Broken Jaw Compensation, Symptoms And Treatment

Medically known as a mandibular fracture, a broken jaw is a very common injury in the family of facial fractures. The only more popular facial break is the nose. Jaw fractures are typically caused by direct trauma or force upon the jawbone, such as a punch in the jaw or landing face-first on the concrete. This is the 10th most common fracture in the body. It is the largest bone in the lower part of the face, so it’s no wonder that it is such a popular break. Another tidbit: Men that are between the ages of 20-29 are the most common group for this injury, and men in general are 3 times more likely than women to fracture the jawbone.

Causes of a broken jaw

Broken jaws can occur from many events that cause direct trauma to the mandible (jaw). This can include events such as:

• assault
• car accidents
• sports injuries
• slips, trips and falls

Symptoms of a broken jaw

• Jaw pain, which is most common
• Feeling that teeth don’t fit together properly
• Being unable to open your jaw completely
• Trouble speaking
• Swelling of the jaw, chin, lips, or cheek area
• Discoloration and bruising, even under the tongue
• Numbness in the chin or lower lip due to nerve damage caused by the fracture

Treatment of a broken jaw

If you have trouble speaking, swelling, mouth bleeding, or malocclusion (teeth not fitting together) you need to seek medical treatment immediately. A broken jaw is best treated at the hospital, which is why you should seek medical treatment as soon as possible. A physical exam will be done along with x-rays when they are necessary. Then, the jaw will be examined include a motion test (to see how far you can move your jaw), a bite test (for alignment checking) and a stability test.

The best tests are the x-ray and CT scan (only done when a break is not found on x-rays). Once it is determined that you have a broken jaw, you will be given the treatment necessary dependent upon the severity of your injury. Those with pain but no fracture will be prescribed pain medications and a soft diet. Those with an actual fracture will probably get a tetanus shot if the gums or mouth are broken or bleeding. Then, the jaw will be wired shut on stable fractures. Unstable fractures will generally require surgical procedures involving plates put over the fracture to stabilize the injury. After these treatments, follow up will be required to ensure the injury is healing and remove stitches, staples, or wiring that is put into place.

Compensation for a broken jaw

Many people are unaware that they can claim compensation for a broken or fractured bone but help is at hand. Whether you have been injured at work, on the road, playing sport, in hospital, in the street, in a shop, an office, commercial or public building, at home, a friend's house or any kind of slip, trip or fall.

In addition to claiming compensation for you or a loved ones suffering, you may also be able to claim for medical expenses, lost wages and any other out of pocket expenses.  For an idea of what you could get see some typical compensation amounts.

Pinstripe make it easy for you to claim compensation. All you need to do is complete the simple online form opposite and the experienced and friendly claims team will handle it from there. It's that easy!