What is a Broken Leg Worth in a Workers’ Comp. Claim?

If you have broken your leg while at work, it can put immense pressure on you when it comes to your financial situation. A broken leg could take up to 6 months to fully recover from, which could mean you are laid up at home without being able to earn an income.

Fortunately, in the U.S., most workers are covered by workers’ compensation, which means up to two-thirds of their income is paid to them if they get injured or fall ill while at work. Medical expenses are covered from the outset of the accident as well.

The Effects of a Broken Leg

When a leg is broken, it prevents the person from freely moving around after it’s been set in plaster. After some rest time, the victim will be able to use crutches to assist with mobility issues. It’s important to keep the broken leg in the cast, and failure to maintain the broken leg in a stable position could lead to a second break.

Broken Legs in the Workplace

An injury like a broken leg is commonplace in workplaces throughout the country. Many broken legs mean that workers’ compensation for these workplace injuries reach millions of dollars each year.

A broken leg can happen in many different situations while at work, including tripping and falling on a hazard, falling down stairs or a step ladder, and falling from a height on a construction site. It could happen to a delivery driver in an accident or a cook in a kitchen. Breaking a leg could result in a big gap in income to fill if a worker breaks a leg.

How Much Compensation Can I Get For a Broken Leg?

How much compensation you can get for a broken leg depends primarily on how severe the fracture is. The more severe the fracture, the longer it will take to heal and the more treatment including surgery you might need.

Your employer’s insurer will ultimately make the decision about the value of compensation it is prepared to pay, but generally all medical treatment, including future possible medical treatment is covered as well as up to two thirds of lost wages.

It is rare for permanent injuries to occur with respect to broken legs, but it is possible that the fracture might be particularly difficult to repair, which could extend the time to recover or even mean you cannot return to the same sort of job.

This could influence the compensation payment as the insurer must take into account all these factors.

A workplace broken leg injury might take anything from a few weeks to six months or more to heal. More rarely, a severe broken leg injury may take up to a year or more to heal.

The cost of treatment could range from a few thousand dollars up to $50,000 or more if the injury is particularly severe.

One other factor that would influence how much compensation you could get for a broken leg is whether it is a partial or total temporary disability.

A partial disability would mean you could return to work even while your injury is healing, while a total disability would mean wages being paid while you are recovering away from your workplace.

Workers’ Comp Payment for a Broken Leg

It’s virtually impossible to claim compensation for a broken leg that occurred outside of the workplace. However, your workers’ compensation payment for a broken leg that took place while you were undertaking work duties may entitle you to around two thirds of your wages and the cost of your medical treatment from the injury date.

You could find yourself in the following states as a result of a broken leg:

Temporary Total Disability is a possibility when you break a leg. In this case, you will be unable to perform tasks that require leg movement for up to 6 months, depending on the severity of the break.
Permanent Total Disability occurs when you never return to work. This is quite unlikely these days with a broken leg because health professionals know how to treat the breakage.
Temporary Partial Disability is a distinct possibility with a broken leg because incapacity takes place while the broken leg is healing, but you may still be able to work.
Permanent Partial Disability probably won’t be a problem with a broken leg unless it’s impossible to repair the injury. It means that you can return to work but with a reduced ability to perform the same job.

Torn Muscles and Workers' Comp

Average Settlement for Broken Bones

A number of factors are considered when calculating a workers’ comp. settlement for broken bones. The first is the medical treatment expenses which have already been paid such as hospital bills, prescriptions and ambulance rides.

The second is the cost of future medical treatment if it is required. The third is the value of lost wages both for work already missed and future missed work until full recovery and the victim is able to return to work in the same capacity as before the broken bones occurred.

Average Settlement for a Broken Femur

Femur fractures average workers' comp settlement value is somewhere between $150,000 and $175,000. The most serious broken femur which involves multiple fractures or bone splinters could reach a settlement value of $300,000 or more.

Compensation Amount for a Broken Fibula

For a broken fibula the median recovery in workers’ compensation is approximately $85,000 which includes medical treatment and lost wages while recovering from the injury.

Compensation amount for a Broken Tibia

For a tibia fracture, the median recovery in workers’ compensation is approximately $85,000, which includes medical treatment and lost wages while recovering from the injury.

Workers' Comp. Settlement for a Broken Foot

The average full settlement for workers comp for a broken foot is approximately $ 20,435, which includes all medical treatment and lost wages while recovering from the injury.

You Will Need To Gather Evidence to Prove Your Claim

As soon as you fall and break a leg, you will know immediately that something is wrong. You won’t be able to move your leg and it will hurt. You should keep a record of what caused the accident that resulted in such a serious injury and report the accident to your workplace supervisor. Get witnesses to vouch for how the accident took place.

You will have x-rays and hospital treatment to deal with the broken leg. Depending on which leg bone was broken and where the fracture took place, you may several sessions of surgery. Keep all the x-rays and medical reports and records. You may need all this evidence when you file a workers’ comp claim.

