Hip Injury Car Accident Settlement

Hip Injury Car Accident Settlements

A car accident sometimes involves a high level of trauma to the body. Hip injuries and hip pain are common after many car accidents because of the violent forces involved in the impact. Recovery can be a long and tedious process after a hip injury. Part of recovery involves receiving compensation from the at-fault driver. Understanding your hip injury car accident settlement can be overwhelming, but it’s important to make sure your rights are protected.

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The purpose of this article is to offer an overview of hip injuries that occur after car accidents, as well as the types of car accident settlement amounts one can expect from hip injuries and hip fractures due to accidents.

Signs of A Hip Injury After a Car Accident

The hip is a complex joint that can be severely injured in a car accident. The joint contains a relatively low amount of fluids. If trauma strikes the hip joint in an accident, the space in the joint may be filled with pus or blood, and can lead to the hip capsule being damaged. This leads to pain. The hips also carry much of the weight of the human body. After a car accident, injuries to the hip can cause many symptoms as you go about your daily activities. Some of the common symptoms of hip pain after car accidents include:

• Pain in the groin, back or legs
• Pinched nerves causing lower back pain
• Limping
• Throbbing pain in the knee and/or upper legs

A car accident also can cause hip dislocation, hip fracture and stress fracture, all of which are very painful. If you have been in an accident and are experiencing any of these hip pain symptoms, it is important to be treated by a medical professional as soon as possible. But remember that hip pain may not show up right away after the accident. Be on alert for any of these symptoms manifesting in the first hours or days after the car accident.

Types of Hip Injuries

Thousands of serious car accidents happen every year. Many of them lead to serious hip injuries. If you suffer a hip injury in a car accident caused by another person, you could be entitled to financial compensation. Most hip injuries from car crashes are painful and can be very expensive to treat. Treatment for some hip injuries can include surgery and hip replacement can be needed. Long term rehabilitation can take a great deal of recovery time and can result in loss of income. Some of the most common hip injuries during car accidents are:

Acetabular fracture

An acetabular fracture is a break of the bone in your hip socket. This is a very serious and painful condition that is common in high speed car accidents.

Bursitis

Bursitis is a hip injury that can cause inflammation of the bursae (small, fluid-filled sacs) surrounding the hip joint. Some of the symptoms of this hip injury are tenderness, loss of hip movement and swelling.

Hip dislocation

A high-speed car crash can dislocate the entire joint. This is a very traumatic injury that needs immediate medical care. People who suffer a hip dislocation will know right away because they will feel it pop out of place. It is likely that standing, or walking will be almost impossible.

Tendonitis

This injury can cause hip pain after a car accident. It usually is due to overuse or repetitive motion, but it can occur in an accident, as well. Any hip injury in a car accident can affect the tendons and ligaments in the hip joint. This type of hip strain or sprain is very common after accidents. While they are far less severe than hip dislocation or hip fracture, the injury still can be very painful. Common treatments for this condition include anti-inflammatory medications, physical therapy, modifying activities and steroid injections.

With proper medical attention and enough time, many hip injuries caused by car accidents can partially or entirely heal. However, a serious complication of a car accident hip injury is traumatic arthritis. In some accident cases, traumatic arthritis can cause a lot of hip pain and poor function of the joint. This could necessitate a total hip replacement, which requires months of recovery.

Hip fracture

Hip fractures are extremely common in severe car accidents, and are worth examining in detail.

A fracture of the hip joint itself can be caused by the knee smashing into the dashboard, or a T-bone accident causing a high force impact to the side of the hip. Note that the hip has three major sections: the ilium, the pubis and the ischium. Fractures can happen in any of these bones. Any fracture to the hip bone also is considered a fractured pelvis, as this bone is part of your pelvic bones.

During a front-end collision, the impact force will push your leg into the hip joint. This can break not just the hip joint but also may cause the joint to dislocate. The force of the car accident may also cause the head of the femur to slam into the acetabulum and break the bone.

