Fracture and Broken Bone Claim Solicitors
It’s a lucky person who goes through their life without suffering a broken bone injury. Anyone who has broken even a toe or finger will know just what a painful injury it is.
The more serious broken bone injuries’ have a considerable effect on the injured person’s life. The most severe cases of bone injury, such as a fractured skull, or broken spine, can result in life-changing injuries. Many serious injury claims are started by accident victims who have suffered complex broken bone injuries.
What is the difference between a fracture injury and a broken bone injury?
Surprisingly, there is no difference between the two terms – a fracture and a broken bone- are the same. It’s perhaps common to think of a fracture as a ‘crack’ in the bone. It’s not the case, as the image below of various types of bone fracture illustrates:
Bones break or fracture for a variety of reasons, such as when:
• Excessive force is applied to a bone, causing it to break
• Wear and tear on the bone causes it to fracture (as in a stress fracture, an injury many athletes suffer)
• A weakening of the bones causes a break or fracture – more commonplace in older people.
When can I make a broken bone claim?
You can claim compensation for a broken bone if:
- You break the bone as a result of your involvement in an accident
- The accident was not your fault, but
- It was the fault of another person or organisation. In other words, the other person or organisation (‘the Third Party’) was negligent, and
- Their negligence was the cause of the broken bone injury
In most cases, you must start your broken bone compensation claim within three years of the accident that caused the injury.
What can you claim for in a broken bone injury compensation claim?
Your claim will consist of one for general damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity. ‘Loss of amenity’ refers to the effect the injury has had on your day to day life.
In addition, your claim may also include some of the following :
- Loss of earnings – if you have been unable to work because of the injuries you suffered in the accident
- Future loss of earnings – if you are unlikely to be able to work for the immediate or long term future
- Cost of private medical treatment
- Travel expenses
- Costs of rehabilitation services
- In the case of injuries involving severe broken bone injuries, the cost of employing carers
- Costs of adapting a vehicle to enable you to drive it despite your injuries
- In some cases, the cost of making alterations to your home,
When can you claim compensation for a fracture or broken bone injury?
Broken bone injuries resulting from accidents happen in so many ways that it’s impossible to list them all. Any accident could result in anyone involved sustaining a bone fracture injury.
The list below is by no means complete:
- Road Traffic Accidents
- Car accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Cycling accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Accidents at work (where there has been a breach of health and safety regulations and an employer’s duty of care)
- Falls from height
- A falling object from a height
- Forklift truck accident
- Trip, slip and fall accidents
- Sports injuries
- Accidents in public places
What types of fractured/broken bone injuries result from non-fault accidents?
There are 206 bones in the human body, and potentially any of them could get broken in an accident. Here are some of the more common types of broken bone injury claims we are asked to deal with:
- Broken Arm
- Broken Ankle
- Broken Foot
- Fractured Skull
- Broken kneecap
- Broken Collarbone
- Fractured Cheekbone
- Broken Arm
- Broken Leg
- Broken or Cracked Ribs
- Fractured or Broken Spine
How are broken bone injuries treated?
First, the broken bone needs immobilising, and this will be done utilising a splint, a plaster cast or a rod.
Misaligned bones may need to be put back into place. During this procedure, the injured person will be provided with a local anaesthetic to numb the injury site. In more severe cases, the patient will be given a general anaesthetic.
The re-alignment procedure is known as ‘reduction’. Once the procedure has been done, a plaster cast is customarily used to hold the bone in place.
Orthopaedic surgery is required in the case of severe fractures, where bones may be completely broken in two or more pieces. Surgical intervention is also required in the case of a compound fracture e.g where the broken bone pierces the skin
Medical negligence claims and broken bone injuries
There are times when it’s entirely evident that someone has suffered a broken bone injury due to an accident. For example, compound fractures and misaligned bones show that someone has suffered a broken or fractured bone.
Not all broken or fractured bone injuries may be so easy to spot. For instance, a badly sprained and swollen ankle will still cause the victim severe pain, which is why X-rays are used to identify broken bones.
There are occasions when medical professionals fail to diagnose that an accident victim has suffered a fracture correctly. Mistakes of this kind happen for several reasons:
- A doctor diagnosing a broken ankle as merely a sprain
- Medical professionals failing to spot a break or fracture on an X-ray
- A poorly taken X-Ray that doesn’t show the fracture site.
The consequences of a medical professional misdiagnosing a broken bone injury can cause serious complications, such as disfigurement, disability or severe infection.
When mistakes like this are made the injured person may have a claim for clinical negligence against the doctor concerned.
How much compensation will I get for broken bone compensation?
The amount of compensation you will receive for a broken bone injury depends on the type of bone broken, and the value of the claim also depends on the severity of the injury.
When the time is right, your personal injury solicitor will advise you how much they think your injury is worth. They will do so only after receiving the medical report(s) on the particular injury they have suffered.
Check out our interactive personal injury compensation calculator to get some idea of what various types of injury claims might be worth.
Mooneerams expert personal injury solicitors will ensure that the amount of compensation you receive will be the maximum possible amount and that your compensation reflects the pain and suffering you have had to endure.
Call Mooneerams now on 029 2048 3615 and speak to one of our expert personal injury lawyers.
Can Mooneerams handle spinal injury claims?
Moonerams are award-winning personal injury solicitors. We ONLY deal with personal injury claims and ONLY for claimants, the victims of accidents, and we never act for insurance companies in defending claims.
Spine injuries are some of the most catastrophic injuries an accident victim can suffer. Mooneerams specialism in personal injury claims means we are equipped to handle the most serious cases.
Mooneerams Director Angus Fergusson has well over 20 years experience of in dealing with serious and complex injury claims.
Angus has a wealth of knowledge and practical experience in dealing with severe injuries, including spinal injury claims.
In cases where the injury is significantly life-changing, the time frame for receiving the entire settlement can be a long one. In those circumstances, we endeavour to secure interim payments (payments on account) to help ease the financial burden at a difficult time.
Mooneerams ethos is straightforward; put our clients’ interests first, every time.
As specialist personal injury lawyers, we have a wealth of experience in dealing with injury compensation claims. We pride ourselves on delivering quality of legal service, that is unrivalled.
Seek Expert Fracture and Broken Bone Legal Advice
Call our serious injury claims team on 029 2048 3615 to discuss the possibility of making a broken bone injury claim.
If you prefer, you can complete our online enquiry form, and we’ll call you back at a convenient time for you.
Mooneerams Solicitors usually handle broken bone claims on a no win, no fee basis. If your claim isn’t successful, you won’t pay any legal fees, either to us or your opponent.
