Suffering a broken bone, or fracture, at work can be upsetting for you and your family. Your employer or supervisor has an obligation to protect you from the risk of being hurt in an accident or sustaining an injury. However, if such protection is insufficient, then you are likely to become involved in an accident and, possibly, suffer an injury.

Broken bones can range in severity from minor to major, but a serious fracture can take an extended period of time for healing, and has a much greater impact on the individual who was injured. If you suffered a broken bone, or fracture, at work you may have a right to receive workers’ compensation.

Typical causes of broken bones
There are a number of different ways in which you can suffer a broken bone in the workplace:

• Falling over an object
• Slipping, tripping or falling
• Being hit by a falling object
• Falling from a height
• Being trapped within machinery

Broken bones are categorized as hairline, simple or compound fractures:

• Hairline fractures, or stress fractures, or fissure fractures, are fractures of the bone caused by fatigue or recurring stress over a period of time.
• Simple fractures, or closed fractures, are broken bones that stay within the body and do not pierce the skin.
• Compound fractures are the most severe of the three. This kind of fracture is marked by entry of the bone through the skin.

The impact of a broken bone
A broken bone can cause pain, discomfort and psychological damage. A severe fracture, as in the case of a compound fracture, can lead to a lengthy period of recovery and rehabilitation, which can be very stressful. Additionally, a serious fracture can bring about complications, an example of which is the premature start of arthritis.

Other adverse consequences of suffering a broken bone are the loss of time from work, which may result in lost earnings for you, and a decrease in the standard of living for your family. Moreover, you may incur the following expenses:

• Medical bills
• Cost of rehabilitation
• Travel expenses to and from the hospital, physical therapy, etc.

It is important to be aware that a fracture that occurred at work will usually only be paid out by your employer’s insurance carrier. If you are not totally disabled by the injury, and have not incurred high medical expenses, as in the case of surgery or wearing a cast for a long period of time, then the workers’ compensation award may not be considerably high.

However, workers’ compensation is not the sole means by which you can obtain financial support. If a third party was also involved in the accident, you may be able to pursue compensation from the responsible person or entity in a personal injury lawsuit.

How a workers’ compensation attorney can help
If you were injured in an accident at the workplace, call the workers’ compensation attorneys at Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. We will perform an assessment of your case, and provide you with sound legal advice.