Sternum injuries are unique injuries because they can be very painful for a long period of time, and you cannot do anything to make it better, except time. This means a doctor cannot manually correct it with a cast or anything like that. Most of the time, the injured person has to endure the pain until it heals.
That alone becomes challenging because it affects you getting a good night's sleep which is also part of your healing process. So it is the type of injury that is like a "catch 22;" you get injured where sleep (number #1 healing mechanism) is directly affected. And don't confuse medication with sleep. When you are medicated due to pain, you are not getting the good quality sleep that your body was designed for in order to promote healing. It is an artificial sleep that prevents the deep sleep vitally needed for deep healing.
Sternum injuries can develop pain when you turn, laugh, cough or simply reach for everyday items. These injuries must be effectively documented in your medical records in order to claim credit for them. This is why you need an experienced injury lawyer on your side to be your legal advocate for these types of medically documented injuries.
These injuries most often occur in a car collision collision case, usually in what are called T-bone collisions or side impacts. They bio-mechanical force to cause a sternum injury is indeed high. Make sure you find out if you have a full break or partial break of the breast plate as that can make a difference in both healing times, and personal injury case value.
THE LEGAL STRATEGY ON ARGUING VALUE FOR YOUR STERNUM INJURY
The legal strategy for arguing the most for any sternum injury is to have it backed up by medical evidence from credible objective findings and through your medical doctor's report. It is important for your doctor to document how the sternum injury has affected your life, in addition to your sleep, and daily activities. These means it is always a good idea to have your doctor notate any hobbies or fun things you like to do in life that you have no been able to do since suffering with the sternum injury. I have had past clients tell me they cannot play golf due to the turning mechanism of the spine in hitting a golf ball, or even hugging or laughing with their grandchildren. It is these specific events in life that is part of your overall injury story when it comes to your sternum injury.
Whether your injury case is being negotiated with the insurance company before trial, or during trial, the way you present the evidence of your sternum injury, and how it affected your life is crucial for obtaining maximum value for your sternum injury case. Most of the time we will bring in lay witnesses, in addition to your medical doctor, who knew you before the sternum injury, and after, so they can explain how it affected you. These witnesses are called "before and after" witnesses and they are pivotal in explaining to an insurance company or jury of how you suffered through this specific type of injury from a car crash or whatever injury producing event. Often times, your medical evidence is much more powerful coming from other people's mouths, rather than yours, in order to show the impact to your personal life.
If you find yourself with a sternum injury caused by someone else not being careful enough, and you still have questions, please feel free to reach out to me anytime via telephone at 619.813.7955. I make myself available to people like you everyday, and I would be happy to see if I can help you in your particular situation.
With that all said, stay strong! Attorney Mark
