How Long Does a Broken Bone Take to Heal?

Broken bones can make everyday life tasks a challenge, and may even make you unable to work, drive, or care for yourself until they heal. Many people wonder when their broken bones will finally heal so they can resume a normal life.

While some broken bones can heal within a few weeks, factors like the severity and type of break, the location of the break, and your individual health can significantly affect your healing time. Read on to learn about the variables that affect your healing time and when you’re entitled to compensation for your injuries in Louisiana.

Common Accidents That Cause Broken Bones

While any type of physical force can cause a bone to fracture, falls, car accidents, sports injuries, and other physical traumas are common accidents that often result in broken bones.

Some types of fractures are more likely in certain types of accidents. For example, if your limb is crushed in an accident, you’re more likely to suffer a comminuted fracture, where the bone breaks into two or more pieces.

Whereas in a short fall, you’re more likely to suffer a greenstick fracture (where the break doesn’t go all the way through the bone) or transverse fracture (a single horizontal fracture).

Factors Affecting Healing Time

The timeline to recover from a broken bone can vary from person to person. Variables like the type and location of the break, along with each person’s individual health, can impact bone healing time. These factors affect healing, but remember that only your doctor can provide the most accurate estimate of when your bone will heal.

Type of Break

Bones can break in unlimited ways, but there are five common types of fractures that are classified by their pattern and cause and have different healing times and treatment options:

• Greenstick
• Transverse
• Comminuted
• Spiral
• Compound

Greenstick fractures, where the bone has broken only partially, will take much less time to heal than a compound fracture, where the bone has not only broken but has moved and punctured the skin.

A greenstick fracture will typically take four to six weeks to heal, possibly only needing a cast to maintain alignment of the bone. A compound fracture, however, may require surgery to place pins or rods in the bone for alignment and can take many months to completely heal.

Location of the Break

In some parts of the body, bones rebuild more quickly when broken. According to the American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons, a fractured forearm often takes three to six months to heal. By comparison, a fractured wrist can heal in as quickly as six weeks.

The fracture’s location can also affect available treatment options. Splints and casts are not viable for fractures in the rib or spine, for instance, making them much more challenging to treat.

Individual Health

Your age, overall health, and habits can influence how quickly your bone repairs itself. The older you are, the slower you will heal. Preexisting conditions can also slow down the healing process. Whether the condition is temporary, like Vitamin D deficiency, or chronic, like osteoporosis or type 2 diabetes, each can affect your bones’ ability to repair.

Finally, lifestyle habits, like smoking, can cause further delays in healing because nicotine reduces blood flow, resulting in impaired healing.

If I Broke a Bone in an Accident Caused by Someone Else, Can I Get Compensation?

If your broken bone was the result of another person’s carelessness, you may be able to file a personal injury claim against the negligent party. To win compensation, you’ll need to prove negligence. To prove negligence, you must provide evidence that they owed you a duty of care and that their failure to meet that duty of care directly caused your injuries.

• If a drunk driver sped the wrong way down the street and hit you, shattering several bones in your legs, you may be unable to drive and need help with basic daily tasks like shopping, cooking, and bathing. Your attorney can argue that all drivers owe a duty of care on the road and that the driver who hit you was negligent in driving drunk, speeding, and using the wrong lane.

• If you slipped on ice in a grocery store parking lot that resulted in a skull fracture, you may be unable to work because of the significant pain, memory loss, and possible loss of motor function. You may be owed compensation for your lost wages during your recovery time and your medical costs because the grocery store had a duty to make the parking lot safe for customers but failed to put down ice.

Victims of broken bones deserve to have their medical costs covered as well as any additional needs they have as a result of the injury. Broken bones can impact day-to-day function and, depending on the injury, may take months to heal.

Even if you’re confident you have a valid compensation claim, proving that another person’s negligence caused your injuries, and calculating how much you are owed for your medical bills and how your injury has impacted your life, can be challenging. A free consultation with Houma personal injury lawyers can help you get started on a claim.

Recover Compensation for a Broken Bone with Dudley DeBosier

When you break a bone through no fault of your own, you don’t deserve to suffer the resulting financial burden. Dudley DeBosier Injury Lawyers can help you file a claim against the negligent party, collect evidence for your case, and negotiate the settlement amount you deserve. Contact us today to schedule a free case review.

This content has been reviewed by Chad Lederman, Director of Legal Operations at our New Orleans office.

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