Average Settlement for a Fractured Sternum After a Car Accident

The sternum is an incredibly important part of the human body. Also known as the breastbone, it sits at the front of the ribcage and helps protect the heart, lungs, and major blood vessels from injury.

The pain and suffering from a broken sternum can be very uncomfortable and life-changing. Sternum fractures might make you unable to work for months and leave you and your family with significant medical costs.

So, if you file a claim for an injury like this, what can you expect to recover? What is the average settlement for a fractured sternum? 

Here’s how you can best determine an idea of the compensation for a fractured sternum you could receive, speak with an experienced attorney from Abrahamson & Uiterwyk, we will go over all the specifics of your case. We can tell you the potential strengths and weaknesses of your broken sternum claim and let you know what you might receive through settlement negotiations or in a jury trial. If you attempt to handle your claim independently, you will likely receive a much lower settlement or even find your claim denied.

Causes of Fractured Sternums and Secondary Injuries

Most fractured sternums are the result of impact trauma. This can happen in a slip and fall accident or other negligence situation, but it is most likely to occur during an auto accident. The person’s chest may hit the steering wheel, glove compartment, or dashboard. In addition, a taut seatbelt or fully inflated airbag can cause the sternum to fracture.

These safety measures can keep a passenger from being thrown from the vehicle during an accident, but the violent nature of a crash can still cause injury. 

Unfortunately, sternum injuries can sometimes result in very serious secondary injuries. This includes injuries to the heart, lungs, and all the vessels that provide blood to the chest and its organs. In addition, the impact may cause damage to the abdominal area and its organs like the spleen and stomach.

Other bones and major nerves may experience injury as well. This may mean a person cracks a rib or damages the spinal cord. One of the scariest possible car accident injuries, a traumatic brain injury, can also be tied to sternum fractures. 

What Compensation for a Fractured Sternum Can I Collect?

Florida personal injury damages consist of three general categories: economic damages, non-economic damages, and punitive damages.

Economic Damages

Economic damages cover the concrete losses a victim suffers due to an accident. This is usually the easiest category to prove. This includes:

1. Any accrued medical bills
2. Lost wages
3. Damage to your vehicle.

As long as you provide the right documentation to prove the costs, there is no limit to this category in Florida.

Non-Economic Damages

This category compensates for injuries that are a little harder to put a number to but are still significant losses. This includes:

Physical Pain and Suffering From a Broken Sternum

Damages for physical pain and suffering from a broken sternum. Pain and suffering includes any physical, emotional, or mental distress that you’ve experienced as the result of an accident. Broken sternum injuries can have a lot of pain and suffering due to often causing ongoing pain with an average recovery time of 10 weeks. This may leave you unable to work for months and leave you and your family with significant medical costs.

Emotional and psychological trauma

Loss of quality of life

Indefinite other losses

As with economic damages, there is no limit (cap) to this category in Florida. However, it is important to consult with an attorney before accepting a fractured sternum injury settlement to make sure you are being properly compensated.

Punitive Damages

The first two types of damages are compensatory damages, intended to compensate you for your losses. On the other hand, punitive damages, as the name suggests, punish a defendant and send a message.

Courts typically award these damages only in the most serious personal injury cases when the at-fault party commits extreme and reckless conduct that results in injury. They are generally capped at three times the amount the plaintiff receives in compensatory damages.

What is a Fractured Sternum Worth in Florida?

How much compensation you get for a fractured sternum settlement in Florida varies based on the unique circumstances of each situation and the severity of your injuries. Based on our own settlement data on this page, the average fractured sternum settlement is between $85,000 to $1,269,936. Various factors impact settlement value, including the total amount of your damages and liability. Every single personal injury case is different, and this is true even for each fractured sternum claim.

In this case a male motorist received $85,000 after a broken sternum car accident that caused serious physical pain and suffering from a broken sternum. The incident caused the client to seek additional medical treatments through a chiropractor impacting the client’s daily life and leisurely activities. The fractured sternum car accident compensation achieved by Abrahamson and Uterwyk allowed our client to receive the maximum insurance proceeds for his injuries.

Insurance companies often try to get victims to accept lowball offers that don’t cover all the losses they suffered or will suffer as a result of the accident. This is why it is important to seek the advice of an experienced personal injury attorney through a free consultation.

They can help you calculate a fair amount to seek in a broken sternum car accident settlement but will also prepare to take your case to trial if necessary. 

Examples of Broken Sternum Car Accident Settlements in Florida

$85,000/2021 Auto Accident/Abrasions/Fractured Sternum/Left Shoulder Tears of Labram and Supraspinatus

Our client attempted to proceed through an intersection when he was struck on the driver’s side door by the defendant who was traveling at a high rate of speed, clearly above the posted speed limit. Our client was transported to the emergency room and diagnosed with upper extremity pain and a fractured sternum. After retaining our firm to represent him, we made demands for payment to all available insurance policies that provided coverage to our client. We were able to recover the policy limits from the defendant’s insurance company, as well as the policy limits from the client’s own insurance company and the insurance company that insured the vehicle that the client was driving. The client was very happy that we were able to recover the maximum amount of insurance that was available to him.

$100,000/Auto Accident/Fractured Sternum

In this case, our client was westbound of NE 3rd Street approaching the intersection with U.S. 19. As she entered the intersection, the defendant, who was headed northbound on U.S. 19, failed to stop, and ran the red light causing a significant crash. The defendant was given a ticket for failure to stop at a steady red signal.

Our client was taken to the hospital with head, neck, and chest wall pain. An x-ray revealed that she had suffered a displaced fracture of her sternum. Following the emergency room visit, our client came under the care of a chiropractor for treatment of her neck and back pain. MRI scans showed herniated discs in both her neck and back. An orthopedic surgeon later recommended surgery for our client’s neck, which she declined to undergo. Medically there was little to do for the sternum fracture, and it eventually healed.

Unfortunately, the defendant had only $100,000.00 in insurance coverage and our client did not carry uninsured motorist coverage on her own vehicle. After presenting them with our detailed settlement package, our firm was able to convince the defendant’s insurance company to pay the full policy limit to our client.

$1,269,936 / (Jury Verdict) Motorcycle Accident / Fractures / Citrus County, FL

Fractured Sternum in Florida? Call Abrahamson & Uiterwyk for a Free Consultation Today!

If you suffered a broken sternum from a car accident or any related secondary injury due to someone else’s negligence, we know that you might be struggling. In addition to the physical pain, you are probably worried about the medical bills and wages you’ll lose if you aren’t able to work. 

At Abrahamson & Uiterwyk, we are here to help. Our experienced team of personal injury attorneys will put our years of experience to work for you and fight to get you the compensation for a fractured sternum you deserve.

We have offices in Tampa, Clearwater, St. Petersburg, and New Port Richey and offer a free case evaluation.

Get in touch with us anytime via phone at 800-538-4878, text us at 727-312-1275, or fill out our online contact form.

What Our Clients Say About Us

“This law firm is absolutely amazing. I had a slip and fall accident and decided to use Abrahamson and Uiterwyk after doing some research and reading their excellent reviews and their receiving the highest rating from the Better Business Bureau. Everyone is highly qualified and helpful throughout the process. From my initial phone call to the resolution of my case, everyone was kind, helpful, patient, and responsive. I highly recommend them and I will call them in the future if the need ever arises. I am grateful for the settlement they were able to negotiate for me. Thank you, Abrahamson and Uiterwyk!”

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