A collision’s impact can leave victims with painful and debilitating bone fractures, including broken hand injuries. These injuries often require expensive medical treatments including diagnostic tests, physical therapy, prescriptions, and even surgeries. These expenses can add up fast, and suffering from a fractured hand can also impact your ability to work and engage in daily activities. Seeking a broken hand car accident settlement is the next step.
If you suffered from a broken hand in a car accident that a negligent driver caused, you have every right to file a claim to recover compensation for your losses. Here’s what you need to know about broken hand car accident settlements. Further, you can contact the Indianapolis broken bone injury lawyers at Crossen Law Firm if you have additional questions or need expert legal support for your case.
Common Hand Injuries After a Car Accident
The tremendous impact of a collision can easily fracture one or more of your 27 hand bones, and it takes much less force to break a hand bone than other areas, such as your leg or arm bones.
While accidents often cause hand fractures, car accident victims may suffer from other hand injuries that range in severity. Common types of hand injuries after a collision include:
- Tendon damage: Your hands are composed of numerous tendons that connect your bones to your muscles, and a crash may harm and inflame these tendons. Your extensor tendons are especially vulnerable to injury, as they reside on the backs of your hands and fingers. An extensor tendon injury in the hand can affect your ability to straighten your hand and finger joints.
- Joint dislocation: The impact of a collision may misalign the joints that connect your hand and finger bones. If left untreated, you may suffer from permanent damage and mobility problems.
- Ligament tears: Your ligaments work to stabilize the joints within your hands. If a crash tears these essential components, you may require surgery. Otherwise, your hand may not heal properly, resulting in chronic pain.
In addition to these hand injuries, you should be aware of the different types of hand fractures, as some broken hand injuries are far more serious than others. Types of hand fractures include:
- Stable fractures: A stable fracture occurs when the broken ends of the bone line up and remain in place.
- Unstable fractures: An unstable fracture happens when the broken ends of the bone become misaligned, frequently requiring realignment surgery.
- Comminuted fractures: A comminuted fracture is when a bone breaks into multiple fragments.
- Open fractures: An open fracture, also known as a compound fracture, occurs when the broken bone penetrates the skin, which may lead to an infection.
Symptoms of a Broken Hand From a Car Accident
If you were recently involved in an accident, you need to be on the lookout for symptoms indicating a hand fracture or another type of hand injury. Common hand injury symptoms include:
- Intense pain
- Stiffness
- Trouble straightening or flexing your wrists or fingers
- Swelling
- Numbness
- Weakness
- Tenderness
- Bruising
- Crooked or bent fingers
- Discoloration
If you suspect that you’ve suffered from a hand fracture or another injury, you should seek prompt medical attention.
Receiving Medical Treatment For a Broken Hand
When you receive medical attention for your injury, your medical practitioner will likely diagnose your condition through an examination and diagnostic imaging tests, such as an X-ray, MRI, or CT scan.
From there, your medical practitioner will prescribe treatment. If your condition is relatively minor, they may only prescribe RICE, the acronym for Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
If you’ve suffered a severe break, such as an open fracture, you may face expensive treatments, including surgeries, medical devices, physical or occupational therapy, and ongoing treatment.
Recovering a Car Accident Settlement after a Hand Injury
If you’ve suffered from a serious hand fracture, you may now face costly medical bills and other expenses. Fortunately, you can file a claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance company to recover compensation for your losses.
To recover a broken hand car accident settlement, you must provide evidence supporting your claim. You’ll need to supply evidence proving that the at-fault driver was liable, which may include:
- Eyewitness statements
- Photographic and video evidence
- The police’s accident report
- Accident reconstruction expert testimony
You’ll also need to prove that you suffered losses as a direct result of the at-fault driver’s negligence. The types of evidence you’ll need to collect will depend on your specific damages. Depending on your unique case, this may include property damage, past and future medical bills, emotional distress, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, lost wages, and loss of future earnings.
Some types of evidence you can use to prove that you’ve suffered losses include:
- Medical bills and records
- Photos of your injuries
- Doctor’s notes
- Expert medical testimony
- Documentation indicating that you missed work due to your injuries
- Vehicle repair estimates
- Testimony from family and friends corroborating that your injuries have impacted your quality of life
How Much Compensation Will I Receive?
The amount of money you can expect to recover for your injured hand will directly depend on your losses. For example, if the injuries impact your ability to work, you can recoup money for your losses, assuming you can provide sufficient evidence.
While some damages reimburse you for specific expenses, others compensate you for the physical, mental, and emotional discomfort that you’ve experienced. Determining reasonable compensation for these damages is far more challenging, but you can work with a personal injury attorney to ascertain how much to seek.
Contact an Indianapolis Broken Hand Car Accident Attorney Today
Enlisting the expertise of an experienced attorney will significantly increase your likelihood of recovering just compensation after your accident. In addition to helping you collect and present evidence on your behalf, your lawyer should negotiate with the at-fault driver’s insurance company to secure the highest settlement possible.
For expert Indianapolis car accident attorneys, contact Crossen Law Firm, as we’ll work diligently to maximize your compensation. You can get started with your case today by calling 317-401-8626 or contacting us online here.
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