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St. Louis Car Accident Injuries : Impact Injury

The impact of a car accident can be strong enough to cause a bone to crack, resulting in a bone fracture.

auto crash injuries broken bones

There are various types of bone fractures, depending on the severity, cause of the fracture, and the location of the injury. Some types of fractures, such as hairline fractures, may occur even with a minor impact. These types of fractures are not too serious and require minimal medical intervention. However, impacted fractures can be very serious and occur as a result of high-impact collisions.

Impacted Fractures

Impacted fractures result when trauma is forceful enough to cause an area of the bone to shatter and to drive a fragment of bone into another part of the bone. These types of fractures often occur from car accidents, fall from a height, or from an unnatural twisting of the bone.

Impacted fractures cause sharp pain and they are easily detected with the help of an X-ray. The patient may develop bruising and swelling in the injured area and may not be able to move the affected part. Any movement causes sharp pain because the bone fragments get pushed further into each other.

Impacted Fractures of the Hip

An impacted fracture can affect any part of the skeleton. It is not uncommon for more than one bone to be impacted. Hip bones are one of the more common bones to sustain an impacted fracture. The hip bone is actually a group of three bones, making up one of the most critical and largest bone structures in the body. It protects many vital organs, major blood vessels, and nerves. In the case of car accidents, hip fractures usually arise as secondary injuries, when the neck or top of the femur, the upper bone of the leg, is broken. As the lower part of the hip bone is connected to the femoral neck, a break to the femoral neck can cause a hip fracture.

Treatment of Impacted Fractures

Impacted fractures often require surgical treatment because the bone is unable to support itself after the fragments are separated from one another. Surgical hardware such as pins, rods, and other surgical mechanisms may be used to keep the bones in place to aid healing. However, if the bone that has suffered an impacted fracture is a large one, it is unlikely that these reconstructive devices may be required.

Compensation for Car Accident Injuries

Impacted fractures are serious injuries and require immediate medical attention. They cause immense pain and the recovery period is usually long. The victim will often require physical therapy for a prolonged period. If your injury is a result of another driver’s negligence, consult a St. Louis auto crash attorney to file a claim for compensation. Call The Hoffmann Law Firm, L.L.C. at (314) 361-4242 for a free case evaluation.

Updated: January 17, 2019