When determining what the average settlement for shoulder surgery is, it’s important to note that every car accident is different, and therefore settlements can vary depending on the circumstances of your accident. In order to calculate how much a claimant’s final settlement will be, a personal injury attorney will have to review the details of your case, including the medical bills that you have incurred, how much liability you could hold for the accident, and the injuries that you have sustained.
If you have undergone shoulder surgery due to a motor vehicle accident, you may be entitled to claim compensation in order to cover the medical bills that you incurred as a result. Shoulder injuries can often have long-lasting effects on accident victims and change an individual’s quality of life significantly. A personal injury lawyer can calculate how much you may be owed for your shoulder injury and help you file a personal injury lawsuit. At The Law Place, we have 75 years of combined experience in navigating Florida law across multiple practice areas. Therefore, our attorneys understand the complexities of the state’s legal system and have the experience necessary to ensure you get a fair settlement once you file your personal injury claim.
At The Law Place, we understand that pursuing legal action after a car accident can seem daunting, especially when the client has never filed a personal injury claim before. Therefore, we keep our phone lines are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so that you can call us with any questions or doubts you may have whenever you feel ready to. One of our professional lawyers will be ready to take your call and guide you through the next steps in your shoulder injury case. Call us today at (941) 444-4444 to schedule a free legal consultation with one of our top personal injury attorneys today.
Symptoms of a Shoulder Injury
The shoulder joint has the most mobility out of all other joints in the body. Even though it’s extremely useful, the shoulder joint is more prone to injury due to its great range in motion. When an individual has been involved in a serious car accident, medical professionals often examine the victim’s shoulders and the surrounding areas of the body in order to ensure that they have not been injured there. If you are experiencing shoulder pain as a result of your accident, it’s important to see a medical professional as soon as possible. Not receiving medical treatment for the injuries you may have sustained can prolong the pain and even worsen the shoulder’s condition with time.
Symptoms of shoulder injuries include:
- Stiff or tender muscular pain in the shoulder area, which may worsen at night.
- Difficulty moving shoulders and/or arms freely.
- Change in color of the shoulder area (particularly if the area becomes extremely pale or blue).
- Pain in the shoulder that worsens when carrying out physical activities, including lifting objects.
- Tingling sensation or lack of feeling in a specific area of the shoulders.
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Common Shoulder Injuries Sustained After a Car Accident
Unfortunately, shoulder injuries are common after a serious car or truck accident. If you are experiencing shoulder pain after your accident, it’s likely that you have sustained an injury to the area. Many shoulder injuries sustained after a car accident can often be treated non-surgically with the help of anti-inflammatory pain medication and physical therapy. However, in some cases, an accident victim may require surgery to rectify the problem. Shoulder injuries that are commonly sustained after motor vehicle accidents include:
Torn Rotator Cuff Injury
The rotator cuff is a group of tendons and muscles. With the help of these muscles, the rotator cuff helps to keep the ball of your shoulder joint in its socket. A rotator cuff tear can occur after a fall or car accident (known as an acute tear) or after the rotator cuff tendons experience degeneration after an extended period of physical exertion (known as a degenerative tear). This usually occurs when a person plays sports over a long period of time. The pain of rotator cuff tears is usually most noticeable when a person rests the shoulder, and the pain usually starts in the shoulder joint, later spreading down to the rest of the arm. A physician will examine your shoulder joint and determine if the rotator cuff has sustained an injury.
Severe rotator cuff injuries can cause permanent disability as the victim may be left unable to move the affected shoulder. For this reason, a claimant could receive a large sum of compensation when filing a rotator cuff injury settlement, especially if they have undergone rotator cuff surgery.
In order to treat rotator cuff injuries, a medical professional may suggest anti-inflammatory medication or physical therapy, which can sometimes help to relieve the pain. However, a doctor may recommend rotator cuff surgery if the torn rotator cuff is particularly bad and causes severe pain.
Torn Labrum
The labrum is cartilage found in the shoulder joint that gives the joint greater mobility. Similar to rotator cuff injuries, a tear in the labrum is often diagnosed by a physician. However, a loss of mobility in the joints, muscle weakness, and sensations of popping or grinding are often symptoms of a labrum tear. Auto accidents can cause a full or partial tear of the labrum, and treatment can include arthroscopic surgery as well as non-surgical treatments, including physical therapy.
