Did you break a bone or sustain a fracture in a workplace accident? Then you may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits in Virginia.
Fractures and broken bones are some of the most common types of work injuries in Virginia and across the nation. This is because you can suffer a fracture or broken bone in many types of work accidents and in any workplace environment.
Fortunately there is help available if you suffered a work-related broken bone.
Virginia workers’ compensation is meant to protect all workers who are hurt on the job. It provides wage loss benefits, lifetime medical care, vocational rehabilitation, and compensation for permanent partial disability related to your broken bone and fracture regardless of the cause of the injury. In addition, you may be entitled to Social Security disability benefits if you are out of work for one year or more because of limitations and disability related to the fracture you suffered in a work-related accident.
Unfortunately understanding your legal rights after breaking a bone in a workplace accident can be complicated. And your employer and its insurance company may do everything they can to prevent you from receiving workers’ comp for your fracture.
Keep reading to learn more about your rights so that you can recover as soon as possible. Then call or email Corey Pollard for a free consultation. We can help no matter what stage of the process you’re at: from filing an application for workers comp to presenting evidence at your work injury trial to negotiating a workers compensation settlement.
When you suffer a broken bone in an industrial accident, you may miss days, weeks, and months from work. Depending on the severity of the fracture, you may never be able to return to your pre-injury job. This insecurity and loss of income, combined with the high cost of medical treatment for broken bones, can put you and your family in a difficult situation while you try to recover. But with the help of an experienced workers compensation attorney, you can get medical treatment and financial protection.
Bones are part of your body’s musculoskeletal system, which also consists of your muscles, tendons, joints, ligaments, cartilage, and connective tissue.
Bone is tissue that does the following:
Bones have two shapes: flat and tubular. For example, your skull and vertebrae are flat while your arm and thigh bones are long and tubular.
Periosteum, a thin membrane, covers your bones. Various nerves run through your periosteum, which is why you experience pain when you suffer an injury to your bone or fracture.
As your attorney, we will discuss the type of broken bone you have suffered and the symptoms you can expect as you try to heal and return to work. We have obtained workers’ compensation settlements for broken bone injuries including:
No two fractures are just alike. When you review your records, look for the following terminology for a better idea of how severe your workers’ compensation broken bone injury is:
Angulated Fracture: This type of fracture occurs when the broken ends of the bones are bent.
Avulsion Fracture: In an avulsion fracture, bone fragments detach from where ligaments or tendons attach to bones. We’ve represented many accident victims who have suffered avulsion fractures involving their feet, ankles, shoulders, and knees.
Closed Fracture: The skin covering the bone is not torn in a closed fracture injury.
Comminuted Fracture: These fractures, which are more common with high-impact trauma, occur when the bone is broken into several pieces.
Compression Fracture: A compression fracture is a collapse of the bone, due to either trauma or weakening. Compression fractures are common among the elderly and often affect the lumbar spine.
Displaced Fracture: This type of fracture occurs when the broken ends of the bone are separated from each other.
Growth Plate Fracture: With this type of fracture, the part of the bone that allows bones to lengthen is broken. As a result, the bone may stop growing. Growth plate fractures can happen in children hurt in car accidents.
Joint Fracture: A joint fracture occurs when the part of the bone that makes up a joint surface is harmed. A joint fracture can cause loss of motion and mobility, as well as post-traumatic arthritis.
Nondisplaced Fracture: A nondisplaced fracture is one where the bone maintains its normal shape and alignment despite a crack across the bone.
Occult Fracture: An occult fracture, also called a hairline fracture, is difficult to see on an x-ray.
Open Fracture: An open fracture occurs when the skin and soft tissue covering the bone are torn. As a result, the bone may be seen breaking through the skin. Open fractures must be treated immediately and the wound must be cleaned to avoid infection due to bacteria, dirt, or debris.
Pathologic Fracture: These bone fractures occur due to an underlying medical condition, such as cancer, infection, or a benign tumor. A fracture may serve as the precursor to a cancer diagnosis.
Simple Transverse Fracture: This type of fracture involves a clean break of the bone.
Stress Fracture: Stress fractures occur when the bone is stressed repeatedly over time. Stress fractures are common in the bones of the lower leg and foot. It is difficult to get stress fractures covered under the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act because they are repetitive motion injuries. If, however, you can identify the specific activity that made your stress fracture symptomatic, you may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits.
Torsion Fracture: This type of fracture occurs when the bone is twisted apart in the trauma.
If you’ve suffered a catastrophic injury, then it will be obvious that you’ve suffered a broken bone. Other times it can be difficult to determine that you’ve broken a bone or suffered a fracture, especially when dealing with the foot or ankle.
Please seek medical treatment for a broken bone if you have: sudden pain; sharp pain; swelling; limited range of motion; or, an inability to move the affected bone or body part.
After you’ve sought medical attention, call Corey Pollard for a free consultation regarding your legal right to Virginia workers compensation.
When you present to the doctor with symptoms consistent with a broken bone or fracture, the medical provider will likely order an x-ray. This diagnostic test can reveal whether you do, in fact, have a broken bone related to your work accident.
From there your doctor can take one of two routs: immobilization or surgery. The recommended treatment will depend on the location, severity, and type of fracture. For example, a broken toe will likely require a splint but not surgery, while a broken arm will usually require surgery.
If the doctor chooses immobilization to treat the work-related fracture, you will probably receive a cast or splint to keep the bones in alignment while they heal on their own. In some cases you may need traction to push the bones back into proper alignment. If surgery or immobilization are not options, then you may be told to rest and avoid putting pressure on the fractured body part.
Sometimes surgery is necessary to realign the bone after a break. Your surgeon may use internal screws, plates, and hardware to keep the bone in place after surgery.
After surgery you will undergo at least one course of rehabilitation and physical therapy. Depending on the severity of your fracture, you may require pain management.
The value of your workers’ compensation claim based on a broken bone depends on the severity of the fracture, the type of medical treatment you will require to heal the fracture, the time it takes you to recover physically, the physical requirements of your pre-injury job, your permanent restrictions once you have reached maximum medical improvement (MMI), and the number of weeks of compensation benefits assigned to the type of fracture you suffered by the Virginia General Assembly.
For more information regarding the value of workers’ compensation for your broken bone, call us today: 804-251-1620 or 757-810-5614. We will take care of the application process, discovery, and everything necessary to present the strongest workers’ comp case possible while you and your loved ones focus on your physical recovery following the fracture.
Regardless of your occupation – union member, construction worker, healthcare, office worker, airline employee – we can help if you’ve suffered a broken bone or fracture on the job or in an accident in Virginia.
Contact workers compensation attorney and personal injury lawyer Corey Pollard today to protect your legal right to receive fair compensation for your broken bone injury or fracture. We are ready to help.