Broken bone settlements average around $125,000 and range from $50,000 to $500,000 depending on fracture severity. A simple fracture treated with a cast typically settles for $15,000 to $75,000, while fractures requiring surgical repair (ORIF with plates, screws, or rods) settle for $100,000 to $350,000+. Multiple fractures from serious accidents can exceed $500,000.
Fracture cases are among the strongest personal injury claims because broken bones show up clearly on X-rays and CT scans — unlike soft tissue injuries, there's no debate about whether the injury is real. The key factors are fracture type, body location, whether surgery was required, and long-term complications.
Get your free fracture estimate →Fracture Types and Settlement Ranges
The type and severity of the fracture is the primary driver of your settlement value. A hairline crack that heals in a cast is a fundamentally different claim from a compound fracture requiring emergency surgery with metal hardware. Here are the most common fracture types from accidents and their typical settlement ranges in 2026.
| Fracture Type | Settlement Range | Key Details |
|---|---|---|
| Simple / Closed Fracture | $15,000 - $75,000 | Clean break, bone stays aligned, treated with cast or splint only |
| Compound / Open Fracture | $75,000 - $250,000 | Bone breaks through skin, high infection risk, usually requires surgery |
| Comminuted Fracture | $100,000 - $350,000 | Bone shatters into three or more fragments, complex surgical reconstruction |
| ORIF Surgical Fracture | $100,000 - $350,000 | Open reduction internal fixation with plates, screws, or intramedullary rods |
| Pelvic Fracture | $150,000 - $500,000 | Major weight-bearing bone, long recovery, often accompanies internal injuries |
| Femur Fracture | $150,000 - $400,000 | Largest bone in body, almost always requires intramedullary rod surgery |
| Tibia / Fibula Fracture | $75,000 - $250,000 | Lower leg fractures, weight-bearing impact, may require rod or plate fixation |
| Wrist / Hand Fracture | $30,000 - $125,000 | Distal radius, scaphoid, metacarpal fractures; value rises sharply if surgery needed |
| Facial Fracture | $50,000 - $200,000 | Orbital, nasal, jaw, or cheekbone fracture; disfigurement adds significant value |
Source: SetCalc analysis of court records and legal databases, 2025-2026. Ranges reflect national data; your location can shift values significantly. See settlement statistics by state.
Understanding the Range
The wide ranges above reflect the enormous difference between a fracture that heals cleanly and one that causes lasting complications. For example, a simple wrist fracture that heals in 6 weeks with a cast will settle near the low end ($30,000-$40,000). The same wrist fracture requiring ORIF surgery with screws, followed by chronic stiffness and grip strength loss, can push well past $100,000 — especially if it affects your ability to work.
Lower End Factors
- • Clean break, good alignment
- • Cast or splint only (no surgery)
- • Full recovery within 8-12 weeks
- • No lasting complications
- • Non-weight-bearing bone
Higher End Factors
- • Surgery required (ORIF, rod, external fixator)
- • Permanent hardware in body
- • Chronic pain or range of motion loss
- • Weight-bearing bone affected
- • Visible scarring or disfigurement
Why Fractures Are Strong Claims
How Fracture Location Affects Settlement Value
Where in the body the fracture occurs matters almost as much as the type of fracture itself. Insurance companies, attorneys, and juries all recognize that a broken femur has a fundamentally different impact on your life than a broken finger. Here's how body location drives value.
Weight-Bearing Bones: The Highest Values
Fractures to weight-bearing bones — the pelvis, femur, tibia, fibula, and ankle — consistently produce the highest settlement values. These bones carry your entire body weight with every step, which means even minor healing imperfections can cause chronic pain, limping, and long-term mobility issues. A femur fracture that heals with even a few degrees of malalignment can cause a permanent limp, leg length discrepancy, and accelerated knee or hip arthritis.
Pelvis & Femur: $150,000 - $500,000
The pelvis and femur are the two highest-value fracture locations. Pelvic fractures often accompany internal organ damage and require extensive rehabilitation. Femur fractures almost always require intramedullary rod surgery and carry risks of blood clots, fat embolism, and chronic leg length discrepancy. Recovery takes 4-6 months minimum, with many patients reporting pain and stiffness for years.
Tibia, Fibula & Ankle: $75,000 - $250,000
Lower leg and ankle fractures directly impact your ability to walk, stand, drive, and work. Tibial plateau fractures are particularly high-value because they involve the knee joint surface and frequently lead to post-traumatic arthritis. Ankle fractures involving multiple malleoli (bimalleolar or trimalleolar) often require surgical fixation and carry a high rate of chronic stiffness.
