3 times a broken bone could turn into a life-altering injury

By Brian Egolf

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Motor Vehicle Accidents

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Last Modified on May 05, 2025

Broken bones are common injuries caused by car crashes. The force of a collision can very easily break bones in the human body even at moderate speeds. Unlike other, more obviously severe injuries, broken bones frequently do not seem like serious health concerns to many people. After all, modern medicine has become very effective at treating such traumatic injuries. Most people with a broken bone can recover within two or three months, which means that people anticipate relatively low expenses after a fracture.

However, for some people, broken bones turn into catastrophic injuries that affect them for life. When might a fracture be more severe than people realize that first?

When it results from a crushing injury

Bones can break in many different ways, and some types of fractures are worse than others. Crushing injuries that may occur during a crash can cause massive damage to the bone and the musculature nearby. Severe crushing injuries may actually result in a surgical amputation because medical professionals may not be able to treat the tissue damage and facilitate a complete recovery.

When it requires surgery

Other than fractures that lead to amputations, there are multiple kinds of broken bones that might require surgical intervention. When a bone breaks into multiple pieces, surgery may be necessary to set the bone and to reinforce it. If a fracture is so severe that it forces the bone through the skin, surgery is often necessary to treat tissue damage and clean the area to prevent deep infections. Surgical care after a fracture will greatly increase the cost of treatment and the length of someone’s recovery.

When the body doesn’t heal properly

Fractures are one of the traumatic experiences associated with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). This chronic health condition often develops after an injury because the body does not heal properly. It results in nerve damage and ongoing pain, as well as increasing physical symptoms even after someone heals. CRPS often worsens over time and can leave some people incapable of continuing to work, especially if they are in a blue-collar profession.

People who break bones during car crashes need to be aware of the possible risks so that they can better navigate the process of negotiating compensation. Recognizing when broken bones might necessitate more compensation than insurance can provide might help people better respond to the legal side of a recent wreck.

About the author: Brian Egolf

Partner at Egolf + Ferlic + Martinez, LLC

Brian Egolf is a Partner at Egolf + Ferlic + Martinez, LLC in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He represents clients in personal injury, medical malpractice, wrongful death, whistleblower, and complex civil litigation matters. He is admitted to practice in New Mexico and before the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico. Brian earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of New Mexico School of Law and his B.S. from Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service.

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