Information about Arizona Broken Leg Injuries
by Phoenix Broken Leg Lawyer - Mark Breyer
As Arizona Personal injury lawyers, we deal with numerous motorcycle and car accidents that result in injuries such as a broken leg. Often times Phoenix slip and fall accident in a nursing home or store causes a broken leg.
The lower leg is made up of two bones, which together support a person’s weight. A fracture of break of either of the bones can be caused by a high or low energy impact. There are several types of fractures, one of which is a stable fracture. A stable fracture means the bones are barely out of place. The second type is a displaced fracture, which is when the broken ends of a bone do not line up. The third type of fracture is a transverse which can cause the bones to not line up and be very unstable. An oblique fracture means the bones are broken at an angle and can initially be stable, but become unstable over time. A spiral fracture occurs during a twisting force like a slip and fall. Lastly an open fracture occurs when a bone breaks through the skin. This type of fracture happens when a pedestrian is hit by car and their legs are the first part of the body impacted. Open fractures are dangerous because of the risk of infection and the type of surgery required.
A broken leg will make a person unable to walk, suffer from loss of feeling, pain, and possibly blood loss if it is an open fracture. A broken leg is a serious injury and requires medical attention. A doctor will use and X-ray to asses the injuries and look for other related trauma. A Computer Tomography (CT) Scan may also be used to monitor injuries.
Non surgical treatment may be used if a person has poor health, is less active, or has a less serious fracture. A patient will need to wear a brace or hard cast to keep the bones in proper alignment and give the broken leg time to heal. If surgery is necessary recovery time could take anywhere from 4 to 6 months. After non surgical or surgical treatment physical therapy will be needed to restore strength and mobility.
Many times if you are involved in an accident due to the negligence of another individual, an experienced Phoenix personal injury lawyer will request up front from the doctor a permanent impairment rating.
Many times at the hospital the break will be so severe that an orthopedic surgeon will be called to the hospital right away to perform surgery. Other times, the patient will be told to follow up with an orthopedic doctor. Remember that if you are injured as a result of the negligence of another individual and are going to bring an Arizona personal injury claim, it is important that you make an appointment as soon as possible with an orthopedic doctor.
Many times it will take a few weeks for health insurance to approve the visit with the orthopedic doctor. Sometimes people do not know what to do when they have been injured by another individual in terms of having follow up medical care because they do not have any funds to pay for medical care and do not have health insurance. In these cases, an injury lawyer could help you find an orthopedic doctor who could treat you and wait to receive payment. If your health insurance plan is going to make you wait to see the orthopedic doctor, it is very important that you keep documentation as to whom you spoke to and what steps you took to ensure that you could see an orthopedic doctor as soon as possible after the accident.
We have had many cases where people have been diagnosed with swelling at the scene of the accident and the hospital doctor diagnosis the injured individual with a broken leg and they are told to follow up with an orthopedic doctor, and the insurance company later argues that the broken leg was not as a result of the accident due to the delay in treatment. One way insurance companies in Phoenix try to get around paying innocent injured individuals is by fighting causation. When there are gaps in treatment that is the first thing that insurance companies look at to see how they can try to fight that the injury was caused by the accident. The above example seems absurd that an insurance company would argue the broken leg was not as a result of the accident but this is exactly what insurance companies do so it is important to have as little gaps in medical care as possible.
