If you suffered a broken bone in Wisconsin due to someone else’s negligence, you may be entitled to compensation for your medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. This page explains the types of fractures commonly seen in personal injury cases, how they are treated, what long-term complications can arise, and how all of those factors affect the value of your claim. If you have questions about your specific situation, the Milwaukee personal injury attorneys at Warshafsky Law are available to help.
The most common symptom of a broken bone is extreme pain in an area subjected to some type of blunt force trauma. The area is usually swollen and bruised from the impact. Even lightly touching the area is excruciatingly painful. With proper medical care, most adults recover from a fracture within a few months, although there may be lingering problems for some time. Other injuries such as dislocated joints or soft tissue injuries can occur at the same time as a broken bone.
Broken bones are one of the most common injuries seen in Milwaukee emergency rooms. Causes range from slips and falls to vehicle accidents to dog bites. Fractures (the medical term for broken bones) are classified based on how the bone breaks and whether the fractured bone breaks through the skin or not. Some common types of bone fractures are:
In most cases, a broken bone requires taking time off from work for treatment and follow-up care. There may also be extensive physical therapy involved. If your broken bones were caused by the negligence or malfeasance of others, the Milwaukee personal injury attorneys of Warshafsky Law will fight for you to ensure the highest possible compensation for your medical expenses and time lost from work.
Not all fractures are alike, and the type of break you sustain has a direct bearing on your treatment, recovery, and the overall value of your personal injury claim. The classification of a fracture provides a clear picture of the physical trauma involved and the likely road to recovery. More complex breaks require more invasive and expensive treatment, involve longer recovery periods, and carry a higher risk of permanent complications. Below is a closer look at five fracture types that are especially significant in personal injury cases.
The treatment required for a broken bone depends on the type of fracture, the bone involved, and the severity of the break. Understanding the standard course of treatment is important not only for your recovery but also for documenting the full scope of your medical expenses when pursuing a personal injury claim.
For fractures where the bone fragments remain reasonably aligned, casting or splinting is often the first line of treatment. Immobilizing the broken bone with a plaster cast or a rigid splint helps align the bone fragments and keep them in the correct position during the healing process. The duration the cast or splint must be worn depends on which bone is involved and the severity of the fracture. Typically, healing ranges from several weeks to a few months. Simpler fractures treated with casting alone generally carry shorter recovery timelines and lower overall medical costs than those requiring surgery.
More severe fractures, including comminuted, compound, and significantly displaced breaks, often require surgical intervention. Open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) is one of the most common surgical procedures, involving the repositioning of the fractured bones and the insertion of hardware such as screws, plates, or rods to stabilize the injury. A fracture that requires surgery is inherently more serious than one that can be treated with a cast alone. The need for ORIF surgery reflects a higher level of medical expense, a longer and more painful recovery, and a greater risk of future complications. In some cases, additional surgery may be needed later to address hardware issues or incomplete healing.
After a cast or splint is removed, or following surgical recovery, physical therapy is frequently recommended to help patients regain strength, flexibility, and mobility. Physical therapy can significantly add to the overall cost of treating a fracture, and the duration of therapy varies based on the location and severity of the injury. For serious fractures, physical therapy may continue for many months. In a personal injury claim, all physical therapy costs, both past and anticipated future expenses, are recoverable as part of your economic damages.
Depending on which type of immobilization or surgery was needed to repair the fracture, patients may be able to start moving again within a few weeks. More severe fractures can take a year or more to heal fully. During this time, many injured people are unable to work, perform household tasks, or participate in activities they enjoyed before the accident. The length of your recovery period is a direct factor that a personal injury law office will use to calculate lost wages and other damages in your case.
While many people recover fully from a broken bone, some fractures result in complications that persist long after the initial injury has healed. These long-term consequences can substantially affect your quality of life and are an important component of any personal injury claim. A thorough evaluation of your prognosis by an orthopedic specialist is essential to ensuring your claim accounts for all future medical needs and limitations.
The value of a broken bone personal injury claim is determined by the specific facts of your case, including the severity of the break, your total medical costs and lost wages, and the long-term prognosis from your doctors. Any reputable law firm will tell you that claiming there is a fixed or average settlement for a broken bone does not give you an accurate picture. The type and location of the fracture, the treatment it required, and the permanence of any resulting limitations all play a significant role in determining what your claim is worth.
Medical evidence is the foundation of any broken bone claim. X-rays, CT scans, MRI reports, surgical records, and opinions from orthopedic specialists provide objective documentation of the nature and severity of your injury. A more complex diagnosis supported by imaging and surgical reports justifies a higher settlement value. Insurance companies may try to treat all broken bones the same, but a skilled personal injury law firm knows that the type, location, and severity of the break have a profound effect on recovery and on the overall value of your claim.
Wisconsin follows a modified comparative negligence rule. Under this rule, you can collect damages as long as your percentage share of the total negligence is not 51% or more. When your share of the blame is less than 51%, it simply reduces the damages you can collect by that amount. This means that even if you were partially at fault for the accident that caused your fracture, you may still be entitled to significant compensation. An experienced attorney can help you understand how this rule applies to your specific situation.
Under Wisconsin Statutes section 893.54, the statute of limitations to file a personal injury claim is three years from the date of the injury. If you miss this deadline, you will generally be permanently barred from recovering any compensation from the at-fault party. There are limited exceptions, such as injuries to minors and claims against government entities, which may be subject to different deadlines. Because some of these special deadlines can be shorter than three years, it is important to consult with an attorney as soon as possible after your accident.
In a successful personal injury claim, you may be entitled to economic damages and non-economic damages. Economic damages include all medical expenses related to your fracture, such as emergency treatment, hospitalization, surgery, physical therapy, and any anticipated future medical costs. They also include lost wages for time you were unable to work during recovery, and compensation for any reduction in your future earning capacity if the injury permanently affects your ability to work at the same level as before. Non-economic damages cover the physical pain, emotional distress, and reduced quality of life resulting from the injury.
Yes, significantly. The classification of your fracture is one of the primary factors in determining the value of your claim. A compound fracture that required surgery and carries a risk of infection will generally be valued more highly than a simple closed fracture treated with a cast. A comminuted fracture requiring ORIF surgery, with its longer recovery and greater risk of future complications, will typically result in a higher settlement than a less complex break. The location of the fracture also matters: joint fractures carry a much higher likelihood of causing post-traumatic arthritis and permanent range-of-motion limitations, which increases the overall value of the claim.
Wisconsin's modified comparative negligence law means you may still be able to recover compensation even if you were partially responsible for the accident. Your damages will be reduced by your percentage of fault. For example, if a jury finds that you were 20% at fault and awards $100,000 in total damages, you would receive $80,000. However, if you are found to be 51% or more at fault, you cannot recover any damages. Insurance companies often try to assign a greater share of blame to the injured party in order to reduce their payout, which is one reason why experienced legal representation is so important.
While you are not legally required to hire an attorney, doing so significantly improves your chances of receiving fair compensation. Insurance companies have teams of adjusters and attorneys whose goal is to minimize payouts. They may argue the scope of your injuries, dispute your treatment plan, or pressure you to settle quickly for less than your claim is worth. An experienced personal injury attorney knows how to counter these tactics, gather and present the medical evidence needed to support your claim, and negotiate from a position of strength. The attorney you choose may impact the outcome of your case even more than the facts themselves.
