Broken bones and fractures rank among the most common pedestrian accident injuries. When a vehicle strikes a pedestrian, the force of impact is rarely absorbed without trauma; fractures are the rule, not the exception.
Some fractures heal within a few months. Others, particularly those involving the spine, pelvis, or joints, result in permanent impairment and ongoing medical care. When a driver’s negligence causes those injuries, you have the right to pursue full compensation.
At Salamati Law, we assess the severity and prognosis of your fractures, document the full scope of your damages, and negotiate with insurers to recover what you are owed, including medical expenses, lost income, and compensation for long-term disability. Have questions? Schedule a free consultation today.
Broken Bones and Fractures in Pedestrian Accidents
Broken bones and fractures are the same injury described differently. The clinical distinction that matters for a pedestrian accident claim is the type of fracture; each carries different treatment demands, healing timelines, and long-term implications.
Common fracture types include:
- Complete fracture: The bone breaks entirely into two separate pieces.
- Partial fracture: The break does not extend through the entire bone.
- Displaced fracture: The bone shifts out of alignment, leaving a gap between the broken ends.
- Stable fracture: The broken ends remain aligned and do not shift.
- Compression fracture: The bone collapses under force.
- Comminuted fracture: The bone shatters into three or more fragments.
- Avulsion fracture: A ligament or tendon pulls a fragment of bone away from the main structure.
Fracture Locations Common in Pedestrian Accidents
Any bone in the body can break in a pedestrian accident. The location of a fracture depends on how the victim was struck, the speed and angle of impact, and how the body responded at the moment of collision.
Common fracture sites include:
- Broken legs and knees: Vehicle contact most often strikes the lower extremities, making leg and knee fractures among the most common pedestrian injuries. Severe fractures can cause lasting loss of mobility and may require surgery, hardware implantation, or joint replacement.
- Arms and wrists: Fractures to the arms and wrists frequently result from a victim’s instinct to brace for impact. These injuries can severely limit a victim’s ability to perform daily tasks and, depending on severity, may affect long-term capacity to work.
- Ribs: Fractured ribs are painful and restrict breathing, but the more serious risk is internal. Broken ribs can puncture the lungs or damage surrounding organs. Full recovery can take six weeks or longer, with physical restrictions throughout.
- Vertebrae: Vertebral fractures carry the risk of spinal cord damage, which can result in partial or complete paralysis. These injuries often require surgical stabilization and long-term rehabilitation.
- Pelvic fractures: High-impact collisions can shatter the pelvis, often requiring surgery and extended periods of immobility. Long-term complications include chronic pain, hip dysfunction, and difficulty with weight-bearing activity.
- Skull fractures: A fractured skull places the brain at immediate risk. Traumatic brain injury is a serious and frequent consequence, and fractures involving the face can cause permanent disfigurement or impair vision, hearing, or jaw function.
Long-Term Impact of Broken Bones in a Pedestrian Accident
The force that breaks a bone also damages the surrounding tissue: muscles tear, tendons and ligaments stretch or rupture, and bone fragments can lacerate nerves and blood vessels. These secondary injuries often dictate recovery as much as the fracture itself.
Physical Complications
Severe or complex fractures carry a high risk of long-term medical consequences:
- Post-traumatic arthritis: Joint fractures accelerate cartilage breakdown, causing chronic pain and stiffness that may worsen over the years even after the bone has healed.
- Nerve damage: Bone fragments or surgical intervention can injure adjacent nerves, producing numbness, weakness, or permanent loss of sensation.
- Malunion and nonunion: Bones that heal improperly (malunion) or fail to heal entirely (nonunion) may require corrective surgery and can leave the affected limb permanently weakened.
- Osteomyelitis: Open fractures carry a significant risk of bone infection, which is difficult to treat and can require multiple surgeries or, in severe cases, amputation.
Functional Limitations
Even fractures that heal without complication can reduce long-term function. Scar tissue and muscle atrophy from prolonged immobilization diminish strength and range of motion. Many patients never fully regain pre-injury strength in the affected area, and persistent discomfort during physical activity is common. For victims whose work or daily routines require physical capacity, these limitations can be permanent and economically significant.
Psychological Impact
Chronic pain and physical limitation carry documented psychological consequences. Research consistently links serious musculoskeletal injury to elevated rates of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Victims who lose the ability to work, maintain independence, or engage in activities central to their identity face compounding losses that extend well beyond the physical injury.
How a Los Angeles Pedestrian Accident Attorney Can Help
Recovering compensation for broken bones and fractures requires establishing that a driver’s failure to exercise reasonable care caused your injuries and that those injuries produced quantifiable damages. At Salamati Law, we begin this work the moment you retain us.
Early action is critical. Surveillance footage from nearby businesses or traffic cameras is routinely overwritten within days to weeks. Dashcam recordings may be deleted or lost. We send spoliation letters immediately to preserve this evidence before it disappears.
Key Evidence
To establish liability and document the full extent of your damages, we compile and analyze:
- Police and traffic incident reports: Official documentation of the collision, including any citations issued to the driver.
- Medical records and imaging: Emergency records, surgical reports, X-rays, CT scans, and MRI results that establish the nature, severity, and treatment course of your fractures.
- Surveillance and dashcam footage: Video evidence of the collision, the driver’s conduct, and conditions at the scene.
- Eyewitness statements: Accounts from bystanders that corroborate how the accident occurred.
- Accident reconstruction analysis: Expert analysis of vehicle speed, point of impact, and collision dynamics to establish how the driver’s negligence caused your specific injuries.
- Biomechanical evidence: Expert assessment linking the forces involved in the collision to the fractures you sustained.
When a case proceeds to litigation, we retain medical experts to testify on the nature of your injuries, your prognosis, and the functional limitations your fractures impose; testimony that directly supports your claim for long-term damages.
Contact a Los Angeles Pedestrian Accident Attorney
If you suffered a broken bone or fracture due to a driver’s negligence or recklessness, an experienced Pedestrian Accident Lawyer at Salamati Law can help. Schedule a free, no-obligation consultation today. We work on a contingency basis, so you pay no fee unless you receive compensation. While most pedestrian accident cases are settled, we will take your case to trial if the insurer fails to agree to a reasonable settlement amount. Hablamos Español.
