Broken Bones & Orthopedic Injury Lawyer
Fractures or broken bones are extremely common outcomes of a wide range of events. In fact, it is estimated that one person will likely have at least two broken bones throughout their lifetime. Frequently, these injuries are the result of accidents, whether from a motor vehicle, slip and fall, or other mishaps. For the most part, fractures are straightforward and can heal within a few months.
Sometimes, however, a broken bone can be severe, requiring more time to heal, possibly with multiple surgeries and ongoing care that can last months or even years. The muscles, tendons, ligaments, and soft tissues surrounding bones may be impacted as well, causing further complications associated with the healing process. At Bergeron Clifford, our orthopedic injury lawyers seek fair compensation for clients suffering from ongoing problems resulting from broken bones.
Circumstances Surrounding Your Orthopedic Injury
Although they are not uncommon, broken bones are undeniably unpleasant to deal with. Beyond any trauma you might associate with the accident, this type of injury can further impact your life in various ways. An X-ray will easily show the fracture and its severity, but it might be difficult to immediately determine the effects it will have and its repercussions on other aspects of your health.
Injury to a Joint
Joints are constantly moving, making parts of your body work in the ways you need them to. An injury to one of these joints may take longer to heal and could impair your ability to function much longer than with other breaks. Damages to the moving, articulating surfaces of knees, ankles, wrists, shoulders, or elbows often heal unevenly and will wear down and become weak or arthritic over time.
Ongoing Pain
It’s no surprise that broken bones are painful. The trauma caused to your body can manifest in ongoing soreness and stiffness, even well into the healing process or after it is complete. If your injury is serious and permanent, the pain can become chronic, adding to your overall suffering and decreasing your quality of life.
Your Lifestyle and Career
Different types of broken bones can affect people in various aspects of their life. For example, a broken wrist may be devastating for you if you work with your hands for your day job, or your hobby is painting or playing guitar. A teenager who suffers a broken bone may have ongoing complications and have to permanently alter their lifestyle and career goals. Depending on how your orthopedic injury affects your life, your compensation needs may be higher.
Extensive Surgeries
Some broken bones are easily set and don’t require any kind of surgery to properly heal. With more substantial breaks, however, they could require pieces of bone or screws, plates, or other hardware to be surgically implanted for healing. This could result in multiple trips to the doctor and countless surgeries to ensure the bone can be restored normally.
The Challenges of Living with an Orthopedic Injury
Living with a broken bone likely means you will have to have a cast or some other support, such as a sling, while waiting for it to heal. While for some folks these are merely short term adjustments, those who are living with more extensive injuries may feel the effects in the long term.
Short-Term Effects
You will likely have to attend doctor’s appointments, see a specialist, or have surgery to properly set your bone in place. It will be difficult for you to do things without some form of assistance while waiting for the fracture to heal. You might even have to miss work, depending on your mobility. You may also develop an infection, causing further pain, requiring medication and/or additional surgeries.
Long-Term Effects
Even after your fracture is healed, you might need to constantly wear a brace on your wrist or walk with an assistive device. You could have trouble sleeping and getting comfortable, resulting in an inability to relax or decompress and adding more stress to your life. You could become anxious about your injury as well, focusing on the way that it happened and the possibility of it happening again. This may cause you to stop pursuing tasks that bring you joy like playing sports or going out with friends. You might even become depressed and begin to believe that you are defined by this injury.
Seeking Help from an Experienced Orthopedic Injury Lawyer
Orthopedic injuries can force a victim into a long road to recovery. They may feel hopeless and struggle with a loss of independence, impacting their mental health. A severe injury could cause repercussive problems throughout their body to their muscles, affecting their range of motion and everyday comfort. Working with an experienced orthopedic injury lawyer means you can seek compensation to deal with the trauma as well as recoup your losses financially, hopefully leading to an improved quality of life.
Compensation is Injury Dependant
There are many factors that relate to the compensation associated with a broken bone. You have likely had to attend a specialist appointment for the complicated issues associated with your injury. Perhaps you require a personal support worker to help you with everyday tasks. You might be struggling to pay your bills due to lost wages and an inability to return to work. Your mobility may be permanently impacted and cause you to use an assisted walking device or brace to help you.
At Bergeron Clifford, we have extensive experience in dealing with these kinds of cases. We believe in assessing each lawsuit individually to fully understand how these injuries affect our clients. If you have suffered from an orthopedic injury as a result of a serious accident, please contact us.
Contact Bergeron | Clifford LLP
If you have suffered an orthopedic injury, call us at 866-384-5886 or fill out our online form. We can meet you at any of our Ontario offices, including Kingston, Ottawa, Whitby, Carleton Place, Perth, or at your home or hospital.
Living with spinal cord injuries may be challenging.
Recovering from, or adapting to, a serious injury can take time. However, given enough time and proper care, many injured people are able to return to a life very much like the one they knew before suffering the injury.
“What Happens to the Person I Sue?” Car Accidents, Slip and Falls and Medical Mal Practice
As an injury lawyer practicing in Eastern Ontario, where our head office is in Kingston but with offices throughout the East in Whitby, Perth, Carleton Place, and Ottawa, one of the most common questions I get asked by new clients […]
