Broken bones can be excruciatingly painful and can keep people from even exiting their vehicle after a crash. However, when compared with a traumatic brain injury that leaves someone in a coma or a spinal cord injury that leaves them unable to walk or use their arms, a broken bone is a less severe crash injury.
The broken bones possible in a motor vehicle collision can lead to straightforward medical treatment but recovery can also become a complicated situation quickly. What are some of the more serious ways a broken bone could affect your life?
You could miss out on several months of work
If you break your leg and work in an office, you will likely only miss a few days of work, if that, after a car crash. However, if you are a construction professional or work as a custodian, you need to have full use of all of your limbs to perform your job.
You will likely need to take time off of work for the eight to 12 weeks that it takes on average for your body to heal the broken bone. You may also need a few more weeks after that to undergo physical therapy or occupational therapy so that you can regain lost function, strength and range of motion. Given that most people don’t have enough in savings to cover three or four months of household expenses, that time off of work can be a serious concern.
The break itself could require extensive treatment
Not every broken bone is the same. Some of them are far worse than others. For example, comminuted fractures involve the bone breaking into multiple, small pieces. In extreme cases, doctors may not be able to set those broken pieces without surgery. Some people even require implanted medical devices to reinforce a broken bone.
Obviously, a severe broken bone will increase not just how much it costs for you to get medical care but also how long it will take for you to recover from the injury. There will be more medical costs and more lost wages when someone has a particularly serious fracture. Understanding the potential impact of a broken bone from a car crash can help you make better decisions about getting medical care and managing your insurance claims from the wreck.