After the car crash impact, you will probably be in extreme pain from a hip fracture. The blunt force trauma usually damages bones and the soft tissues that are full of sensitive nerve endings. You also will probably notice you cannot move the hip at all without agonizing pain. Attempting to put any weight on the hip will also result in a lot of pain. A fractured him may also cause skin bruising and swelling. You also may notice one leg is shorter than the other.

How Do You Recover From a Hip Fracture?

Depending upon the severity of the hip fracture, your doctor may prescribe you medication to reduce pain and inflammation first. Also, you may use a walker or a pair of crutches to give the joint time to heal. This will help you to retain movement and keep weight off the region.

Surgery may be required if your hip injury from a car accident is extensive, such as an open hip fracture or the injury leads to severe body instability. Physical therapy may also be needed to prevent the joint from becoming immobile during the healing process.

Some hip fractures will require the implanting of screws, rods or metal components to fix the fracture. Others may not need surgery, and can be treated with physical therapy, drugs and activity modification.

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How Much Is A Hip Fracture Settlement Worth?

No two car accidents are the same, no two hip injury car accident settlements are the same. Consider two hypothetical examples.

You are driving your car and pass through an intersection on a green light. Another car makes an illegal turn, hitting you. The accident results in a hip fracture and you require surgery. Physical therapy lasts for close to a full year and pain from the fracture is ongoing. Pain and suffering is valued at $300,000. Medical bills are $75,000. Lost wages are $15,000. The total settlement is $390,000.

Now let’s change the circumstances a little bit.

You are driving your car and speed through an intersection just as the light turns red. A car turns into the intersection, but did not have a green arrow. You are deemed 50% responsible for the resulting crash. If the damages were the same as the first example, you may only receive $195,000. Liability laws vary from state to state, so your percentage of fault and hip injury car accident settlement amount might change depending on where you live.

Hip Surgery Values

Hip fractures can lead to rather pricey surgeries. At minimum, you are likely looking at $15,000. But it is not unheard of for hip surgery to cost closer to $40,00 to repair a fracture. This doesn’t include other medical costs that you may incur, including x-rays, doctor fees, medication, and the cost of staying in the hospital for days after the procedure.

The type of surgery that your injury requires will affect your settlement. Someone who requires plates, screws, or other hardware will have a higher settlement value. The value of pain and suffering for an extensive surgery is always higher than a minor, noninvasive procedure.

While your medical costs may in the tens of thousands, pain and suffering can be in the hundreds of thousands. Your hip injury car accident settlement could be very large.

Hip Injury Liability

Hip problems from car accidents can cause serious mobility problems for patients, depending upon their job and activity level. If, for example, your job requires you to walk a lot in a warehouse, a major hip injury from a car accident will prevent you from doing your job for months in some cases. These financial losses add up, and if the accident was caused by another person, you may file a personal injury lawsuit for your hip injury damages. The percentage of liability that falls on the other driver can influence your hip injury car accident settlement.

If the other driver is responsible for your hip injuries, you may be able to recover car accident compensation that includes:

• Medical expenses that are needed to treat hip pain or to fix the hip injury
• Future medical costs that will be needed to give care to treat the hip problem
• Any lost earnings in the past, present or future related to recovering from the hip injury
• Any loss of earning ability that is related to pain and/or lack of mobility related to the car accident hip injury

Broken Hip Car Accident Settlements

When it comes to hip injuries, broken hips tend to fetch the largest hip injury car accident settlements. This is because of how severe a hip fracture is and the fact that this injury will require extensive medical care. A broken hip will definitely affect your quality of life and your ability to walk to do daily tasks. There are a few factors around broken hip injuries that affect your settlement, such as what type of fracture you suffered.

An acetabular fracture is a break in the socket of the hip joint. A femoral neck fracture is a break in the topmost part of the femur, which is where the ball end of the bone fits in the socket of your pelvis. An intertrochanteric hip fracture is a break that occurs the femur, three to four inches away from the ball and socket joint. Because there are different types of hip fractures, each brings its only complications and in affect, different compensation.