Dislocation
A dislocation of the shoulder occurs when the upper arm bone pops out of the shoulder socket. A dislocation normally isn’t a permanent injury and is often put back into place by a medical professional soon after the dislocation occurs. However, in some cases, surgery may be necessary if the medical professionals are unable to put the dislocated joint into the correct position or if a ligament has been stretched or torn as a result of the dislocation. Physical therapy is often required after dislocation of the affected shoulder in order to restore the mobility of the shoulder joint.
Whiplash Injuries
Whiplash injuries occur after a sudden and often severe jolting of the neck. During a car accident, the parties involved may have braked suddenly in order to stop their vehicle quickly, and this sudden jolt could have caused injury to the neck. Whiplash can cause pain as well as tingling and numbness in the shoulder blade area, the neck, and the lower back. Injuries caused by whiplash are normally treated non-surgically through treatments including physical therapy and acupuncture. However, surgery may be necessary in some rare cases if the victim still experiences severe pain after extensive non-surgical treatment.
Fractures
Car accidents can sometimes lead to multiple injuries, including fractures to the humerus, scapula, or collarbone. A medical professional may perform an x-ray or CT scan on your body, including the shoulder area, in order to determine if you have sustained a fracture as a result of your car accident. Fractures are usually treated non-surgically and will heal naturally over time, provided that the conditions are right for the bone to heal. In some rare cases, surgery may be necessary to repair a fracture in the shoulder area if screws, plates, or pins are required.
Possible Settlement Range of Your Claim
If you have received medical treatment such as surgery after sustaining a shoulder injury, you may be able to recover compensation in order to cover these medical costs. A car accident lawyer will review your case and determine which damages you could be able to claim after your car accident. Recoverable expenses that can be claimed include:
- Medical bills – Severe shoulder injuries often require victims to undergo shoulder surgery. Although completely necessary, undergoing surgery normally leaves patients with expensive medical bills to worry about. For example, undergoing rotator cuff surgery as well as having multiple consultations with an orthopedic surgeon can be expensive. Likewise, undergoing physical therapy, receiving pain-relieving medication, and having x-rays done, can also be very costly for the injured person. An attorney at our law firm will calculate how much you have spent on medical expenses and determine how much compensation you may be entitled to for the bills that you have incurred.
- Lost wages – It’s highly likely that you were left unable to work while recovering from your shoulder surgery. Victims often go an extended period of time without receiving payment from their job, as a full recovery after shoulder surgery normally takes between four to six months. Some surgical repair complications can make the recovery time even longer. A lawyer can calculate your past, present, and future lost income and fight to ensure that these lost wages are recovered.
- Property damage – It’s common that a person involved in a car accident has their property damaged as a result of the collision. With the help of a lawyer, you may be able to claim the costs of repairing or replacing your property, including your vehicle.
- Pain and suffering – After undergoing major shoulder surgery, you may be able to claim pain and suffering damages. Pain and suffering is an example of non-economic damages that involve both physical pain and emotional trauma that a person has experienced due to the effects of their car accident. For example, if your shoulder injury has prevented you from participating in sports such as baseball or basketball, this could be used as evidence that your quality of life has decreased, and you may be able to receive compensation for this.
- Wrongful death – If you have lost a loved one due to a car accident, you may be able to claim compensation. Funeral costs and other expenses incurred as a result of the accident can be covered as per Florida Statute 768.21. Also, if the decedent received medical care, including surgery due to the accident before their death, then these expenses can also be covered.
If you have undergone shoulder surgery after your accident, it’s likely that you are entitled to compensation in order to cover these costs. One of our experienced attorneys will examine your medical bills and use them as evidence in your personal injury case. At The Law Place, we believe that everyone has the right to a fair settlement if they have been involved in a car accident that wasn’t their fault. Call us today for a free consultation with a skilled attorney at our law firm to receive invaluable legal advice and assistance in filing your lawsuit.
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Dealing With Insurance Companies for Your Shoulder Surgery Settlement
If you are looking to file a claim, it’s important to know how insurance companies work. As per Florida Statute 627.7407, Florida is a no-fault state, meaning that claimants must file an insurance claim with their own insurance company first. An insurance adjuster will examine the victim’s claim and evidence put forward by the attorney in order to calculate how much compensation they should pay out to the client (if any).
