Life in California is usually a fast-paced ride with a lot of potential stops in between. Unfortunately, all of that daily activity can increase your family’s chances of getting injured in accidents. The ride may include a drive along a busy interstate, where car accidents are a daily reality. The stops could include a trip to a restaurant or a retail giant like Target. Walking through those doors definitely puts you at a higher risk of falling on a hard floor and suffering a fracture.
These personal injury accidents can leave you or a family member with injuries that might include cracked ribs. These fractures are painful and the restricted movement involved can limit your lifestyle for quite a while.
When broken ribs are part of an accident diagnosis, an injury claim is designed to protect the victim. A broken rib claim for damages seeks to pay for medical bills and financially support victims while they must miss work. Knowing how to get the most out of your fractured rib injury claim means you’ll have the compensation you’ll need for however long you are incapacitated.
Scheduling a Free Legal Consultation After a California Rib Injury
Earning the maximum in compensation from your rib injury claim starts with being informed about your rights as a victim and about every benefit available. Schedule a no-risk, free consultation with a real California Rib Injury Lawyer to learn what your cracked ribs should be worth.
Contact Maison Law of California for this confidential case evaluation that comes with no obligation for you or your family. It’s the best way to learn about and secure every benefit available to you as you heal.
Rib Injury Accident Dangers
Your ribs serve an important role in supporting your upper body. They also are vital to the protection of your heart and lungs and actually play a major role in each breath you take.
In an accident, the sternum is another at-risk bone that has an important part in the protection of internal organs. The sternum is the flat bone in the center of your chest that connects with most of the ribs to form the rib cage.
These vital bones and their connections are why a rib cage injury can have such an effect on our daily activities. Breathing, coughing, and sneezing all become extremely painful functions. Sleep may be nearly impossible when laying down causes so much pain. Going to work, even sitting at a desk may be out of the question.
Cracked Ribs and California Accident Liability
Your ribs could take damage in almost any sort of accident. Car accidents often carry enough force to leave you with several broken ribs after any angle of impact. These accidents can happen to people knocked around in vehicles, motorcyclists thrown from their bikes, pedestrians, and cyclists.
A puddle may be left out on a grocery store floor and you could fall sideways or backward or into the corner of a shelf to crack or dislocate a rib. A construction accident or any workplace accident might leave you in extreme pain.
These accidents are due to the negligence of a driver or a store owner or operator, or an employer and that means you are well within your rights to file a personal injury claim. In California, you can ask for support from an at-fault party to see you through recovery.
Unfortunately, this financial support isn’t guaranteed when insurance companies and corporate lawyers try to avoid blame for accidents. A California Personal Injury Lawyer works to make sure you don’t get stuck with the bill and also strives to earn you the maximum compensation available.
What Is a California Accident Involving Rib Injuries Worth?
Rib injuries sometimes heal on their own in a month or two, but over that time victims can suffer an enormous reduction in function and comfort. Pain medication and steroid treatments may be necessary. Surgery is the recommendation when ribs don’t line up to heal correctly. It’s also an option a year or two down the road if rib pain doesn’t go away.
In the case of a broken sternum, healing can take anywhere from two months to four months. When these bones don’t heal correctly and remain unstable, surgery is often necessary.
Surgical stabilization of bones in the rib case can cost anywhere between $15,000 dollars and $25,000 dollar. The costs can rise or fall depending on how many ribs are broken.
The cost of treatment also increases when a rib injury plays a part in injuring other parts of the body. With enough force, the ribs can break and threaten to puncture other organs in the chest.
What You Should Do After a Rib Injury to Get the Most Out of Your Accident Claim
Cases can be won or lost in the moments and days after an accident. But mistakes in the early going after a rib injury also serve to reduce the settlement money you may receive.
In basic terms, you should start collecting evidence that proves your innocence in an accident immediately. You’ll also want evidence that demonstrates the seriousness of your injury. You’ll want paperwork that shows the steps you’ve taken and the bills you’ve accumulated while trying to recover.
These are some goals you should have in the moments after an accident and over the next few days to help your personal injury lawyer build a strong case for you:
- Dial 911. Have paramedics document your injury. After a car accident, tell police officers everything you remember so they can file an accurate collision report.
- Alert business owners and operators. If you are at a supermarket or other business, alert a manager. They will need to write up an incident report for their corporate offices.
- Take photos. After a fall at work or in a public place, snap photos of the hazard that caused your rib injury. In a car accident, take photos of car damage and traffic signage. Take photos of any visible injuries and damage to personal property.
- Talk to witnesses. Get contact information so your California Rib Injury Lawyer can reach them later.
- Make an appointment with your physician to get your rib injuries on a medical chart. Follow the doctor’s recommendations including seeing specialists. Save all medical receipts.
- Keep any damaged clothing and personal items. Don’t wash bloody clothing. Don’t throw away the evidence of your hardships.
- Watch what you say. Don’t talk about how badly you are hurt or the fault in an accident to at-fault parties. Insurance representatives will also call you to ask you to make a recorded statement about what happened. Decline. All of these statements can be twisted to reduce the value of your claim later.
- Contact a California Traumatic Injury Lawyer. The sooner your lawyer is informed about your case the easier it will be to gather documents and secure testimony from witnesses. Insurance adjusters will be using their tactics to try to find excuses to reject your rib injury claim from the very start. Your rib injury attorney makes sure you are protected from these personal attacks and seeks every way to increase the amount on your settlement check.
Contact a California Rib Injury Lawyer
The main duties of your personal injury lawyer will be to ensure you receive fair treatment and earn the most in a settlement over your rib injury claim. That’s particularly important in rib cage injury cases. Patients could need help with medical bills in the years ahead as well as extended support if they must continue to miss work hours.
Martin Gasparian, the founder of Maison Law, offers a free case evaluation for all victims in California suffering broken or dislocated ribs. It’s a no-risk way to find out what your injury is worth and how to best secure everything you need to rebuild your life. Contact Mr. Gasparian to schedule a free consultation and talk to a real lawyer today.
