim. When victims sustain fractures in a crash, there is often visible evidence of the injury. Your emergency room visit and medical assessment will be documented in your medical records, linking your injuries to the crash that caused them. Your X-rays and other diagnostics right after your accident also provide objective proof that is tough to dispute.
The financial impact of a bone fracture extends far beyond the initial emergency treatment. Most fractures take weeks to months, or even longer, to fully heal. Many victims may need surgery to repair the damage, followed by a lengthy recovery, and physical therapy. For the most severe fractures, long-term rehabilitation may also be necessary.
Some fractures require additional surgeries in the future, due to secondary complications, and other victims may be left with a lasting disability that affects their ability to work and enjoy life.
At Galloway Jefcoat, we work to maximize your compensation by accurately valuating all economic and non-economic damages in your claim.
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What Medical Expenses Can Be Compensated for Broken Bones?
Broken bones from a car crash result in costly medical bills that extend far beyond your initial emergency room visit. As a victim injured by another driver’s negligence, you may be eligible to recover compensation for these and other medical expenses related to your crash:
- Emergency medical care: Your ambulance transportation, ER evaluation, and immediate stabilization procedures are all compensable.
- Diagnostic imaging: Includes X-rays, CT scans, MRIs and other imaging needed for proper diagnosis and treatment planning of your fractures.
- Surgical interventions: Many crash victims with fractures need surgery to repair them. These procedures are covered, even for more complex fractures that may need plates, screws, or rods.
- Hospital stays: Both your initial treatment and any subsequent complications requiring inpatient care are included in your claim.
- Medication costs: These expenses may include medication prescribed for pain management, infection prevention, and other treatments.
- Physical therapy: Fractures often require weeks to months of physical therapy and rehabilitation to restore strength, mobility, and function.
- Medical devices: Includes casts, splints, braces, crutches, wheelchairs, or specialized equipment.
- Follow-up appointments: Crash victims with fractures require ongoing follow-up care with orthopedic specialists to monitor their healing progress.
- Future procedures: Some injured victims may require additional procedures in the future if secondary complications develop. Surgery to remove hardware or perform additional corrective procedures may also be deemed necessary.
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How Do Insurance Companies Typically Evaluate Broken Bone Claims in Louisiana?
Louisiana insurance companies typically evaluate broken bone claims by focusing on objective medical evidence and the impact on your daily life. They prioritize documentation like X-rays, CT scans, and specialist reports that confirm the fracture’s existence, location, and severity. Adjusters also carefully review treatment recommendations and surgical interventions. Your participation in prescribed medical care is necessary, as missing appointments can be used to possibly deny or lower your claim.
Louisiana’s pure comparative negligence law significantly influences how insurers approach bone fracture claims following accidents. If you are found partially responsible, insurers may reduce your settlement proportionally. This highlights the importance of legal assistance to protect you from false negligence that can be used to devalue your claim.
What Evidence Do I Need To Prove Broken Bones After a Crash?
When you build a broken bone claim, it includes documentation that clearly establishes both the fracture and its direct connection to the crash your Louisiana attorney can help you gather these critical pieces of evidence:
- Diagnostic imaging: X-rays showing the precise fracture line, CT scans revealing bone fragment displacement, and MRIs identifying surrounding soft tissue damage
- Orthopedic Evaluations: Reports detailing fracture classification, bone alignment issues, and healing complications
- Surgical Records: Documentation of bone fragment fixation, hardware installation, or bone grafting procedures
- Bone Density Scans: To counter insurance arguments about pre-existing osteoporosis or bone weakness
- Cast or Immobilization Documentation: Medical records showing required stabilization methods and duration
- Physical Therapy Assessments: Measuring range of motion limitations, loss of strength, and functional impairments
- Post-healing Imaging: X-rays demonstrating how the bone healed, including any permanent deformities
- Bone-Specific Medication Records: Prescriptions for specialized bone healing medications or pain management
- Orthopedic Device Documentation: Records of required crutches, braces, or specialized fracture equipment
When Should You Contact a Lafayette Attorney for a Broken Bone Injury Claim?
You should contact a Galloway Jefcoat attorney immediately after receiving medical treatment for your broken bone injury, ideally within days of your accident. Early legal intervention allows your attorney to preserve critical evidence before it disappears.
Additionally, Louisiana’s two-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims means waiting too long could permanently bar your right to compensation.
If you face pressure from insurance companies to take a quick settlement, we strongly recommend having an experienced attorney review this offer before agreeing to anything.
Injured In a Car Accident? Contact Our Trusted Law Firm Today
A broken bone resulting from a car accident can devastate your finances, career, and quality of life.
At Galloway Jefcoat, our dedicated car accident attorneys have secured favorable results for countless victims throughout Lafayette. We understand the complex nature of fracture cases and fight aggressively to recover every dollar you are entitled to receive.
You do not have to face this challenging time alone. Contact our office today or complete our consultation form to have a lawyer contact you shortly.
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