A powerful collision on a Kentucky roadway can send victims in many different directions. The waist and hips can be held in place by a seatbelt, but victims might still endure enough blunt force to break one of the bones that make up the pelvic region.
Pelvis fracture injury victims need to be able to seek the best medical care available without having to worry about how the medical bills will get paid. A Kentucky Traumatic Injury Lawyer works with recovering patients to make sure they have what they need to begin rebuilding their lives.
Schedule a Free Consultation with a Kentucky Car Accident Lawyer
A traumatic pelvis fracture can endanger your ability to walk and move freely. All of the bones that make up the pelvis can be threatened in a major traffic collision. Victims may have to deal with extreme pain while still having to worry about the cost of medical care.
After an encounter with a reckless driver, you should never have to face the expense of recovery alone. To make sure you aren’t held responsible for the costs of your comeback from hip and pelvic injuries, contact Kaufman & Stigger, PLLC, of Kentucky.
We offer a free, no-obligation case consultation to all Kentucky car accident victims. It’s an easy, no-risk way to understand the benefits available to you and how to secure those benefits from an unhelpful car insurance company.
Pelvic Fracture Risks in Kentucky Car Accidents
Stopping for a traffic jam on I-64 doesn’t mean the drivers behind you will be paying attention and have time to stop. You can be struck from behind in a devastating rear-end collision and suffer damage to your hips, your thighs, or your pelvis.
You might be at a four-way intersection in Louisville or Lexington when another driver ignores a stop sign and T-bones your vehicle. The door is the weakest part of your car, and that metal may be pushed into your hips and pelvis to cause multiple fractures. Your seatbelt could save your life, but also contribute to a painful pelvic fracture around your waist.
A Kentucky car accident victim is your safeguard to ensure that the proper driver is blamed for an accident. Your lawyer also makes sure you receive enough in compensation to pay for any complication from your pelvic injury that may arise.
What Kinds of Pelvic Bones do Car Accident Victims Fracture?
The pelvis is made up of several strong bones that form a circular support for your spine and connects the truck of the body to the legs. It also protects abdominal organs like the intestines.
The sacrum is a bone shaped like a shield that extends down from the vertebrae and runs down to the tailbone (the coccyx). The Ilium bone is the largest of the pelvic bones, it’s the portion of the hip bones that protrude on either side of your waist. Your hips are part of the pelvis, including the ball socket of the Ilium where the round end of the femur (thigh bone) fits.
The pelvic bones are very sturdy and car accidents are one of the few events that carry enough force to cause damage here.
OrthoInfo explains that most car accident pelvic injuries involve an unstable fracture. This means there are two or more breaks in the pelvic bones. After an impact, the fractured ends usually don’t match up to promote proper healing. A blow suffered to the femur (thigh bone) can also transfer enough energy to break pelvic bones as well.
The Prognosis for Car Accident Victims After a Pelvic Injury
Pelvic fractures can involve several different bones, so recovery can be hard to predict for traffic accident victims. The Cleveland Clinic estimates that healing from a broken bone in the pelvic region can take from two to three months. But that prognosis can change dramatically when a more severe break is involved.
Any break involving one of the hip bones usually requires surgery. This can involve installing metal plates and screws to hold bones in place as they heal. Recovery might take up to six months or longer and involve extensive physical therapy.
A bone can finally heal, but arthritis might take hold in a damaged joint causing pain that lasts over a lifetime. There are also complications resulting from the time patients must be off their feet. That downtime can lead to other health risks, especially in older patients.
A large number of pelvic fracture victims require some type of home care and medical equipment while they recover, only adding to the potentially enormous costs of recovery.
It’s critical to discuss your case with a skilled Kentucky Traumatic Injury Lawyer. Knowledge is your one defense when a car insurance company offers to pay for your initial emergency room visit, but wants to stick you with the medical bills that will arise in the future.
Compensation for Pelvis Fracture Victims in Kentucky Car Accidents
With all of the frightening outcomes described above, it’s easy to see why securing the right settlement offer from an insurance company is so important. Once you sign off on a settlement, there’s no way to go back and ask for more when you suffer a setback a few months down the road.
Your car accident lawyer ensures that you don’t mistakenly accept a “lowball” offer that leaves you or your family paying out of pocket for care in a year.
One important step will be to make sure every hardship you endure with a pelvic injury is included in your claim submitted to the car insurance company. Every damage and bill you include and back up with evidence can greatly increase the amount on your pelvic fracture settlement check.
An insurance claim must seek financial support for the following and more:
- Medical expenses you’ve incurred to this point and any expected to be necessary in the future, especially when a permanent disability is involved.
- Physical therapy/rehabilitation costs.
- Pain and emotional trauma the victim has suffered through. Depression and anxiety can affect anyone who is bedridden during recovery and those who may not be able to return to a normal life.
- Loss of consortium for close family members of the victim. (Being without the support of a spouse, partner, family member, etc.)
- Reimbursement for lost income while your pelvis injury keeps you out of work.
- Travel expenses as an immobile patient is unable to get to doctor appointments without help.
- Repairs or Replacement for your vehicle.
- Wrongful death benefits. Families should never have to pay for a funeral and emergency response fees involved in a fatal accident. They should also be supported in the future when the care, guidance, and financial support the victim would have provided will no longer be available.
Contact a Kentucky Car Accident Pelvic Fracture Lawyer
If you or a loved one have suffered a broken bone in your hip or pelvis due to a driver’s carelessness, don’t feel like you must cope with the pain and the financial burden of care alone. Kentucky accident victims have up to one year to file an injury claim with a car insurance company. It’s always best to act quickly. Acting immediately gives your attorney the best chance to build a strong case for you.
Schedule a free, no-obligation case review today with a Kentucky Car Accident Lawyer you can trust to be on your side and fight for your fair compensation. You’ll speak with a real Kentucky lawyer at Kaufman & Stigger, PLLC. If you decide we can help you earn the most for your chest injury claim, you won’t need any money. We don’t get paid unless we win your case for you.