When totaling the damages that occurred due to your broken hip, you want to take you medical bills into consideration. Also, your pain and suffering is likely high after a broken hip. A lawyer can help you get an accurate idea of how much your pain and suffering damages might be.

You liability in the accident that caused your broken hip will likely also influence your accident settlement. The liability laws vary from state to state, but if you share fault in the accident, there is a chance that your settlement will reduce. Or, you may get no compensation at all.

Another factor that will affect your hip injury car accident settlement is whether or not there is liability insurance available to cover the damages. If the at-fault driver does not have insurance or has a policy with low limits, you may end up with little to no compensation. Some drivers and many companies carry large liability coverage so they are more likely to payout higher amounts.

Hip Replacement Settlements

If you require a hip replacement due to a car accident, there is a chance you could be looking at a very large settlement. The average cost for a hip replacement ranges between $30,000 and $120,000. With the high cost of treatment, therapy, and other medical expenses, in addition to pain and suffering, settlement for a hip replacement are often in the hundreds of thousands.

It is important to remember that other health conditions that existed prior to the accident may influence the compensation that you receive. In case with such high value and a lot of money on the table, you should consult an attorney to make sure that you are getting a fair settlement.

Hip Injury Car Accident Settlement Examples

Below are some real settlement examples from personal injury attorneys. Your case may be worth more or less. Contact a personal injury attorney at Lawsuit Info Center to determine what your case might be worth.

$38,000 Car Accident Hip Injury Settlement

A driver was traveling down a busy four lane street. Another vehicle veered out of their lane while texting and driving. They drove into oncoming traffic, hitting our driver who was following all traffic laws. The crash resulted in a hip fracture to our female victim. Luckily, the injury was not severe enough to require surgery, but the break still required medical treatment. The fracture left her with extreme pain and made it difficult for her to care for her family.

Our victim made her claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance company, highlighting how the responsible driver’s reckless actions affected her daily life. She had medical bills worth over $10,000.

After weeks of negotiations, the insurance company covered the medical bills, lost wages from missing two weeks of work, plus pain and suffering.

$1,000,000 Car Accident Hip Fracture Settlement

Our driver was traveling on the highway when a semi truck moved into the lane our driver was in. The move caused the car to slam into a guard rail and become partially crushed by the semi. The driver of the car ended up with contusions all over his body, as well as a broken hip. The hip fracture required surgery and physical therapy.

The company that employed the semi truck driver paid out one million dollars in a truck accident settlement to the victim, covering several economic and non-economic damages.

Is Your Hip Fracture Settlement Worth More If You Have Children?

A car accident victim who suffers from a hip injury and also has children may get a higher settlement. A hip fracture affects your life regardless of your marital or parental status. But if you have a family relying on you, a hip fracture can take away from your ability to perform your normal daily activities. Hip fractures make simple tasks hard. Preparing dinner for the family, cleaning up daily messes, driving kids to school and activities are all tasks that are more difficult and painful with a hip fracture.

If the children are very young, they cannot cook for themselves. If you end up hiring someone to come into your home to help cook meals or clean the house because your hip injury limits you, you can include those expenses in your claim. That said, if the other driver is not 100% responsible for your hip fracture, they will pay you less. For example, if they are only 50% liable, your hip fracture settlement drops by 50% in some states.

Does A Limp Increase The Hip Injury Settlement Value?

Some hip fracture cases lead to chronic pain and a limp. If your medical records show that the hip injury occurred during the accident and that you will continue to suffer from it, you have a higher claim. Having a limp can affect your quality of life. The pain from the injury might affect you every day. All of these are reasons you may expect a higher hip injury car accident settlement.

Also, if the hip injury occurs in a younger person who may need more hip surgeries in the years to come, the settlement value may increase.

Hip Injuries Correlated With Higher Mortality Rate

Not everyone understands how serious a hip injury can be. Many people with serious hip injuries die a year after the accident. Some may die during their initial hospitalization or operation. Why does this happen? First, as people age, bones become more brittle and hollow. Older hips are more prone to fracture and other injuries.

