Broken Bone Claims in Georgia: From Simple Fractures to Compound Breaks

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A fracture can be partial or complete, closed or open through the skin, and treated with a cast or splint or, in some cases, surgery with plates, pins, or screws. MedlinePlus lists car accidents among the causes and calls a break through the skin an open, or compound, fracture. In a Georgia claim, the type of break and the treatment it required shape the proof: the medical expenses and time away from work, the permanence of any impairment, what happens if hardware placed during treatment is later at issue, and how a bone that was already weak affects responsibility.

Types of Fractures

MedlinePlus, the National Library of Medicine’s consumer health service, defines a fracture as “a break in a bone” and describes several ways of classifying one:

  • by whether the bone is partially or completely broken;
  • by whether it breaks through the skin: “if it does, it’s called an open (or compound) fracture. If not, it’s a closed fracture”;
  • by the direction or shape of the break;
  • by the cause, for example a stress fracture, which it describes as “a small break in a bone that is often caused by overuse”; and
  • by which bone is broken.

It states that “[f]ractures commonly happen because of car accidents, falls, or sports injuries.” Symptoms can include “[i]ntense pain,” deformity, such as “a limb that looks out of place,” swelling, bruising or tenderness, and trouble moving the injured part. Diagnosis involves a physical exam, questions about the injury, and an X-ray or other imaging test.

Treatment and What It Means for the Claim

MedlinePlus states that “[t]he most common treatment for a fracture” is a cast or splint that keeps the bone from moving while it heals, for a length of time that depends on the type of fracture and which bone is affected, and that “[i]n some cases,” surgery is needed “to put in plates, pins, or screws to keep the bone in place.”

Those facts become the damages. Among the economic damages Georgia’s Code names in its section on arguing damages are “past and future medical expenses,” “costs of rehabilitation,” and “loss of wages,” and among the noneconomic damages are “physical impairment” and “disfigurement” (OCGA 9-10-184(a)(1), (2)). Time in a cast bears on lost wages; surgery and therapy bear on medical expenses and costs of rehabilitation; a deformity or lasting loss of motion bears on physical impairment and disfigurement. Each item of special damages has to be proved to be recovered (OCGA 51-12-2(b)). For a cause of action arising on or after April 21, 2025, medical special damages are limited to the reasonable value of medically necessary care, treatment, or services (OCGA 51-12-1.1(b)).

Hardware Placed During Treatment

If a claim is that the fracture itself was treated negligently, it is a medical malpractice claim, which must be brought within two years after the injury and no more than five years after the negligent act (OCGA 9-3-71). Georgia gives a separate one-year period, running from discovery, when a foreign object has been left in a patient’s body, but the same section excludes a chemical compound, a fixation device, and a prosthetic aid or device from the term “foreign object” (OCGA 9-3-72). The statute does not define “fixation device,” so whether a particular plate, pin, or screw falls within the exclusion turns on that undefined term.

A Bone That Was Already Weak

MedlinePlus states that low bone density and osteoporosis weaken the bones and raise the chance of a break. In Cowart v. Widener, 287 Ga. 622 (2010), the Supreme Court of Georgia stated that a tortfeasor takes the victim as found, and gave the example of a hemophiliac who bleeds to death from a negligent cut that most people would have survived: the tortfeasor remains responsible for the death.

A Child’s Fracture

A person under 18 when a cause of action accrues has the same time after turning 18 to bring an action that others have, except as OCGA 9-3-33.1 provides for childhood sexual abuse claims (OCGA 9-3-90(b)). If a minor has a conservator, only the conservator can compromise the minor’s claim (OCGA 29-3-3(b)). Otherwise, a settlement with a gross value of $25,000 or less may be compromised by the natural guardian “without any court approval”; above that amount, court approval is required, and a conservator is required if the net settlement also exceeds $25,000 (OCGA 29-3-3(c)).

Frequently Asked Questions

What does MedlinePlus advise when a fracture is suspected?
To get medical care right away. It explains that fractures can sometimes be serious.

Do all damages for a fracture have to be proved in a dollar amount?
No. General damages are those the law presumes to flow from a tortious act, and they may be recovered without proof of any amount; special damages, which actually flow from the act, must be proved (OCGA 51-12-2(a), (b)).

Does a child’s extra time apply to a claim that a fracture was treated negligently?
Not in the same way. A minor who has reached age five is subject to the medical malpractice periods, and a minor whose claim arose before age five has two years from the fifth birthday. No malpractice action may be brought after the tenth birthday if the minor was under five when the act occurred, or more than five years after the act if the minor was five or older (OCGA 9-3-73(b), (c)(2)).

  • MedlinePlus (National Library of Medicine), “Fractures”
  • OCGA 9-10-184(a)(1), (2); OCGA 51-12-2(a), (b); OCGA 51-12-1.1(b); SB 68 (2025), as passed, Section 9(b)
  • OCGA 9-3-71; OCGA 9-3-72
  • Cowart v. Widener, 287 Ga. 622 (2010)
  • OCGA 9-3-90(b); OCGA 9-3-33.1; OCGA 9-3-73(b), (c)(2); OCGA 29-3-3(b), (c)

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about broken bone claims under Georgia law. It is not medical advice or legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. How a claim is valued and when it must be filed depend on the injury, the injured person’s age, and the specific facts. A person with a broken bone should seek medical care and consult a licensed Georgia attorney promptly about the particular situation.

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