If someone’s negligence caused your femur fracture, you may have a case.
Full Settlement Value – Displaced vs. Nondisplaced Fractures
The fragments of bone may meet up properly or displaced (out of alignment).
If the pieces of bone line up correctly, the full settlement value of a personal injury case is lower.
If the pieces of bone are out of alignment, the case may be worth more. If the pieces of bone are very much out of alignment, the full value of the case is higher.
Open Fractures Worth More Than Closed Fractures
The break may be closed (skin wasn’t broken) or open (the bone has broken the skin). Closed fractures have a lower pain and suffering settlement value than open fractures.
Take Photos
If you have an open fracture, get someone to take photos that show that the bone has punctured the skin.
Photos May Increase Value
This may add value to your case as the photo may be graphic. It will show the seriousness of your injury.
Along with your femur fracture, you may tear the skin and muscle above the bone. If so, this increases the full value of your case.
Open fracture
If a bone fractures and the broken bone points out through your skin, or a cut goes down to the fractured bone, you have a compound or open fracture.
Open Fractures Have More Injury to Surrounding Areas
Open fractures usually a lot more injury to the surrounding ligaments, tendons and muscles.
Thus, they have a higher full value for settlement purposes. They have an increased chance of complications, particularly infections and have delayed healing. This increases the claims’ full value.
Intense Pain (Increases Value)
A femoral shaft fracture typically results in sudden, intense pain. This is one reason why the full value of femur fracture cases are higher than many other broken bones.
Can’t Put Weight on Leg (Increases Value)
You won’t have the ability to place weight on your leg that is hurt. It may appear deformed, not as long as your other leg and not straight. All of these things increase the full value of the case for settlement purposes.
If you fracture (break) your thigh bone, known as the femur, it may need surgery.
Surgery Increases Case’s Full Value
The most common type of surgery to fix a femur fracture is an open reduction internal fixation (ORIF).
During this surgery, your doctor will cut your leg and put metal (internal fixators) into your leg to hold the bones together during the healing process.
Another image of the femur, with some labeled parts, is below.
If you had surgery on your femur as the result of an accident caused by someone else, you probably want to know how much your case is worth.
Pain and Suffering Settlement Range for Femur Fractures (Car Wrecks and More in Florida)
As a starting point, the full settlement value of the pain and suffering component for a fractured (broken) femur with surgery from a Florida accident caused by someone else is between $200,000 and $500,000.
Lower End of Range is for Good Recovery
The lower end ($200,000) of the settlement range for pain and suffering when there are no healing issues. It applies if there is little, if any, resultant disability.
Higher End Is for A lot of Treatment and Permanent Disability
The upper end ($500,000) of the range is when treatment is delayed, there are healing issues and a significant resultant disability.
Now, $200,000 is a conservative estimate and $500,000 is if you get an awesome result. To arrive at the full value of your case, you need to add medical bills and lost wages to the pain and suffering value, and then divide it by your fault.
Future Limitations Can Be Huge
The injured person should be certain to have the doctor issue a report which states the future limitations of a femur fracture which may include, but are not limited, to having an altered gate.
Altered Gate (Increases Full Value)
This means a femur fracture can result in you favoring one leg more than the other which may result in back pain. Back pain could result in an operation down the line.
The potential future limitations from a femur fracture are one reason that an adjuster may assign a large figure to the pain and suffering component of a femur fracture in a Florida injury case.
87 or More Factors May Affect the Case Value
You should note that the above range ($200,000 to $500,000) for pain and suffering for a fractured femur with surgery (ORIF) does not factor in the more than 87 important factors that may affect the value of your injury case.
Every case is different. One factor can significantly decrease the value of your case.
There is no guarantee that you will get any more for your femur fracture.
No Insurance = No Settlement
For example, if there is no insurance, you may not get any money for your case.
Pain and Suffering Values Don’t Apply to Workers’ Compensation Cases
The pain and suffering values that I give don’t apply to accidents where you are injured at work in Florida and no one other than your employer caused your accident.
Pain and Suffering Value Does Employee To Cruise and Boat Accidents
However, they do apply if you were injured while on a boat if you are covered by the Jones Act. If someone’s negligence caused your injury while you were working, you may have also have a case against the person who caused your accident in addition to a workers’ compensation case.
