Slip and Fall Accident Personal Injury
Non-Displaced Collar Bone Fracture

by Richard Nolan

Slip and Fall Accident-01

Slip and Fall Accident-01

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I suffered my personal injuries when I slip and fell outside around 8pm in August. There was still some daylight a bit. my kids were playing hide and seek out front. I came up the sidewalk to the corner of what could be a four way stop. I took a step forward and the next thing I knew I was falling face first on to the sidewalk, I wasn't able to catch myself. I felt a pain and feeling like none I have ever had.

After the kids all came running over to see if I was ok I then stood up and felt that my shoulder was sliding down my arm, I came in side to look in the mirror and thats when I saw a piece of bone sticking straight up on my left shoulder. I tried to lift or rotate my arm thinking it might pop back in. Thats when I relized this is really bad. I had a blowing AC joint. That's why I felt the slipping and a jelly feeling running through my arm.

The collar bone was no longer attached, my son grabbed me a shirt to make into a sling. I have never felt pain like that in my life. I had my knee dislocated when I was in wrestling and I thought that was painfull. I had to keep my arm held up by a shirt and pushing it upward untill I got a hold of my wife at work.

We live 30 miles from the nearest hospital. At that time calling an ambulance was not an option because I had no health care. I figured as long as I sat and held it in one spot I could wait for my wife.

Unfortunately she didn't get off for three more hours and then had the 30 mile drive home. I am one of those that I don't go to doctor very often. But when I saw my wife pull in the drive way, I had been sitting in so much pain for so long I just wanted the pain to stop and that feeling that my shoulder was slipping was a very scary and helpless feeling not knowing what had all happen to my shoulder.

Good news is that it was a clean break. I don't need surgery. The bone is lined up as straight as it can. The doctor has informed me that the 2 inch bone that sticks straight up and causes a lot of pain will never heal and go down, without having a surgery that shaves the bone off. I will always have this scar (bone) poking up throught shirts.

My family and I love our summers, I never thought of myself as a self conscious person, but I do not look the same and now have a 2 inch broken bone pushing through my skin forever unless I do surgery.

We decided to write a letter to the city explaining what had happened and that it looked like a job that just never got finished. All it was is a small post dug into the sidewalk that stuck up maybe 2 inch on the walk way. The next day after the letter the city was pulling the post out and filling the hole with concrete. One of the men mentioned that at some point it was a stop or speed sign that got hit.

I'm really only hoping that the city might help with my medical bills. I didn't want to make waves in a town we moved to that weekend. However once the other worker mentioned that it was at one time going to be a four way stop and they just never got it finished. Then my wife went around and took some pictures and this project wasn't the only on my corner. There were five more like this. They fixed those the same day.

Thank goodness a kid didn't ride their bike into the post and crash into on coming traffic.

I really don't know what to start asking for. I have worked in a sheet metal shop for over 20 years and I can still do somethings but now I have limits of motion. My arm cannot reach above my head with the bone poking up. I had no insurance at the time of injury due to being laid off that year. I had to turn a couple job offers down due to being in a sling and under the care of my doctor. I was on heavy pain medication at the time i guess it worked but as soon as the doctor wanted to ween me off and try something a little milder, thats' when the pain was almost unbearable.

There's not a day or night that goes by that I'm not in pain. I have a hard time at night now that I can't sleep on that shoulder. When it is cold out I really feel the arthritis kicking in, I never had arthritis before the injury.

I really don't want surgery my wife had a similar injury when she was in gymnastics. her's did seperate and removed the collar bone. She keeps saying don't do it unless you just can't bare it anymore. It is a long healing process and very painful.

Like my wife said, she has three surgery's on that shoulder. Once you go in and remove or shave something down there is no longer anything holding what's left together.

I know that was alot of information I gave. I just would really like some feedback. What I should do ? I did see a lawyer he told me I need to write up an offer in detail with bills, wageloss etc. He said to start at $55.000 and of course never say yes to the first offer.

Now that I have read some of these storys I think I should at least get that if not more. Considering this injury caused issues that I never had before the injury, and that it will be a issue and a struggle for years to come. The job I do I have been doing it for over 20 years I have made this my career, sense the injury I have limits now. Please give some opions.

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