Car Accident Arm Injury Settlements

Car Accident Arm Injury Settlement Amounts

If you have suffered an injury to your arm in a car accident, it is natural to wonder what type of car accident arm injury settlement you might receive. The purpose of this article is to review the major considerations in auto accident arm injury settlement claims, learn about common car accident injuries to the arm, and look at some recent settlements and verdicts in these cases to give you an idea how much your car accident settlement amount may be worth.

How Auto Accident Arm Injuries Are Valued

Valuing an arm injury in a car accident settlement means arriving at a reasonable ‘guesstimate’ of what a jury would award to you in a car accident lawsuit if the claim were to be litigated in court. 

The major factors in valuing any shoulder and arm injury case is how severe your damages are, and what the chances are the jury would find the defendant liable when/if the case goes to court.

However, estimating what you could receive in a car accident arm injury settlement or car accident shoulder injury settlement can be challenging for a number of reasons, most related to the fact that every situation, and every person, is different. Let’s look at a couple of examples of how car accident arm injury settlements can vary from accident to accident. 

Some arm injury damages after a car accident – such as lost earnings and medical costs – are easy to predict. These losses are usually the amount that you can show you have paid/lost, and will keep paying/losing as you recover. But for subjective pain and suffering damages, predictions of an arm injury settlement amount can vary wildly. But why is this? Let’s take a closer look. 

Many arm injuries after car accidents will affect different plaintiffs differently. For example, if you are an active golfer and you played 18 holes every Saturday, perhaps your elbow injury prevents you from enjoying this activity. The damages incurred for pain and suffering in this type of case might be higher than a person who was sedentary before the car accident injury occurred.

If you had an earlier arm injury, such as tennis elbow or a rotator cuff tear, that the accident makes more likely to recur, it is possible you could receive a lower car accident arm injury settlement. Also, if the arm injury prevents you from earning your living, the defendant may be responsible for years of lost or reduced wages. A good example of this would be a professional chef who suffers a broken arm and is unable to cook for 3 months. 

The other major issue regarding the value of the arm injury settlement is how likely the other person would be found negligent at the trial. If there is little evidence that the other person caused the accident, the value of your arm injury drops. Even if the chances of a higher settlement are great, the defendant could be willing to go to trial to try to prevail and pay little or nothing. And if fault is unclear, the plaintiff may want to settle as there is a chance of getting nothing from a jury.

Average Car Accident Arm Injury Settlement

Here is some real settlement and verdict information for various arm injuries from car accidents. Talk to a personal injury attorney, however, to get better idea what your car accident injury is worth:

• $100,000 Car Accident Settlement for a Broken Arm: A driver in Georgia had their car hit in rear end at high speed by someone without insurance, leading to a break of the humerus bone in the upper arm. The woman, a massage therapist by trade, was unable to work for almost 6 months as a result of the broken arm. The case was worth more, but the limits of insurance coverage was reached at $100,000. This is a good example why people should buy as much uninsured motorist coverage they can afford.
• $737,000: A plaintiff in Illinois was rear ended by a semi truck, and the liability for the case was clear. The initial offer from the commercial vehicle insurance company was only $190,000. The attorney on the case used a vocational rehabilitation specialist to show the level of work restriction and lost wages for the man, who suffered multiple broken bones in his arm in addition to a concussion in the accident, resulting in a much higher arm injury settlement.

Types of Arm Injuries in Car Accidents

 Arm injuries are common in car accidents.  However, many accident victims suffer from shoulder pain after car, truck, and motorcycle accidents. The heavy trauma to that small area from the accident can cause many serious shoulder injuries.

There are several common arm injuries in car accidents. Usually, injuries to the arm involve the bones, ligaments, tendons running from the wrist to the shoulder. In high speed collisions, some fractures of the upper arm and the shoulder joint have occurred in car accidents.

Broken Arm Injuries In Car Accidents

A fracture of your clavicle or humerous can be caused by a direct hit to the area in an accident or fall. Most broken arm injuries must be diagnosed with X-rays. However, a CT scan may also be needed to process a car accident settlement.

For a fracture of the proximal humerous, the shoulder will be very swollen, as the effects are upon a larger bone than the clavicle. You will have a very limited range of motion, with severe pain.

Dislocation

Dislocation is common in the acromioclavicular joint. This is the point where the collarbone meets the highest aspect of the shoulder blade. A dislocation is common in both car accidents and falls.

Arm Injury Symptoms

After a car accident, it is important to take note if you are suffering from any arm or shoulder pain. Recovery from a car accident arm injury can take months and it is critical to have it diagnosed as soon as possible. Some of the most common arm injury symptoms to watch for are:

• Stiff and tender shoulder that hurts the most at night; sleep is often difficult
• Lack of feeling, weakness, inflammation in the shoulder
• Physical exertion makes shoulder pain worse
• Difficulty moving the arm in any direction without pain
• Concentrated, focused pain in the shoulder joint
• Shoulder appears bruised or pale

Shoulder and Arm Injury Summary

Insurance companies are fond of denying car accident claims for arm injuries. The company may claim that you had a previous injury to the shoulder. But the best way to beat this argument is to get medical treatment immediately after the accident. Even if you do not feel significant pain after an accident, you should be evaluated by a medical professional right away. You could experience shoulder pain a few hours or days after the accident. Whether you get fair compensation your car accident injury often hinges on a prompt medical evaluation.

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