For many people, a broken bone from a major car crash can be a painful reminder of the incident. However, when compared with spinal cord injuries, internal bleeding or brain injuries, a broken leg may not seem like the worst possible outcome. You might think that you can just file an insurance claim and move on with your life.
However, a broken leg is a serious injury. Not too long ago, it would have likely have resulted in permanent disability. Although medical advances now make setting even the worst of fractures a possibility for car crash survivors, that doesn’t mean that doing so will be cheap or that there won’t possibly be secondary consequences for the person with the broken leg.
When might you need to consider filing a personal injury lawsuit against a driver who caused a broken bone instead of just filing an insurance claim?
When the other driver doesn’t have enough insurance
Arizona law only requires that drivers carry liability coverage, which often means you become dependent on the other driver’s policy to cover your losses. Sadly, if you were the only one hurt in the crash, there could be as little as $25,000 worth of coverage for you.
Although a minor, hairline fracture that does not require a cast might only carry $2,000 in immediate medical bills, more serious fractures, especially those that require surgery, could easily produce medical bills that amount to $35,000 or even more.
In other words, you will have more in costs than the other driver will have coverage. When that occurs, or in a situation where a simple fracture that has less expensive costs to set the bone also requires physical therapy or occupational therapy to get you back to work, you may need to consider pursuing legal action against the driver who caused the crash to cover those expenses.
When the broken leg will have career consequences
If you have to stand, lift or climb as part of your job, a fractured leg could very well mean that you can’t do the same job responsibilities you once performed. In some cases, your employer can potentially assign new tasks to you. Other times, you may have to start looking for a new job, potentially one that pays significantly less.
If the injury is going to have a long-term impact on your earning potential and income, you can possibly seek compensation from the other driver to help minimize the impact of those changes.
It can be hard when trying to recover from an injury to objectively review your circumstances. Talking with an attorney who has helped others after serious car crashes can give you a better option about whether you need to take action against the driver who left you with an injury.