An insurance adjuster may establish how much a shoulder surgery claim is worth by establishing how many surgeries were required to treat the injury, the cost of the surgery or surgeries, and who was liable for the accident. Under Florida Statute 768.81, the State of Florida operates under a comparative fault law meaning that more than one party can be found liable for a car accident. For example, if the driver is found to be 20% liable for their car accident, their total settlement may be reduced by 20%.
The insurance adjuster will determine if the surgery that you received on your shoulder was necessary or not. Insurance providers are businesses that will maximize profits and pay out as little compensation as possible. Therefore, your insurance company may try to devalue your insurance claim and argue that the surgery you received was unnecessary. An attorney at our personal injury law firm will collect evidence, including medical records and doctor’s notes specific to your case, in order to prove that the surgery you received was necessary. We do this so that your insurance provider is unable to devalue your claim. At The Law Place, we prioritize the needs of our clients over profits, and we fight tirelessly to ensure that claimants receive fair compensation for the serious injuries and financial burdens they have sustained after their car accident.
In the case that the cost of your shoulder surgery exceeds your insurance policy limit, you may be able to file a claim with the other driver’s insurance company. Our attorneys will lead negotiations with insurance providers of all parties involved and ensure that the costs of your surgery can be covered by the compensation we win for you.
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Job-Related Shoulder Injuries and Workers’ Compensation
Nowadays, companies and small businesses employ drivers to deliver goods or travel long distances by car for work-related reasons. If your shoulder injury was sustained while at work, you are required to file a claim through Florida’s worker’s compensation insurance system. Workers’ compensation settlements are often much lower than personal injury ones, especially if the claimant did not receive surgery to treat the injury.
What Will a Personal Injury Lawyer Do for Me?
A car accident lawyer will collect the evidence necessary to strengthen your claim before filing a lawsuit with your insurance company. Evidence that a personal injury lawyer may collect includes:
- Eyewitness statements.
- Dashcam or surveillance videos of the accident.
- Contact details of all parties involved.
- Photographic evidence of the damage sustained to the vehicle as well as injuries of the victim.
- Medical bills and doctor’s records.
- Payslips and tax returns of the claimant in order to prove lost wages.
As well as collecting valuable evidence, your attorney will handle the legal paperwork and documentation regarding your case so that you don’t have to. At The Law Place, we know how important recovery time is for victims of shoulder injuries. Dealing with the stresses of the legal process can sometimes even prolong this recovery process. Therefore, we will take your claim into our own hands and keep you updated with new information on your case as soon as we have it so that you can rest assured that your case is in capable hands.
At The Law Place, our attorneys operate on a contingency basis as monitored by The State Bar Association. This means that we never charge our clients for our legal services unless we win their case. Once the settlement is finalized, a percentage of your final settlement will be taken as payment for our services. We do this so that our clients don’t have to worry about further debts following their car accidents.
What’s more, our attorneys are well-versed in determining fair settlements for shoulder injury cases. We have handled thousands of cases just like yours, and our impressive track record proves how prepared we are to take on your case. If you are looking for honest, fair, and experienced legal representation, call The Law Place today.
Contact The Law Place Today
If you have undergone surgery on one or both shoulders as a result of a car accident, call The Law Place today. It is difficult to determine an average settlement for shoulder surgery after a car accident, as every auto accident and the subsequent costs of surgery can differ greatly depending on the circumstances surrounding each individual case. Nevertheless, a skilled attorney at our law firm can help you recover damages from medical bills to lost wages in order to cover the costs of your surgery and other expenses that you may have incurred.
Car accidents can have devastating consequences for all parties involved. Sustaining serious injuries from an accident not only leaves the victim with physical and emotional anguish but also large, costly debts to worry about. Determining how much you may be entitled to claim for economic damages such as medical bills and lost wages are easier to estimate. However, non-economic damages, including pain and suffering, are subjective and therefore more challenging to calculate. Hiring experienced legal representation can help you determine and recover the costs of both economic and non-economic damages you have incurred, including costs of surgery and other important medical care.
At The Law Place, our phone lines are always open so that you can call us when it suits you best. Call us at (941) 444-4444 to schedule your free consultation with one of our car accident attorney in Sarasota today.
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