Broken wrists are commons fractures sustained in car wrecks, sporting accidents or falls. the wrist contains many small bones that snap and twist when pressure is applied. This is a painful and debilitating injury that can result in time off work and high medical bills. The average settlement for a broken wrist in Maryland depends on the nature of the injury and other factors.
Wrists break because we instinctively put out our hands to stop a fall or a collision. Many people fracture their wrists on the dashboard of a car as they put their hands out to shield themselves. Broken wrists are common when people try to stop a fall. the wrist takes the full impact and snaps.
Maryland personal injury attorney Randolph Rice helps people who suffer broken wrists in accidents in Maryland. In this blog, he describes wrist fractures.
How Do You Know if You Have a Broken Wrist?
A broken wrist is a break or a crack in one of the many bones that make up the wrist. the most common cause is when people try to catch themselves during a fall and end up on an outstretched hand. Some broken wrists are obvious. If the bones end up sticking up, it’s clear you suffered a fracture. Sometimes, it’s less apparent. Persistent pain indicates the presence of a fracture.
It’s important to get your wrists checked out by a medical professional as soon as possible after your accident. If you delay seeking medical help, your wrist bones can set incorrectly.
Your wrist is made up of eight small bones, known as carpal bones, as well as two long bones in your forearm — the radius and the ulna. The carpal bone most vulnerable to breaking in an accident is the scaphoid bone, located near the base of your thumb. Accidents cause a wide range of fractures in Maryland.
What Are the Symptoms of a Broken Wrist?
A broken wrist may cause the following symptoms:
- Severe pain that gets worse when you squeeze, grip or move your hand or wrist
- Tenderness
- Swelling
- Bruising
- Obvious deformities like a bent wrist.
What Are the Most Common Causes of a Broken Wrist in Maryland?
Whenever intense pressure is put on your wrist it can break. the most common causes of wrist fractures are:
Falls
Falling onto an outstretched hand often causes broken wrists. Victims sue stores, hotels, malls or other locations over slip and fall injuries. Older people and children whose bones have not properly formed, are most vulnerable.
Motor Vehicle Accidents
The intense forces associated with car, truck and motorcycle accidents put extreme pressure on the wrists of drivers and passengers. Car crashes often cause breaks of many small bones in your wrist.
Sporting injuries
When you fall on a wrist at speed while playing a sport it may fracture. Sports like snowboarding, skiing, and inline skating are associated with broken wrists.
Industrial accidents
Trapping your hand in machinery or heavy objects crushing your hand in the workplace can cause wrist fractures. Talk to us about a worker’s compensation claim after an industrial accident.
What Factors Go Into Calculating the Average Settlement for a Broken Wrist in Maryland?
A Maryland broken bone injury lawyer will tell you, the severity of a wrist injury is an important factor in an insurance settlement. Pain and suffering is a variable in these cases. Most wrist fractures do not require surgery. An orthopedist will set your arm in a cast. Typically, the cast will remain on for about six weeks while you heal. You should still be able to work and drive as long as your work doesn’t involve manual tasks requiring both hands.
Patients who suffer from a broken wrist can typically claim about $35,000 for pain and suffering from a party that caused their injury. Medical bills and missed time off work might push this figure up to about $45,000.
More complicated breaks require surgery. Recovery times are longer and the patient experiences greater pain and suffering. The following points are factors and fractures that can impact your case.
Intra-articular Fractures
The break crosses into the surface of a joint. These fractures result in damage to the cartilage.
Open Fractures
An open fracture or a compound fracture is a break with an open wound or puncture in the skin near the site of a broken bone. This may occur during car crashes at high speed. Open fractures are less likely in simple fall injuries. According to OrthoInfo, when the skin is broken, bacteria and other contaminants may enter the wound and cause infection. The consequences of infections can be severe, require intensive hospital treatment, and push up your claim amount.
Comminuted Fractures
A comminuted fracture is a break or splinter of the wrist bones into more than two fragments. Considerable force is needed to splinter the bones. Comminuted fractures of the wrist are associated with high-impact car, truck, and motorcycle crashes.
Displaced fractures
A displaced fracture occurs if bone fragments fail to align properly. A displaced wrist fracture can cause ongoing medical issues and push up the size of your injury claim.
Serious wrist fractures are less common. However, the accident victim experiences considerable pain, suffering, and inconvenience. He or she may have ongoing medical issues for years after the accident. Your injury lawyer will factor future medical treatment into your claim. More complex injuries such as open distal radius fractures typically attract payouts of about $150,000 and more.
Although the severity of the broken wrist is a crucial factor in calculating the average settlement for a broken wrist in Maryland there are others, namely:
Issues of Fault
If another party claims you were partly at fault for your accident, you may not be able to make a successful claim. the party who caused the accident must be 100 percent to blame. Otherwise, Maryland’s strict contributory negligence rule kicks in.
The Complexity of the Case
Some lawsuits are very complicated. For instance, slip and fall cases that involve the law of premises liability can be tricky for victims. They can take longer and raise complex legal arguments.
The Amount of Available Insurance
If the driver who hit you was uninsured or left the accident scene and isn’t traced, you may struggle to find enough insurance coverage to compensate you for a broken wrist. You may be able to claim underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage on your own insurance policy.
Every motor vehicle insurance policy written in Maryland is required to include options for uninsured motorist (“UM”) and underinsured motorist (“UIM”) coverage. However, some drivers waive coverage.
The willingness of the parties to negotiate
Some insurance companies are more reasonable than others. Some adjusters are more reasonable. The insurance company will usually give the adjuster a settlement range to work within. Some insurance companies will fight you longer than others. The size of your eventual payout can depend on the reasonableness of the parties.
Ask a Maryland Personal Injury Lawyer What’s the Average Settlement for a Broken Wrist in Maryland
A Baltimore broken bone injury lawyer cannot put an exact figure on your broken wrist in Maryland. There are too many variables. However, we can decide approximately how much your case is worth. We can submit a reasonable demand for your injury to the insurance company and file a lawsuit if the insurer offer fails to reflect your medical needs. Broken bones sustained in car collisions, slip and falls, industrial accidents or other accidents can be devastating. Don’t deal with insurance claims alone. Please contact Rice, Murtha & Psoras for a free consultation.