Fracture Injuries From a Car Accident

Car crashes can cause many different types of injuries, including fractures. Like any injury incurred in a motor vehicle collision, fractures can range in severity. Sometimes fractures are relatively minor and can heal without surgery, while in other situations, fractures might require multiple surgeries and long-term rehabilitative therapy. Depending upon the severity of the fracture, the injury victim may be unable to work and may have extensive medical costs. If you or someone you love sustained a fracture in a car accident, it is important to learn more about your injury and how to seek compensation for your losses.

As WebMD explains, a fracture is simply the medical term used to describe a broken bone. There are multiple types of fractures, or broken bones, including the following:

• Displaced fractures: This is a type of fracture that refers to how the fractured bone is aligned. With a displaced fracture, the bone “snaps into two or more parts and moved so that the two ends are not lined up straight.” With a displaced fracture where the bone has broken into many pieces, the medical term is called a “comminuted fracture.”
• Non-displaced fractures: Like a displaced fracture, this is also a type of fracture that refers to the alignment of the fractured bone. With a non-displaced fracture, “the bone cracks either part or all of the way through, but does not move and maintains and its proper alignment.”
• Open fractures: An open fracture occurs when the broken bone breaks through the patient’s skin, creating a puncture or an open wound. In some cases, the broken bone breaks through the skin and recedes back into the wound such that the bone itself it not visible. However, anytime a broken bone breaks through the skin, it is important to identify it as an open fracture because there is an increased “risk of a deep bone infection.”
• Closed fractures: Unlike an open fracture, a closed fracture does not puncture the skin or create an open wound.

To be clear, displaced and non-displaced fractures refer to the bone alignment, while open and closed fractures refer to whether or not the broken bone punctured the skin or opened a wound in the skin. Accordingly, a person’s fracture typically will be identified either as displaced or non-displaced, and as open or closed.

Depending upon where the fracture occurred and its severity, a car accident victim may experience a wide range of symptoms associated with a broken bone. A WebMD article identifies the following as signs and symptoms of fractures:

• Swelling around a bone;
• Bruising over a bone;
• Deformity in the area where the bone may be fractured (usually an arm or leg);
• Pain that is worse when the body part is moved or pressure is applied;
• Inability to bear weight on the area, such as a foot, ankle, or leg;
• Loss of function in the area where a fracture is suspected; and
• Bone protruding from the person’s skin (when it is an open fracture).

If you or someone you love suffered a fracture or broken bone injury in a car crash, an auto accident lawyer can discuss your options with you. Contact the Walton Law Firm to learn more about how we can assist you with your case.