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The tremendous impact in a car accident can cause many hip injuries, such as a broken hip bone or socket, broken femur, or hip dislocation. The tendons and ligaments surrounding the hip joints also can be stretched or torn. Hip injuries account for about 17% of all lower body injuries in car accidents.
Any hip injury you suffer in a car accident can cause severe pain, such as shooting pains in the hip area when you try to walk. You also may not be able to sit upright without severe pain.
Depending on the nature of the injury, hip injuries can be treated in several ways. If the hip bone or socket is fractured, you may need to have screws and plates imbedded in the socket. In severe hip injury cases, you may need a complete hip replacement.
If you have a hip injury from a car accident, the recovery and rehabilitation process can be long and expensive. People who suffer knee and hip injuries in car accidents often need to have surgery and stay in the hospital for extended periods.
That’s why it’s so important to be represented by a personal injury attorney in your case, if the accident was caused by another party. Please talk to The Herron Law Firm about your injury today.
One important key part of a settlement for a hip injury is the issue of fault. If you are 50% at fault for the car accident, your total settlement will be reduced by 50%.
The first thing personal injury lawyers always consider is whether there is liability insurance for the other driver and if that insurance is adequate. If there is no insurance or not enough insurance available, lawyers may have to file a personal injury lawsuit against the other driver’s insurance plus your own underinsured (UIM) protection you have been paying all those premiums for.
As you and your Portland personal injury lawyer evaluate your hip fracture claim, there are several things to consider. The big and most overlooked part of your insurance settlement amount is the value of your non-economic damages, like pain and suffering. In Oregon, you are allowed by law to insurance compensation for pain and suffering as well as economic damages that include past and future medical bills and lost wages.
A person about 50-years-old who needs a hip replacement caused by an accident will probably have a starting value of $100,000 to $400,000 for the full value of the claim, including medical costs.
But if you are overweight and have joint problems in the hip, and there was no fracture in the hip from the accident, the full value of the case will be less.
In many states, experts believe the starting point for pain and suffering for a hip fracture that does not require surgery to be in the range of $50,000 to $75,000. The lower end represents good healing of the hip and little disability.
The higher-end involves a more difficult recovery and longer treatment. But if you have a really bad hip fracture from a car accident, your pain and suffering could easily exceed $75,000.
If your hip injury requires surgery, the starting point for your pain and suffering will be higher. The reason is that surgery increases the overall value of a personal injury case. For a hip fracture with internal fixation, the range for pain and suffering in some parts of the country is $200,000 to $700,000.
The higher end of $700,000 could happen if you get a really good insurance company that pays fair value for personal injury claims. But the $200,000 to $700,000 may not apply if you need hip replacements in the future.
Of course, there is no guarantee you will get these amounts in a hip injury settlement, as there are many factors involved in your Portland injury case.
Knees are vulnerable in all types of car accidents, from head-on crashes to roll-over accidents. The knee can be jolted by the force of impact or may hit the dashboard or steering wheel. Seatbelts and airbags cannot protect your knees in a serious car accident. Knee injuries account for about 21% of all lower extremity injuries in car crashes.
The type of knee injury you have in a car accident depends on many things, such as the size of your body to the speed and angle of the crash.
The most common knee injury from a car accident is a stretched or torn anterior cruciate ligament or ACL. The next most common knee injury is to the posterior collateral ligament or PCL. Both of these knee injuries cause significant pain, swelling and a popping sound when the injury occurs. If a knee ligament is damaged, it will cause severe pain and can cause long-term disability.
Head-on crashes often cause other serious knee injuries, such as a dislocated or broken kneecap, torn ligaments, ruptured tendons, or ligament hyperextension.
It is estimated that 100 million Americans suffer knee injuries per year. Many of the more serious knee injuries come from car accidents.
Settlements and jury awards vary widely in car accident knee injury cases. There are two major variables at play:
Here are some interesting knee injury compensation numbers:
The lower number for rear-end crash knee injuries is not surprising because severe leg injuries typically do not occur in these accidents. The most severe leg injuries occur in frontal-impact crashes.
Statistics show that the average settlement for a knee injury in a car accident case is between $70,000 and $150,000. The most devastating knee injuries can have settlements of over $1 million, but these are severe injuries that take months or years of recovery and may result in permanent disability.
Two things: how bad the knee injury is, and whether you had pre-existing or degenerative knee issues prior to the car accident.
Not that difficult. Most knee injuries can be clearly diagnosed with medical imaging tests such as an X-ray or MRI. This makes your knee injury easier to prove in a personal injury claim or lawsuit.
Below are some sample cases from around the country that can give a glimpse of what a knee injury settlement can look like. But every case is different, and your settlement could be much more or less. Always talk to The Herron Law Firm at no charge to determine if you have a knee injury case and what it might be worth.
Foot injuries are common in car accidents, especially in frontal collisions. The feet can get jammed or crushed into the control pedals or floor, leading to severe and painful injuries. Some of the most common foot injuries in car accidents are:
The foot is a highly complex part of the body, with 26 bones, soft tissues, tendons, and muscles. Of the 26 bones, 19 are in the toes and seven are long bones in the middle of the foot.
There are two types of fractures that can happen in the feet:
Traumatic fractures are also called acute fractures. A traumatic fracture can be either displaced or non-displaced. If a fracture is displaced, the broken bone has changed position.
Note that displaced fractures usually have a higher full value for settlement for pain and suffering in a car accident. This means there is a higher full value of the case.
Also, note that fractures to the cuneiform bones at the top of the foot below the ankle are serious. They can cause arthritis, which leads to a higher case value. Surgery to those bones also will boost the full value of the case. The full value of pain and suffering for surgery to the cuneiform bones can be more than $100,000.
An Achilles tear can occur in acute trauma in a fall or car accident. But trauma is not usually what causes an Achilles tendon injury.
A recent case example in Florida involved a man who had a ruptured Achilles tendon and settled for $300,000 after he fell in a grocery store in Miami.
An ankle fracture is a common injury in car accidents. In a frontal crash, the feet may slam into the floor with tremendous force, and the small, delicate bones in the ankles can break.
There is a report of an ankle injury settlement in Florida that resulted in a $25,000 payment to the accident victim. He received that settlement even though he only complained of ankle pain, not a fracture.
Fourteen of the 26 bones in the foot are in the toe. Toe injuries usually do not happen in car accidents. There are two major toe injuries: toe joint sprains and dislocations, and broken toe bones.
There are many treatment options for toe injuries, including special shoes, medication, taping, rest, and surgery in the worst cases.
The most common reason for toe injuries is something is dropped on the toe, you stub your toe, or something rolls over the toe.
Most broken toes heal well within six weeks. If the toe heels well in that time, the case probably is not worth much. But if it gets infected or is more susceptible to arthritis, you could get more in a settlement.
There is a toe injury settlement report where an object fell on the victim’s toe in a store. The toe was fractured and the man got a $30,000 settlement.
In another case, a grocery store employee ran over a client’s toe with a pallet cart, resulting in a broken toe. The settlement was for $17,000.
If you have suffered an injury to your hip, knee, or foot in a car or other accident, you should talk to The Herron Law Firm. We can review your case at no cost and determine if you have a case. If your injury was caused by the actions of another party, you could be eligible for a legal settlement.
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Car accidents often cause knee and hip injuries. These injuries are often related to each other and require immediate medical attention. Below is more information about each injury. If you have questions about filing a legal claim after a car accident, please talk to The Herron Law Firm today