Online Injury Settlement Calculators for a Femur Fractures
I strongly suggest that you don’t value your case based on an online settlement calculator.
There are many reasons why settlement calculators may not work for a Florida femur fracture or upper leg injury cases. This is true whether you are looking at my Florida injury settlement calculator or one that someone else made.
Scooter Rider Hit by Car Gets $35,000 for Broken Upper Leg Bone (Femur)
A scooter rider got $35,000 after a driver failed to yield the right of way. It happened in Miami Lakes, which is next to Hialeah, Florida.
He suffered an upper leg (femur) fracture.
Man Gets $35,000 Settlement
United Auto Insurance Company (UAIC) paid $10,000. GEICO paid $25,000. There was no more available insurance.
Settlement for Lady Who Fractured Hip from Fall on Curb in Apartment Building
I reached a confidential outcome for a lady in her case. She suffered a femur fracture from tripping and falling in the courtyard of a Miami Beach, Florida apartment complex.
Court OKs $640,587 Verdict ($575,000 for Pain and Suffering) for Femur & Face Fracture
See why a Florida appeals court approved a $640,587 verdict ($575,000 for pain and suffering) for a femur and facial fracture for motorcyclist hit by a car.
Shopper Gets Zero Against Publix for Femur Fracture
This isn’t my case. A shopper claimed that a Publix Supermarket employee negligently directed a customer who was driving a powered shopping cart. The customer claimed that other customer was exiting the checkout lane.
Customer Says Other Shopper Knocked Him Down
The customer claimed that the other shopper hit and knocked down the decedent. Plaintiff claimed the fall eventually caused his death.
Trial Was Just to Determine Negligence
The trial was only to determine whether Publix was negligent. Publix claimed that the employee was not careless. Publix claimed that the shopper did not hit the decedent with the cart.
Shopper Suffers Comminuted Fracture of Left Femur
The 78-year-old decedent suffered a comminuted subtrochanteric fracture of the proximal left femur.
Customer Has Surgery
Three days later, he had open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) of the hip with an intramedullary, cephalomedullary nail.
(The image above is an image of ORIF of the hip, with an intramedullary rod, from a separate case that I handled.) The shopper died four days later.
Shopper’s Family Says Femur Fracture Caused Death
The plaintiff claimed that the decedent’s fall, fracture and surgery caused his death. Publix argued that the customer in the powered shopping cart did not hit or knock over the decedent.
Publix argued that the customer had passed the decedent.
Publix Says Shopper Caused His Own Fall
They argued that the decedent took two steps and fell. Publix argued that its employee was reasonable in guiding the shopper (on the powered shopping cart).
Jury Saw Store Surveillance
The jury saw the store surveillance of the incident.
Publix Argued Death Wasn’t Caused by Fall
Publix was expected to argue that the fall did not cause the man’s death. The death was listed as atherosclerotic heart disease.
Publix claimed that the decedent was stable and getting better after the surgery. He then died four days later.
The verdict was in 2014. Date of Accident was November 2010. The case is Duarte v. Publix Supermarkets.
Shopper Wins $1.3 Million ($1 Million for Pain and Suffering) for Femur Fracture
This isn’t my case. A shopper won $1,345,000 ($1 Million for pain and suffering) for a femur fracture and surgery.
She Fell at Costco
She slipped and fell at a Costco in North Miami Beach, Florida. She was a 57-year-old lady.
Femur Shaft Fractures (Broken Thighbone)
The long, straight portion of the femur is known as the femoral shaft. A fracture on this part of the bone is known as a femoral shaft fracture.
Did someone’s carelessness cause your femur fracture, upper leg injury or another injury in an accident in Florida, or on a cruise or boat?
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Check out some of the many Florida injury cases that we have settled, including but not limited to car accidents, truck accidents, slip or trip and falls, motorcycle accidents, drunk driving (DUI) accidents, pedestrian accidents, drunk driving accidents, taxi accidents, bicycle accidents, store or supermarket accidents, cruise ship accidents and much more.
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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in April 2013 and has been completely revamped and updated.
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