Fracture Guide
Fractures can range from a minor crack in a bone to bones sticking out of the skin or crush injuries, where the bone is mashed up inside the skin. Simple fractures usually recover within between 3 and 6 months. More serious fractures can give rise to extensive medical treatment and may lead to shortening of a limb or amputation. Crush fractures can lead to severe internal damage and infection. Fractures involving joints can cause early onset arthritis and a need to fuse the joint in future.
While you are receiving medical treatment who is providing for your family or making sure your mortgage and bills are still being paid? It is important that you instruct a solicitor as soon as possible. There is usually a fixed amount of time it takes to arrange rehabilitation treatment or obtain an interim payment, so any delay will only put this back. Most people are also unaware that you have an absolute entitlement to obtain private treatment and claim it back off the person who caused the accident, so wait for treatment on the NHS instead.
High value claims usually arise from the impact the injury has on you and your life, as opposed to the injury itself. If you lose your livelihood as a result of an accident the value of the claim increases dramatically.
What to look for
There are different types and grades of fracture, with the bone being broken either completely or partially. Fractures where the bone sticks out of the skin are known as compound or open fractures and are pretty obvious. However simple fractures where the bone is not split can be harder to diagnose. Also fractures to the ribs are rarely checked or x-rayed due to the fact that there is little that can be done other than to leave them to heal with time. Most fractures may be associated with bruising and very simple fractures are easy to confuse with soft tissue injuries.
Accidents often result in multiple fractures to the same limb, known as comminuted fractures, or crush fractures. These can have a much more serious long-term effect and in severe cases can lead to amputation.
Where fractures extend all the way down a limb it is not a simple question of adding up the award for each injury as the effect of the injuries will overlap. In short, if you break the same leg in 2 places the effect on you may be the same as only breaking it in 1 (i.e. you cannot walk!).
Spinal fractures spine are the most serious and are looked at within catastrophic injuries.
How much?
Example guideline awards for fractures are as follows:
| 1 | Fractured clavicle | £3,250 to £7,750 |
| 2 | Smashed pelvis | £25,000 to £83,500 |
| 3 | Simple fracture to the forearm | £4,250 to £12,250 |
| 4 | Colles fracture to the wrist | c. £4,750 |
| 5 | Leg fracture with incomplete recovery | £11,500 to £17,750 |
| 6 | Severe injury to the knee | £44,500 to £61,500 |
Conclusion
Fractures can range from relatively minor injuries to life changing events. The valuation of the injuries is often linked to assessing other losses, which can be considerable. Never trust an insurance company to pay you proper compensation. Obtain sound legal advice. Call us.