Also, any major surgery is an infection risk. Hip surgeries are notorious for infections. Some infections can be life-threatening. Current clinical research confirms these facts. A study published in the journal Age and Ageing in 2017 found a higher death rate for patients with hip fracture. Specifically, the peer-reviewed study found that hip fracture patients have a five to eight times higher risk of mortality from all causes within 90 days, compared with sex- and age-matched controls.

Further, mortality rates are 100% higher in men and increase as they age. The study found that the higher mortality rate in men cannot be explained by medication use or comorbidity. Comorbidity is the presence of other serious, life-threatening diseases, such as heart disease or diabetes. Possible causes for the higher death rates include poor access to healthcare, quality of care, and treatment chosen by healthcare professionals.

How Much is Your Hip Injury Car Accident Settlement Worth?

How much a hip fracture is worth in a personal injury settlement depends on several things. First, it is important to get a firm idea of what your extent of pain and suffering is worth. Hip fractures and/or displacements are very serious injuries. They take a long time to get better. If the hip injury requires major surgery or even a hip replacement, you will probably get more compensation than for a less severe hip injury. This is because more medical bills, lost earnings and additional pain and suffering will add up to be much more in the end.

The court or insurance company also must consider what you go through in the healing process and the potential disability you could suffer temporarily or permanently from the damaged joint. If your hip joint is permanently damaged, the potential hip injury car accident settlement easily can run into the millions of dollars.

To get a better idea of the amount of compensation you could receive, talk to an experienced hip injury car accident attorney in your area. The attorney will probably have experience in hip fractures or displacements like yours. They can look up recent settlements and verdicts for similar hip injuries in your geographic area.

Hip Injury Settlement Calculator

Have you been involved in a motor vehicle accident causing a hip injury? Find out how much financial compensation you may be legally entitled to in just minutes with our free online Car Accident Settlement Calculator.

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Get Help with Your Hip Injury Car Accident Settlement

Many hip injuries from major car accidents are serious injuries. If the injury is a fracture or dislocation, it can take many months to heal. Medical care and recovery will get very expensive and easily can run into hundreds of thousands of dollars, and even more if major surgery is needed. Many accident victims will rely upon their own health insurance policy to pay for their medical costs. But in these types of major injuries, your personal healthcare benefits could become exhausted quickly.

It is important to contact an experienced personal injury attorney in a hip injury case, if the accident was caused by another person. A personal injury attorney can assist you with filing a personal injury lawsuit or claim, and can provide a good idea of the type of compensation you could be entitled to. Don’t let the insurance company offer you an unfair hip injury car accident settlement.

Hip Injury Settlement Page

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How Do I know If The Car Insurance Company Made a Fair Settlement Offer For My Hip Injuries?

As with most moderate to serious car accident injuries, the best way to know if you got a good settlement for your hip injury is to have a car accident attorney handling your case. Hip injuries can lead to serious complications that last months, years or forever. A good personal injury attorney will be able to determine with research and legal resources what your injury is and what previous settlements in your area have been for a similar injury. Without a good attorney to gauge this, you run a serious risk of undervaluing your claim and getting much less than you deserve.

However, as a general rule, you should never accept the first car accident settlement offer. Insurance companies are in business to make a profit, and profits go down when they make larger payouts. For that reason alone, you should probably get a professional opinion of what your case is worth, or at a minimum, counter their first offer with a higher settlement amount.

 

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How Long Does It Take to Get a Hip Injury Settlement Check?

People who are injured in an accident and are waiting for their hip injury settlement check often wonder when they will get paid. In most cases, there will be a period time that passes from the date of the settlement until you receive your check. But why does it take so long to get your money?

Generally, there three major reasons it might take longer than you like to get your hip injury settlement check.

First, there could be factual or legal problems with the case. If the insurance company is wrangling with your personal injury attorney about your injuries and the medical treatments received, it is possible there could be a delay before the check is cut.

