Can You Receive Compensation For a Fractured Sternum?

Your sternum or breastbone is the long, flat bone running down the center of your chest. When the bone suffers a crack or break it’s known as a fractured sternum and the pain can be intense. 

You can experience pain every time you laugh, deeply inhale, or cough. Even raising your arms can be painful when you’re dealing with a fractured sternum. 

So, can you receive compensation for your injury? If you’re seeking compensation for a fractured sternum, you must determine if your injury is eligible. Here’s what you should know about receiving compensation for a fractured sternum.

Determine the Cause of Your Injury

Before you can file an insurance claim, you need to know how your fractured sternum occurred. If the fracture is your fault, maybe you’re playing football with friends and took a hard hit, you’ll probably file a claim with your health insurance provider.

Since you entered into the game understanding the risks of being tackled, negligence isn’t a factor. In other words, you can’t blame the other player for tackling you since it’s a standard part of gameplay.

However, if someone’s negligent actions caused your injury you may be able to file a claim for compensation with their insurance provider. Some examples of accidents that can be caused by negligence include:

• Vehicle collisions
• Workplace accidents
• Slips, falls, and trips
• Falling from heights

While a hard tackle usually doesn’t meet negligence standards, if you’re unknowingly playing with faulty equipment, like protective pads, you may be able to file a compensation claim against the manufacturer or individual providing the equipment.

Understanding Negligence

We briefly mentioned negligence and it’s a key factor in every personal injury claim. If you can’t prove negligence, you’re probably not going to be able to file a claim with anyone other than your insurance provider.

So, what’s negligence? In a nutshell, negligence occurs when an individual’s actions or behaviors put others at risk. Another explanation is when the at-fault party’s actions are not those of a reasonable person.

You must prove the four elements of negligence: duty of care, breach of duty, causation, and damages. Here’s a closer look at the four elements of negligence:

1. Duty of care: Everyone has a duty of care to behave in a way that doesn’t endanger others. For drivers, their duty is to follow all traffic laws.
2. Breach of duty: A breach of duty occurs when the individual fails to act reasonably. Using a motorist as the continuing example. A driver breaches their duty of care when they fail to obey traffic rules. Running a red light and speeding are examples of a breach of duty.
3. Causation: To prove causation, you must show that the individual’s breach of duty is the direct cause of your fractured sternum. If the driver had stopped at the red light, your car accident wouldn’t have occurred, resulting in your fractured sternum.
4. Damages: The fourth element of negligence requires you to prove your fractured sternum is caused by the accident. In other words, you didn’t fracture your sternum before the accident occurred.

If you can prove negligence, you’re well on your way to possibly receiving compensation for your fractured sternum.

Type of Compensation You May Be Able to Receive

Every personal injury claim is different, and this is something you should remember. If you’re researching similar personal injury claims, don’t pay attention to compensation amounts since what applies in one case may not be applicable in yours.

So, what type of compensation can you potentially include in your claim? You can include both economic and non-economic damages.

Your economic damages are things like your medical expenses. If your injury is preventing you from returning to work, you should be able to claim lost income. Property damage can also be part of your injury claim. These are only a few examples, your claim may include additional damages like travel costs if your vehicle is damaged in the accident.

Non-economic damages typically include pain and suffering. Mental anguish and loss of life enjoyment are other common types of non-economic damages. 

Since non-economic damages are intangible, meaning they don’t come with a handy price tag, it’s up to you to determine the value. You and your attorney can calculate your non-economic damages using either the per diem or multiplier method.

You May Be Able to Receive Compensation for a Fractured Sternum

If your fractured sternum is the result of someone else’s negligence, you may be able to file a compensation claim. 

However, you will need to prove negligence and determine how the injury occurred. So, to help ensure that you receive fair compensation, make sure that you talk to an experienced attorney about your fractured sternum claim. 

An experienced attorney can assist in gathering evidence, such as medical records and witness statements, to build a strong case. They can also navigate the legal process on your behalf, advocating for your rights and helping you understand your options for recovery.