What Is the Average Settlement for Shoulder Injury After a Car Accident?

Your shoulder performs many functions that impact your daily life. What would your life look like if you lost the use of one arm? If you’ve been in a car accident and experienced a shoulder injury, you may have already asked yourself this question as you try to recover. It is scary to think about never regaining the use of your arm, especially if the cost of medical bills is preventing you from seeking help from a doctor.

If you experienced injuries after a car accident caused by a negligent driver, make sure you get all the medical attention you need. Shoulder injuries, such as a rotator cuff tear, are common during vehicle collisions and can be slow to heal.

You can pursue the negligent party’s insurance for compensation following the accident, and recover money for your medical bills, lost wages, pain, suffering, and more. A skilled car accident lawyer can help you make sure you get the fair settlement you are entitled to for your shoulder injury. Here at Will Adams Law Firm, our settlement results speak for themselves. We’ve helped our clients find peace in their recovery, as we compassionately take on their fight with the insurance companies.

Your shoulder is one of the weaker joints in your body, which makes it more likely to suffer an injury. During a car accident, you may experience unexpected high forces on your muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones, which can cause these important parts to strain, tear, fracture, or break.

Most people tense up during a car accident, and if you are holding a steering wheel, your whole arm may stiffen up and cause all the force of the car accident to be absorbed by your shoulder. Depending on the severity of the collision, you may experience any of these injuries:

• Broken Bones. With a strong impact, you may experience fractured or broken bones, such as a broken clavicle.
• Shoulder Dislocation. Due to the structure of the shoulder joint, a dislocated shoulder is a common injury.
• Rotator Cuff Injury. The rotator cuff muscles and tendons support the shoulder joint, and during a car accident the forces involved can tear these tissues. This injury can cause severe shoulder pain.
• Soft Tissue Trauma. Other soft tissues near the shoulder joint can also suffer if they are impacted.
• Whiplash occurs when your head snaps back and forth. Severe whiplash can injure muscles in the neck as well as the shoulder.

Following an accident, you may feel shooting pain in your shoulder or arm. There may be stiffness and loss of joint mobility. Serious injuries can cause lumps or depressions around the shoulder due to swelling or tears. These injuries may require anything from physical therapy to invasive shoulder surgery.

A thorough medical diagnosis is critical to correctly identifying your shoulder injury, and it’s very important to follow your doctor’s prescribed treatment plan, including physical therapy, as closely as you can. By doing these things, you will have a stronger case when you are pursuing a shoulder injury claim. Insurance companies do not want to pay out, and they may try to argue that your shoulder injuries are not serious or were not caused by the accident. A doctor’s testimony can be very valuable when you are seeking a fair settlement.

RELATED: Don’t Ignore Shoulder Pain After a Car Crash

There are a lot of factors that go into the calculation for a shoulder injury claim settlement amount. In general, more severe accidents lead to more serious shoulder injuries. And combining an increased severity of an injury with its longer-lasting impact on quality of life can potentially result in a higher settlement.

While it’s impossible to tell you how much your specific shoulder injury case is worth without a consultation, the average payout is around $100,000. Many shoulder injury cases settle for less, but some find the fair compensation to be over $1 million. Here are some of the biggest factors that influence the total amount of the shoulder injury settlement:

• Medical Bills. These include any bills for medically necessary procedures resulting from the accident. Depending on your medical needs, you may require invasive rotator cuff tear surgery that is very expensive. Or perhaps you will benefit from a less invasive arthroscopic surgery. Other medical bills can come from diagnostics like X-rays and MRIs, medication, physical therapy, steroid injections, and more.
• Future Medical Needs. If treatment for the injury is ongoing, a skilled personal injury attorney will be able to calculate the future costs of medical needs, including the cost of time away from work.
• Lost Wages. You may have missed some shifts at work due to the accident for medical appointments. Physical therapy appointments can lead to many missed days from work, and your settlement amount should factor in the cost of these lost wages.
• Lost Earning Capacity. If your shoulder injury has a life-long impact that reduces your earning capacity, you deserve to be compensated for an appropriate amount.
• Property Damages. Damage to your vehicle, including any personal items in the car that may have been broken during the accident, should be factored into your compensation.
• Pain and Suffering. Shoulder injuries can impact your quality of life, either on a temporary basis or sometimes permanently. For instance, if you were an avid basketball player or pianist before the accident, but your shoulder injury prevents you from enjoying your favorite hobbies, that can factor into your settlement amount.
• Punitive Damages. Punitive damages are rarely awarded, except in cases of gross negligence or extreme recklessness. They are meant to punish the defendant as a way to deter other people from acting in the same negligent manner, such as driving while intoxicated.

It is important to work with a skilled personal injury attorney for your shoulder injury claims, because their experience can be invaluable for calculating damages and arguing your case to the insurance companies. For instance, your attorney might have extensive knowledge about how to calculate your future medical needs, or lost earning potential, and know the best way to convince the insurance company that your case is worth a certain amount.

RELATED: What Is My Truck Accident Claim Worth?

If you were a passenger in the vehicle of a friend or family member, you may be hesitant to seek a shoulder injury case against someone who is important to you. However, it is not your friend or loved one who will pay for your bills. It is their insurance company – most likely their auto policy, but there are other insurance companies that may cover the settlement.

For instance, drivers are required to have minimum insurance in Texas. That insurance will typically cover your claims. However, if the value of the claim exceeds their coverage, or if the negligent driver is not insured, there are other options. If you have Under Insured Motorist (UIM) or Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage, that may cover all or a portion of your shoulder injury claim.

Your car accident lawyer might start digging through the facts and find out that the other driver was on the clock when the accident occurred. If that is the case, the employer’s insurance will likely cover your claim.

With the help of a lawyer like Will Adams, you can be sure that you have someone on your side who will explore all the possibilities of different insurance companies that may be able to compensate you for your shoulder pain or rotator cuff injury. Shoulder surgery is a serious procedure, and we know you need to spend as much time as you can recovering, not worrying about how you are going to pay your bills.

We’re active members of the Katy community, and when one of our own gets hurt, we want to help. If you, or someone you love, has shoulder pain following a car accident, don’t face this struggle alone. Will Adams Law Firm is ready to put in the hard work to help you recover and get the compensation you deserve.

We offer free consultations to discuss the details of your case and get a better idea of what settlement you can expect from your shoulder injury lawsuit. To request a personal consultation with one of our skilled personal injury attorneys, call our office at 1-800-559-0593 or fill out our simple online contact form.

The content provided here is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject.