Car accidents or slip and fall accidents are common causes of broken bones. Even a simple fracture can cost thousands of dollars in medical bills. For instance, the actual medical cost to x-ray, set and cast a broken leg is more than $10,000, according to the Health Leadership Council. That injury could cost thousands more if surgery is needed.
When your injury is caused by another person, our court system allows you to recover your medical bills and other expenses from that person. That’s where a Bethesda accident lawyer can help.
Attorney Bruce A. Blaylock is a veteran personal injury attorney who for more than three decades has helped injured individuals. He is dedicated to helping people like you obtain financial recovery for their medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
Bone Fracture Categories
The severity of a bone fracture usually depends on the force of the trauma that causes the break. Broken bones can cause intense pain, swelling, bleeding, tenderness, limited mobility, and inability to move a limb.
Bone fractures occur in a variety of ways:
- Open fractures: A bone sticks through the skin, or the trauma that caused the break also penetrates the skin down to the broken bone. This is a particularly serious type of fracture because of the increased risk of infection in the bone or wound, or both.
- Stable fractures: The broken ends of the bone line up and are only slightly out of place.
- Transverse fractures: The fracture line is horizontal.
- Oblique fractures: The fracture line is at an angle.
- Comminuted fractures: The bone shatters in three or more pieces.
Treating Broken Bones
The essential goal of treating a bone fracture is putting back in place the broken pieces of the bone, and preventing them from moving out of place until they are healed. Broken bones heal by “knitting” back together with new bone forming at the edges of the break.
A plaster or fiberglass cast is often placed over the area of the break to immobilize the fracture, or a functional cast or brace is used to allow limited or controlled movement of nearby joints.
Surgery is sometimes required to effectively treat a broken bone. Some fractures require metal pins or screws above and below the fracture to hold the bone in place. An open reduction and internal fixation is sometimes undertaken where the bone fragments are repositioned (reduced) in a normal alignment, and then held together with screws or by attaching metal plates to the outer surface of the bone.
A bone graft (replacing missing bone) may be necessary if a substantial portion of the bone has been lost, especially if a gap is between the ends of the broken bone.
How Attorney Bruce A. Blaylock Can Help
Mr. Blaylock knows how to build strong legal cases and take cases to trial if necessary. Mr. Blaylock is able to settle over 85 percent of his personal injury cases without ever having to file a lawsuit, in part because he only handles cases that have legal merit. Insurance companies know this.
If you have suffered a bone fracture and other injuries in an accident, it’s in your best interest to take immediate steps to assess your legal rights. Attorney Blaylock is prepared to meet with you to discuss your potential claim.
Contact attorney Bruce A. Blaylocktoday at 301-951-1800. Your initial consultation is always free.