Facial Fractures: Disfigurement Premium
Facial fractures — orbital (eye socket), nasal, mandibular (jaw), and zygomatic (cheekbone) — carry a unique value premium because they often result in visible disfigurement. Even after surgical repair, many patients are left with asymmetry, scarring, or numbness that is visible to others daily. Juries are particularly sympathetic to facial injuries because the impact on self-confidence, relationships, and mental health is immediately apparent. Orbital fractures can also cause permanent vision problems including double vision and enophthalmos (sunken eye), which add significant additional value.
Hand & Wrist Fractures: Employment Impact
While hand and wrist fractures settle in a lower range ($30,000-$125,000), their value can spike dramatically when they affect your ability to work. A distal radius fracture in a desk worker may have modest impact, but the same fracture in a surgeon, musician, mechanic, or construction worker can be career-ending. Scaphoid fractures are particularly problematic — they have a high rate of non-union (failure to heal) due to poor blood supply, which can lead to avascular necrosis and the need for bone grafting surgery.
Dominant Hand Premium
Surgery and Hardware: The Value Multiplier
In fracture cases, there is a clear settlement "jump" when surgery is involved. A fracture treated conservatively with a cast is a fundamentally different claim — both legally and financially — from a fracture requiring open surgical repair. Surgery adds value in three distinct ways: higher medical costs, stronger evidence of severity, and increased risk of long-term complications.
Types of Fracture Surgery
ORIF (Open Reduction Internal Fixation)
The most common fracture surgery. The surgeon opens the skin, realigns bone fragments, and secures them with metal plates, screws, or wires. ORIF adds $50,000-$150,000+ to settlement value compared to conservative treatment of the same fracture.
Intramedullary Rod (IM Nail)
A metal rod is inserted through the center of the bone to stabilize long bone fractures (femur, tibia, humerus). The rod typically remains permanently. This is standard treatment for femur fractures and is a strong value driver because it demonstrates the severity of the break.
External Fixation
Metal pins are drilled through the skin into the bone, connected to an external frame. Used for severe compound fractures or when swelling prevents immediate internal fixation. External fixators are visually dramatic evidence for juries and indicate serious trauma.
Hardware Removal Surgery
Some patients require a second surgery to remove plates, screws, or rods that cause pain, irritation, or limit range of motion. A second surgery adds both additional medical costs and additional pain and suffering damages to the claim — often $25,000-$75,000 in additional value.
Why Surgery Increases Value So Dramatically
- ✓Higher medical bills — Fracture surgery typically costs $20,000-$80,000, which directly increases the economic damages portion of your claim and the multiplier applied for pain and suffering.
- ✓Undeniable proof of severity — Surgical photos, operative reports, and post-operative X-rays showing metal hardware inside your body are powerful evidence that insurance adjusters cannot dismiss.
- ✓Longer recovery and more lost wages — Surgical fracture recovery takes 3-6 months minimum, compared to 6-12 weeks for a cast. This means more lost income, more physical therapy, and a longer period of pain and limitations.
- ✓Infection and complication risk — Surgical site infections occur in 1-5% of fracture surgeries and can require additional procedures, IV antibiotics, and extended hospital stays. This documented risk adds to future damages.
- ✓Permanent hardware in the body — Many patients live with metal plates and screws permanently. This creates ongoing sensitivity to cold weather, potential for hardware failure, and the psychological impact of having foreign metal in your body.
The Surgery Settlement Jump
Long-Term Complications That Increase Settlement Value
Insurance companies want to settle fracture claims quickly — before long-term complications develop. But many fracture injuries cause problems that persist for years or even a lifetime. Each documented complication adds significant value to your claim. Do not settle until your doctor can fully assess your long-term prognosis.
Post-Traumatic Arthritis
Fractures that involve a joint surface (intra-articular fractures) carry a 30-70% risk of developing post-traumatic arthritis — even with perfect surgical repair. The damaged cartilage degenerates over time, causing progressive pain, swelling, and loss of function. Post-traumatic arthritis in a weight-bearing joint like the knee, hip, or ankle can eventually require joint replacement surgery, adding $50,000-$150,000+ in future damages to your claim.
Chronic Pain Syndrome
Some fractures result in chronic pain that persists long after the bone has healed. This is particularly common with fractures near nerves or joints. Chronic pain requires ongoing medication, pain management appointments, and may require procedures like nerve blocks or spinal cord stimulation. Documented chronic pain adds $25,000-$100,000+ to settlement value through both future medical costs and ongoing pain and suffering.
Range of Motion Loss
Many fractures heal with some permanent loss of joint range of motion, even after surgery and physical therapy. A wrist that can't fully extend, an ankle that doesn't fully dorsiflex, or a shoulder with limited rotation are all measurable, documentable impairments. Orthopedic surgeons assign impairment ratings (e.g., 10% upper extremity impairment) that translate directly to settlement value.
