Manson Car Accident Injury Attorneys

If you have been in a car accident near Manson, at some point you will wonder how much your case is worth, and whether an injury like a broken heel bone or a back condition requiring surgery changes that value. The Manson car accident attorneys at Walker, Billingsley & Bair want local drivers to understand how settlement value is determined, what a calcaneus fracture involves, and what back surgery after a crash might mean for a claim.

How Much Is Your Iowa Car Accident Settlement Worth?

If you have been in a car accident, at some point you will wonder how much your case is worth. First, there is no precise formula for calculating this. You may have heard that three times the medical costs is the standard, but it is much more complicated than that.

Information Needed Before Determining the Value of a Claim

Several factors matter, including how severe your injuries are and whether you required surgery. How much insurance coverage does the other driver have? Under Iowa law, the state minimum for personal injury is only $20,000, which does not go very far if you have sustained serious injuries, though you may have underinsured motorist coverage on your own vehicle that will fully compensate you, subject to several legal requirements you must properly follow to recover it.

How much time did you miss from work due to your injuries, and are your injuries permanent? Are you partially at fault for causing your injuries, since Iowa personal injury law follows comparative fault, meaning your damages can be reduced if you are found to be partially at fault? Do you have permanent scarring, and did you miss any doctor or physical therapy appointments? How much damage was done to your vehicle, since minor fender benders with little or no damage are generally worth less than claims where a car has been totaled? Has your personal life, such as hobbies or exercise, been affected? There are literally dozens of factors, and this is just a short list.

When Will You Know Your Case's Value?

Eventually your attorney should tell you how much they believe your case is worth once they have looked at your medical records and thoroughly investigated your case. A demand letter can be prepared that sets forth in detail the facts that support the case, the positions being taken, and how much is being demanded to settle the case. Clients should be involved in reviewing and approving the demand letter and actively involved once settlement negotiations begin, with their attorney explaining whether offers being made are good or not and describing possible outcomes so an informed decision can be made.

Calcaneus Fracture from a Car Accident Near Manson

A calcaneus fracture is a fracture of the heel bone. The fracture can be extremely painful and may lead to long-term complications for the patient. One common cause of a calcaneus fracture is a car accident, since trauma to the feet can lead to these fractures, as well as other fractures, sprains, or strains in the foot and ankle area.

Symptoms of a Calcaneus Fracture

According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the most common symptoms of a calcaneus fracture include heel deformity, pain, bruising, swelling, and an inability to put weight on the heel. Fractures may be stable, displaced, open, closed, or comminuted. Of these, comminuted fractures are often considered the most serious, since they are very unstable and are characterized by the bone shattering into three or more pieces.

Treatment Options for Calcaneus Fractures

The treatment applied to a calcaneus fracture depends on the type and severity of the fracture. When the fracture is not severe, nonsurgical treatment options may be considered, including casting or other forms of immobilization, physical therapy, and pain medications. When a calcaneus fracture is severe, surgery may be necessary, most commonly open reduction and internal fixation, or percutaneous screw fixation surgery, both of which require rehabilitation therapy following surgery.

Complications from a Calcaneus Fracture

Unfortunately, calcaneus fractures do not always heal as they should, and in some cases further complications may arise. According to the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society, complications related to surgery can include infection, damage to nerves and blood vessels, bleeding or blood clots, complications in skin healing, nerve stretch, chronic pain, joint stiffness, and tendon or nerve irritation.

Most car accidents are caused by preventable driver errors. If you have been in a car accident near Manson caused by another driver's error and sustained a calcaneus fracture as a result, speak with an attorney about your financial recovery options, including a claim for medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering damages.

Back Surgery for Car Accident Injuries Near Manson

Back injuries can range in severity from minor to major, and some serious injuries might require surgery. Bulging and herniated discs are common back injuries after car accidents. The spine consists of vertebrae and discs that help increase flexibility, and these discs are made of a harder outer shell, or capsule, and a softer inner cushion, or nucleus. With bulging discs, the inner nucleus pushes against the capsule and causes a bulge, while herniated discs occur when the softer nucleus spills out through a tear in the capsule.

Common Injuries Requiring Back Surgery

Patients experience pain because the discs push against the nerves in the spinal cord. The pain is usually treated with rest, physical therapy, and medication, but if these treatments do not work, doctors might recommend back surgery. Spinal compression fractures are another back injury car accident victims might suffer, and in some cases a compression fracture might result in loss of spine height. Back pain and pain in the rest of the body can result from the actual injury and from the vertebrae pushing against the spinal cord, and surgery is common after spinal compression fractures.

Back Surgery Procedures

For bulging and herniated discs, discectomy and spinal fusion surgery may be necessary, in which the surgeon removes the affected disc, or a portion of it, and fuses the surrounding vertebrae together using a bone graft. This procedure requires a significant healing and recovery period, and patients usually have activity restrictions for several months afterward. Vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty are surgical procedures used to treat spinal compression fractures. With vertebroplasty, the surgeon injects a cement-like substance into the vertebrae to help mend the fractures, while kyphoplasty uses a balloon to inflate the vertebrae before injecting the cement, and both have much shorter recovery times than spinal fusion surgery. Laminectomy and foraminotomy are procedures that expand the spinal cavity by removing structures in the spinal column to reduce pressure on the spinal cord nerves.