Second, getting the check will clearly take longer if the hip injury is more serious. Any personal injury cases that involves more than $10,000 is probably going to take much longer to settle than a case for less.

Third, if you still are receiving treatments for your injuries, this will delay when you get your hip injury settlement check. Your attorney and the insurance company want to see when you experience maximum medical improvement before agreeing on a final settlement amount.

Once the settlement is actually agreed on, you can expect a four- or six-week delay before you see your money. The insurance company will want you to sign a release for that settles the claim. Once the insurer receives the release form, you will get the money you settled on in exchange for not suing.

The hip injury check will be sent to your attorney, and he will pay any potential leans paid out of the funds of settlement, such as medical bills. Then, the contingency fee will be deducted and any other possible costs and expenses. At that point you should receive your hip injury settlement check.

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How Do I Calculate How Much My Hip Injury Settlement Is Going To Be?

When it comes to calculating how much your hip injury settlement may be, you must factor in several different variables to get an estimation. The simplest way for you to calculate your hip injury settlement is by plugging in the correct information necessary into our car accident settlement calculator. Typically, the car accident hip injury settlement formula used is quite simple and includes adding up the following items:

• Injury type
• Total medical bills
• Loss of wages due to being out of work for recovery time from your injuries
• Damages, including car and property
• Possible future medical expenses

Generally, once all of the factors listed above are calculated, a multiplier is applied to that, ranging from 1-5 in order to determine the worth for pain and suffering.  Depending on how severe the injuries sustained are, such as leaving the victim immobile, or unable to perform everyday tasks, the number will be higher than if the victim suffered minor injuries that required minimal recovery time. You can also try our car accident settlement calculator. Simply plug in estimates for your medical bills, lost income, and add a few details about the claim and you should get a decent rough estimate you can use as a starting point. It’s been used thousands of times since we created it in 2017.

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Is It Common To Get Delayed Hip Pain After A Car Accident?

The problem with hip and other common car accident injuries is they don’t always appear immediately. Even if you believe you have not been injured in the accident, it is crucial to consider your well being and see a doctor for a medical evaluation. There may be hidden injuries you aren’t aware of that have not yet caused symptoms.

Hip pain after a car accident is not often delayed. It’s much more common to see delayed whiplash after a car accident than something like a hip injury, however, it is possible. After an auto accident, your adrenaline is pumping and often don’t notice the extent of your injuries or pain you are experiencing. So remember, regardless of whether you feel fine shortly following your auto collision, that doesn’t necessarily imply that you are without injuries. Never wait to visit a medical professional. This is important and can influence possible compensation owed to you. Keep in mind, there is a timeframe to file a car accident settlement known as the statute of limitations – in most states you have 2-3 years from the date of the auto accident in order to file a car accident claim against the at fault driver.

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What is the Average Settlement for Car Accident Hip Injury Claims?

It is impossible to say what the average settlement amount is for a car accident hip injury claim will be. Each case is very different, as is each individual’s personal and financial situations. A lot of it will come down to how serious the injury was, how much the medical bills are, and your level of pain and suffering. The amount of money you make and amount of work you miss will also play a role – for example a fractured hip that requires surgery will keep someone out of work much longer than a hip dislocation that can be treated with physical therapy. People who’s work requires physicality will likely be out longer than office workers, and some people make more than others… In the end, the lost income part of a hip injury settlement is essentially a formula: Days out of work x amount of money you make per day – both of which are very individualized.

Regardless of how serious the injury is, it is important for you to have complete medical documentation of the accident injury by your doctor. This will ensure that you are able to get the maximum amount of money for your injury. It’s also a good idea to get an idea what your settlement is really worth with a free consultation.

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Keep in mind that many insurance companies may well believe you should get a full pay out up to the policy limits, but unless you threaten a lawsuit, they may offer you a much smaller settlement. They’re a business just like any other, and will try their best to pay you as little as they can get away with paying.

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