Leg Length Discrepancy
Femur and tibial fractures can heal with one leg slightly shorter than the other. Even a half-inch difference causes altered gait, back pain, hip pain, and accelerated joint wear. This is a permanent condition that may require lifelong use of shoe inserts or orthotics and can contribute to secondary injuries in the back, hip, and opposite knee over time.
Scarring and Disfigurement
Compound fractures and surgical incisions leave scars. Visible scarring on exposed areas (face, arms, legs) adds a disfigurement component to the claim. Keloid or hypertrophic scarring, especially in younger victims, can add $10,000-$75,000+ in additional damages. The emotional and psychological impact of visible scarring — particularly for women and children — is a recognized damage category.
Do Not Settle Before Maximum Medical Improvement
Realistic Broken Bone Settlement Examples
Here's what real fracture settlements look like when you account for fracture type, body location, surgery, complications, and case-specific factors. These examples are based on SetCalc's analysis of actual settlement data.
Example 1: Simple Wrist Fracture in Texas (No Surgery)
Case Details:
- Rear-end collision in Dallas, TX
- Distal radius fracture, non-displaced
- Treated with cast for 6 weeks, then PT
- Full recovery, minor residual stiffness
- Medical bills: $8,200
- Lost wages: $4,800
Settlement Breakdown:
- Economic damages: $13,000
- Pain & suffering (2x): $26,000
Settlement Range:
$22,000 - $35,000
TX modified comparative fault, clear liability, conservative treatment, good recovery
Example 2: Femur Fracture with ORIF Surgery in California
Case Details:
- Broadside collision in Los Angeles, CA
- Mid-shaft femur fracture, displaced
- Emergency IM rod surgery, 4-day hospital stay
- 4 months of physical therapy
- Mild leg length discrepancy (0.5 cm)
- Medical bills: $62,000
- Lost wages: $28,000
Settlement Breakdown:
- Economic damages: $90,000
- Pain & suffering (3-3.5x): $270,000-$315,000
- Future medical (rod removal, arthritis): $35,000
Settlement Range:
$160,000 - $225,000
CA pure comparative negligence, LA County jury values, surgical case with permanent hardware
Example 3: Multiple Fractures from Trucking Accident in Illinois
Case Details:
- Rear-ended by semi-truck in Chicago, IL
- Pelvic fracture, bilateral rib fractures (4 ribs), tibial plateau fracture
- Two surgeries: pelvic ORIF and tibial plateau ORIF
- 3-week hospital stay, 2 months inpatient rehab
- Permanent mobility limitations, post-traumatic arthritis in knee
- Medical bills: $185,000
- Lost wages: $72,000
Settlement Breakdown:
- Economic damages: $257,000
- Pain & suffering (4-5x): $1,028,000-$1,285,000
- Future medical (knee replacement, ongoing care): $120,000+
- Lost earning capacity: $95,000
Settlement Range:
$375,000 - $500,000
IL plaintiff-friendly, Cook County, commercial truck defendant, multiple surgeries, permanent impairment
Example 4: Compound Ankle Fracture in Florida
Case Details:
- Pedestrian struck by vehicle in Miami, FL
- Trimalleolar ankle fracture, compound (open)
- Emergency ORIF with plate and screws, wound debridement
- Post-operative infection requiring IV antibiotics
- 6 months of PT, permanent ankle stiffness (30% ROM loss)
- Medical bills: $78,000
- Lost wages: $22,000
Settlement Breakdown:
- Economic damages: $100,000
- Pain & suffering (3.5-4x): $350,000-$400,000
- Future medical (hardware removal, arthritis): $55,000
- Scarring / disfigurement: $25,000
Settlement Range:
$200,000 - $325,000
FL no damage caps, compound fracture with infection, permanent ROM loss, visible scarring
Calculate Your Broken Bone Settlement Value
Calculate Your Broken Bone Settlement Value
Every fracture case is different. The ranges and examples above give you a starting point, but your specific settlement value depends on the unique combination of fracture type, body location, surgical intervention, long-term complications, and your state's legal landscape.
SetCalc's AI-powered broken bone settlement calculator analyzes your specific details against real settlement data from your state to generate a personalized estimate. Unlike generic "multiply by 3" calculators, we factor in:
Fracture-Specific Analysis
- • Simple vs. compound vs. comminuted fracture
- • Body location and weight-bearing status
- • Conservative vs. surgical treatment
- • Hardware type (plates, screws, rods)
Location-Specific Data
- • Your state's comparative fault rules
- • Local jury verdict tendencies
- • Regional cost of living adjustments
- • State-specific damage caps
What Is Your Broken Bone Really Worth?
Stop guessing with generic formulas. Get a location-specific, fracture-specific estimate based on real settlement data for your type of broken bone — reviewed by a licensed personal injury attorney.
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