Cowen Edwards helps people in Fort Lauderdale who have suffered broken bones in an accident. These injuries are incredibly painful, and can lead to long-term impact on your life. But they also provide you with certain legal options and rights. To learn more about your options in this situation, contact our Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyers today for a free consultation.
When Should You Hire a Lawyer?
When your leg is broken in an accident, it’s unquestionably serious. But whether or not you need to hire a lawyer depends on the circumstances. Basically, you have the legal right to file an injury claim if your leg is broken in an accident that’s caused by someone else’s negligence.
While this doesn’t apply to every situation where you break your leg, the vast majority of broken leg accidents is going to give you the option to enter the legal process. And with this option, working with our lawyers can make all the difference in how your claim plays out.
We can use our extensive experience and resources to investigate your accident, explain your options, help you gather evidence, then guide you through the claims process. Our overall goal is to make sure that you have what you need for a strong claim and that the process is easy for you.
What Should You Do Following a Broken Leg Accident?
Obviously, it’s an incredibly stressful situation to be in an accident that leaves you with a broken leg. Your first instinct is likely going to involve getting the right medical attention and treatment. Once you have that taken care of, you need to think about your potential legal options. This means taking certain steps to protect and strengthen your potential claim like:
- Getting medical attention by calling an ambulance or 911. This will allow paramedics to take care of any immediate leg injuries, stabilizing it until you can get to an emergency room for further care.
- Reporting the accident to local police, whether that’s the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, Florida Highway Patrol, or Broward County Sheriff’s Department. The police will help clear the scene and assist you with gathering information.
- Collecting evidence at the scene, like photos and videos showing the damage to your vehicle and your leg injuries. You’ll also want to get contact information from any witnesses in case you need their testimony later.
- Getting further medical care with a doctor or specialist. You’ll probably need surgery or, at the very least, a cast to take care of your leg break. You’ll also want to track your healing and take note of any hardships.
Your health, especially when you’ve broken your leg, should always take top priority. After all, you won’t be able to do anything else if you don’t take care of that first. However, that’s easier said than done. At the same time, though, it’s important to be prepared for the legal process.
What Options Do You Have When Filing an Injury Claim After a Broken Leg?
While a broken leg is a serious injury, it’s not all that different in terms of what legal options it gives you. As long as your accident was caused by someone else’s negligence, you can file an injury claim to recover “damages.”
Negligence is simply the legal standard for establishing liability for covering your injuries and damages that come from the accident. This often involves showing that someone (like a distracted or reckless driver) violated their duty of care to you by acting negligently and causing the accident.
In terms of your options, you can either file an insurance claim out of court or a personal injury lawsuit inside the court system. A successful claim can help you recover things like:
- Medical expenses – These cover all costs related to medical care relating to your broken leg, including hospital visits, medications, therapy, and future treatments.
- Lost wages – If you can’t work due to your broken leg, you can get financial support for the wages you would have earned, both past and future.
- Pain and suffering – This category of damages are for the physical and emotional distress caused by the accident and broken leg, including the physical pain, anxiety, and stress that come up.
- Loss of companionship or enjoyment of life – You can get financial support for how your bokeh leg affects your ability to enjoy activities, spend time with friends, or do daily tasks.
Obviously, every accident is different. What you’re ultimately able to recover in a claim depends on how hurt you are and how well you present your case. It’s here that our team’s support can be invaluable. We know how to effectively show your damages and how a broken leg has impacted you.
Who Pays For Your Damages?
Figuring out who has to pay for your damages is an important benchmark for your claim. Again, the legal standard is negligence, but that’s not always straightforward in an accident where your leg is broken. In fact, that type of injury can happen in virtually any kind of accident in Fort Lauderdale, such as:
- Car accidents
- Workplace accidents
- Slip and falls
- Recreational accidents
- Motorcycle or bicycle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
No matter what type of accident it is, potentially liable parties can include:
- Drivers
- Other pedestrians
- Local government agencies
- Property owners or store owners
- Landlords
- Security or maintenance workers
- Product manufacturers
The severity of a broken leg depends on how it happened and the type of break. If you think your leg is broken, get medical help right away. Quick treatment can avoid problems and help you heal faster. But again, it depends on the kind of break.
What Kinds of Broken Legs Are There?
There’s no way around the fact that a broken leg is a traumatic, serious injury. But looking closer, there’s actually a few different types of broken leg that can happen in accidents throughout Fort Lauderdale. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, some of the most common kinds of broken legs are:
- Fractured femur – This involves a break in the thigh bone, which is the biggest and strongest bone in your entire body.
- Fractured tibia – This is where there’s a break or fracture of the shin bone, located between your knee and ankle.
- Fractured fibula – This is a break of the smaller bone in your lower leg, which runs alongside the tibia.
- Fractured patella – This is a break of the bone part of your kneecap, which shields the front of the knee joint.
- Compound fractures – Among the most traumatic types of leg break, which sees the broken bone piercing through your skin, increasing the risk of infection.
- Spiral fractures – These are fractures that spiral around the particular bone in your leg due to rotational force.
- Avulsion fractures – These are fractures that happen when a tendon or ligament pulls away a piece of bone in your leg, often due to forceful impact.
- Comminuted fractures – This is where the bone in your leg breaks into multiple pieces.
You obviously never want to have any type of injury from an accident, but especially not one as serious and impactful as a broken leg. Unfortunately, this can happen. But you don’t have to face the situation alone. Our Fort Lauderdale lawyers will be there to help you.
Contact Cowen Edwards After a Broken Leg Accident in Fort Lauderdale
Just because you’re in an accident that leaves you with a broken leg doesn’t mean you have to live with the damage. Our team of experienced Fort Lauderdale injury lawyers at Cowen Edwards will be there to explain the situation and help you navigate the claims process to make sure you have what you need for a strong claim. To get started, contact us today for a free consultation.
