When a traffic accident happens, the occupants of each of the vehicles involved have a good chance of being hurt to some extent. Motor vehicle collisions can be some of the most violent and deadly accidents that an individual may experience in his or her lifetime. Passengers and driver alike can sustain bone fractures, burns, internal injuries and closed-head trauma. Of these, broken bones are usually the most common among victims of automobile and trucking-related wrecks.
The sheer force of a medium- to high-speed roadway collision can result in severe breaks, and even multiple breaks in the same bone. Whether a break is of the so-called simple type or of the compound variety, those fractures sustained in car crashes tend toward being more serious and, as such, they usually require surgery to treat fully. For many victims, it is not uncommon to have screws, plates, or other fastening hardware employed to bring the bone back into alignment and to return it as closely as possible to full strength.
As Maryland personal injury attorneys, we have seen our share of victims who have survived an auto, truck or motorcycle accident yet who required extensive medical treatment in order to return to a normal life. As with many car wrecks, multiple fractures come part and parcel with all the other injuries. Fractures that require surgical attention can cause medical costs to increase significantly, to the point that some individuals find it difficult to meet their medical bills, much less their fix household expenses while laid up in the hospital or rehab facility.
It’s always important to remember that broken bones are not always a simple kind of physical injury. Even after a successful surgical procedure, long-term physical therapy could be required. Should the fracture affect one’s leg, pelvis or other weight-bearing portion of the skeleton, an accident victim could experience lingering pain and long-tern mobility problems. That’s not to say that a broken arm or fractured hand is any less important to one’s quality of life. In those cases, a breaks affecting a person’s arm or hand can cause dexterity issues and make even the most simple of tasks a painful chore.
As injury attorneys, we often think of these complications whenever we read of bad traffic accidents across Maryland or over in the District. Not long ago, we read of several Harford County crashes that resulted in the injury of five people. According to news reports, the three separate crashes occurred in Jarrettsville and Bel Air prior to the holidays last year.
In one crash, a 36-year-old motorcycle rider from Abington, MD, was taken to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore City following a car-bike crash in the intersection of Blue Spruce Dr. and Bel Air South Pkwy. in Harford County. The biker was reportedly struck by a Nissan Versa operated by a 32-year-old Joppa man, though the exact cause was not specified.
Another accident along a stretch of Rte 165 involved a two cars and injured a couple of the occupants. Based on reports from the Maryland State Police, the crash happened on a Saturday afternoon around 5:30 when a Ford pickup truck heading southbound along Rte 165/Baldwin Mill Rd failed to allow enough stopping distance and crashed into the backend of a late model Ford SUV whose driver was attempting to make a turn right into her driveway.
The 36-year-old pickup truck driver and the 39-year-old woman in the SUV were both hurst as a result of the collision. Three other occupants riding in the pickup truck were not seriously hurt. The pickup driver was reportedly taken to Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in the Bel Air area and the woman was transported to Johns Hopkins for treatment.
In a third incident, which took place in the Forest Hill area, a local woman was seriously hurt in another two-car wreck along a stretch of West Jarrettsville Rd. near High Point. Police reports indicated that a 31-year-old female driver apparently attempted to make a left turn into an adjacent driveway a little before noon when she reportedly cut off and struck a Honda Civic driven by a 25-year-old woman.
The Honda’s driver and passenger had to be taken to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center for treatment of their injuries. The driver reportedly had possibly critical injuries, while no information was available on the condition of the 25-year-old passenger traveling with her at the time of the collision.
Five injured in three Harford crashes over weekend, BaltimoreSun.com, December 18, 2012