The Shattering Reality of Bone Injuries

Commentary Regarding Broken Bones and Fractures

The human body contains 208 bones. Each bone is made up of blood building bone marrow, bone healing and hardening calcium, and trillions of tiny rigid bone cells. The bone is soft and malleable at birth, but as we grow up, our bones harden to provide strength and protection to our working muscles and vital systems.

The human bone, such as the femur (thigh bone) can withstand up to 12 lbs of direct weight before breaking. The human skull, the strongest bone in the body (second only to the heel bone), can withstand up to 300 lbs. As durable and strong as the human bone can be, each bone has a breaking point.

Broken bone injuries most often occur in car accidents, recreational accidents, or during physical altercations. The consequences of a broken bone can be as mild as a splint and crutches, or severe enough to require surgery to repair the bone and the tissue around the break. In the 2013 NCAA Tournament, Kevin Ware a basketball guard from the Louisville Cardinals was guarding Tyler Thornton from Duke. Ware suffered a serious compound fracture in his right leg when he simply jumped up to defend Thornton’s basketball shot. Ware’s right tibia broke through his skin and was witnessed by his teammates, the thousands of people who were at the game, and millions who watched it live on TV networks.

There are two different common causes for bone fractures:

• impact (ie. falling from a tree)
• force (ie. being struck with a bat)

There are three types of bone fractures:

• simple (a “clean” break)
• compound (the bone breaks and penetrates the muscle or pierces through the skin)
• impacted (the bone breaks and the two pieces are jammed together)

When a bone is fractured, especially in the case of a compound break, infections can set in. When an infection occurs, the result can be blood poisoning, gangrene, and if left untreated, amputation or death. Broken bones are a serious injury, and broken bone accidents are a serious circumstance. If a broken bone accident is caused by negligence, carelessness, or violence it is a crime that can literally leave a mark on the body. These types of accidents can also lead to job and income loss, expensive medical bills, and years of pain and suffering.

Broken bone injuries can be immensely devastating to the injured and their families. While broken bones can be mended, not all consequences of a serious broken bone injury cannot without the help of our experienced broken bone injury lawyers who can help bring justice. If you have legal questions regarding a broken bone injury, please call my office to schedule a free consultation and case review. We serve and represent injured victims throughout the state of California. If you cannot come to us, we will come to you.