New Hampshire Attorneys Discuss Bone Fractures Caused By Car Accidents
If you’ve been involved in an auto accident in New Hampshire, you are at risk of several serious injuries. One common injury sustained is a bone fracture.
The types of accidents that can most commonly result in broken bones include, but are not limited to:
- T-bone/side-impact accidents: Your driver’s side door doesn’t offer very much protection from a T-bone accident. You are likely to sustain fractures to your hips, pelvis, arm, ribs, or femur.
- Head-on collisions: Much of the impact from a head-on may be absorbed by your vehicle’s front-end. Your seatbelt and airbag may offer additional protection. But your body is still likely to be impacted. Contact with your seatbelt can result in a broken collarbone or broken ribs. Depending on the severity of impact, you may sustain broken legs or other fractures as the cab is partially crushed.
- Rollover accidents: Any bone in the body can be damaged by a rollover accident, especially at a high speed. In many cases, vehicle occupants are ejected or crushed inside.
Common bone fractures
Identifying a bone fracture immediately after an accident may be surprisingly difficult. In some cases, the shock of being in a crash can have a numbing effect on your body. If the fracture is small enough, you may not immediately discover it. However, a bone fracture may manifest through swelling, bruising, and pain to the affected area.
Severe fractures are easier to identify, although there may be an initial period of shock. Bone pain can be incredibly severe.
According to Very Well Health, the most common bone fractures include:
- Simple fracture – a break in one place without affecting surrounding tissue
- Closed fracture – a complete break that doesn’t puncture the skin
- Comminuted fracture – a break with multiple fractures
- Compound fracture – a complete break that punctures the skin
- Oblique fracture – a break along the long axis of a bone
- Undisplaced fracture – a break in which the bone stays in alignment
- Displaced fracture – a break in which the bone is out of alignment
- Transverse fracture – a break along a right-angle axis of a bone
- Greenstick fracture – a break on one side of a bone that causes a bend in the other side
Recovering from a fracture after an auto accident
Bone fractures are often viewed as relatively minor injuries, albeit with a fairly long recovery time. However, they can be more severe than you think. Fractures around the ribs, chest, pelvis, and hips can affect internal organs and lead to life-threatening injuries. If not treated correctly, fractures could heal out of alignment, resulting in a lifelong bone deformity.
Recovering from a bone fracture requires more than just throwing on a cast for six weeks and letting it heal. You may have to undergo months of physical therapy and exercise to rebuild lost muscle tissue and regain mobility in your joints and ligaments. Depending on the nature of your job and the type of injury, even a relatively minor fracture can leave you out of work or on “light duty” for months, potentially causing a massive loss of income.
Additionally, the medical procedures – including casting, X-rays, surgery, and pain medication – can be expensive. If you’re unable to work during your recovery, you may be wondering how your bills will be paid.
That’s why it’s crucial that you seek medical help right away – and then promptly speak to an experienced New Hampshire car accident attorney. The legal team at Burns, Bryant, Cox, Rockefeller & Durkin, P.A. have a history of successfully handling cases like yours, such as a $505,000 settlement for pedestrian who sustained a leg fracture, and a $499,000 settlement for a motorist who sustained a fractured pelvis in a head-on collision. To learn more, contact us today.