The Cost of Treating a Broken Leg

If you are involved in a workplace accident, you could suffer a variety of injuries. A fall, being crushed by equipment or merchandise, or a motor vehicle accident are just some of the ways that you could suffer from a broken leg.

If you have suffered a broken leg on the job, you will need to pursue a claim for workers’ compensation benefits. Workers’ compensation benefits can assist you during this financially difficult time and ensure you have access to the medical care that you need.

The cost of medical care has gone up considerably in recent years. According to CostHelper*, the non-surgical treatment of a simple broken leg – or a clean break – costs about $2,500 or more when a cast is required. The cost of an x-ray depends on the radiology center and can vary from $20 to as much as $1,000.

The application of a cast costs around $250 plus the doctor fee. Surgical treatment of a broken leg, without health insurance, typically varies from $17,000 to $35,000 – or even more. In Hawaii, the surgical treatment of an uncomplicated broken leg is about $16,082 while repairing a complicated fracture of the leg jumps to $33,565.

If the leg has a hairline fracture, the doctor will perform a reduction to realign the bones then put a cast on the leg. During a surgical procedure, the patient is placed under anesthesia, then the surgeon cuts into the skin and places screws and other necessary hardware to keep the bones in place during the healing process.

There are several additional costs that may result from a broken leg. These expenses include:

Initial emergency treatment
Crutches or other medical devices
Physical therapy
Follow-up physician visits
Prescriptions
Sometimes it is necessary to remove the metal hardware placed during surgery because of irritation and problems – this can cost anywhere from $2,500 to $11,700 more

A broken leg with extensive damage that requires surgery and that has complications could cost in excess of $50,000. Workers’ compensation insurance should cover the cost of medical care to ensure you have access to the care that you need so you can get on the road to recovery.

The Value of a Broken Leg Settlement

In addition to counting all your medical expenses, as mentioned above, you will want to consider the need for any medical care in the future. Sometimes a follow-up surgery or ongoing physical therapy could be required.

You will want to make sure those costs are included in your overall settlement amount. If you don’t bring those up during your original claim and settlement negotiations, you will pay those out of pocket.

Also, be sure to document all your missed work and lost wages. Workers’ compensation will reimburse you for about two-thirds of your lost wages. Be sure to consider any future loss of earnings because your injuries might affect you long-term.

Consider if you must take on a different job that pays less when you do return to work. A broken leg could lead to several weeks – or even months – off work. In extreme cases, you could be out of work for a year or even longer.

Your workers’ comp lawyer will help you determine which damages you suffered and the value of your settlement. To summarize, your settlement should include:

All medical expenses – surgery, hospital care, doctor visits, physical therapy, prescriptions, medical devices, and follow-up care
Future expenses – such as future follow-up visits or surgeries
Missed wages from the injury
Any future loss of earnings because of the need for ongoing care or you having to change jobs because of the extent of your injuries

No two broken leg settlements are the same, so several things will come into play determining the value of your settlement.

Your workplace injury lawyer will go over these with you.

The severity of your injury
The medical costs
Your lost wages
The long-term affects on your employment
Any future medical care needs
If vocational retraining is needed

Tips For Settling Your Workers’ Compensation Claim

If you have suffered a broken leg in a workplace accident, be sure to maintain documentation to support your claim. You must notify your employer right away and be sure to write down notes about the accident while it is still fresh in your memory. The more details that you have, the better your claim will go. Get statements from any witnesses because corroborating statements for your claim are very effective.

Be sure all documents are filed on time and be sure to keep thorough records and documentation. Keep medical bills, medical records, and proof of missed work and lost wages. Your workers’ compensation attorney will be familiar with state laws and will make sure your claim is handled promptly and that all documents are filed in a timely manner.

Your lawyer will try to negotiate a settlement with the workers’ comp insurer out of court. If a settlement is agreed, it might take a couple of weeks for the agreement to be written up and signed by all parties.

After that, it must be approved and then executed by a judge. Depending on the caseload of the judge, it could take a few weeks for a judge to review the settlement and then sign off on it. After it has been approved by a judge, it is effective.

After the claim’s approval, the insurance company has a set timeframe to get the check sent to your attorney. Upon receipt at your lawyer’s office, all outstanding medical bills will be paid. Then, any expenses advanced your case from the law office, such as the cost of medical records, is reimbursed.

Your lawyer is then paid his contingency fee, which is usually 20 percent of your settlement. You will receive any remaining amount to use toward living expenses. When you receive your lump sum, remember any future medical expenses that you might have and save back the funds to cover those costs.

You May Need to Speak to an Attorney

If you have never been injured at work before and you don’t know how to file a workers’ comp claim, you should arrange a consultation with a workers’ comp attorney to help you through the process. This will ensure that you will get the workers’ compensation you are entitled while giving you financial security during your recovery.

You'll have little to lose by consulting an attorney. Your lawyer will be working on a contingency fee basis, which means you won’t have to pay unless you win your claim. And remember: you can still file a claim even if you caused the accident.