The Lifelong Cost of a Broken Bone

Breaking a bone is awful, even a tiny break in your little finger can hurt for weeks and leave the finger feeling weak. What’s worse is a severe fracture that requires surgery. Even if you have the best surgeon in the world there are some quality of life issues that can spring up for months, and even years, after the break. When the bone is set and you have some pain killers it might seem like things are not so bad, but when your initial recovery leaves you with nerve or muscle damage your life can change forever.

One concern with a severely broken bone is the cost of medical care. Even with insurance, surgery alone is expensive. When you add in the often necessary stay in the hospital, and possible extended stay in a rehab facility, the bills pile up fast.

In addition, the recovery from these types of injuries can be slow and tedious. Many people find that they are kept from their day to day lives for months, and upon returning they need to make accommodations for the slow healing bone. Some people complain about pain in the broken bone when it is damp or humid for decades after the healing has allegedly been complete. If you have to have screws or pins inserted they can cause complications all their own.

Unless your bone was broken at work this can impact, and sometimes jeopardize, your job. Even if you haven’t lost your job, you will have potentially used up your disability coverage leaving you with lost wages on top of hospital debt. For some the damage is severe enough that they can no longer return to their prior vocation, and need to seek additional job training to remain in the workforce.

That is why it is important to speak with an attorney after a severe break. If your break was caused by negligence, like in the case of a rickety step or a driver on his cell phone, the law gives you a way of replacing your livelihood while you heal, so that your physical pain doesn’t have to ruin your life.