Broken Leg Car Accident Settlement: How to Value Leg Injury Cases

With so many large trucks, Ubers, SUVs, and every other kind of automobiles whipping around Chicago and the greater Chicagoland area, car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, and other vehicle accidents are bound to happen.

However, the frequency and severity of the personal injuries (brain injury, burn injuries, back injuries, hip injury, hand injuries, shoulder injuries, etc.) from Illinois car accidents is surprising. Leg injuries in fact are one of the most common serious harms associated with these crashes.

While broken legs and related damage might not evoke a troubling thought in your mind, they do pose great risk to personal health both right after the car collision and possibly well into the future. Also, they may require many hospital trips, doctors evaluations, and physical therapy appointments.

This personal injury may mean a lot of money in the form of medical treatment and medical bills but there are lots of other related costs such as lost income from missed work that you need to be aware of.

The car accident attorneys of our law firm, Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, work diligently to obtain settlement amounts that leg injury victims of Chicago motor vehicle accidents deserve. Call our offices to set up a free consultation to see what auto accident settlement may be available for you. This can help cover the cost and pain of your economic damages and non-economic damages.

The following sections review this issue in more detail. Call and speak to one of our personal injury lawyers if you have any questions. If you suffered a fracture or other injuries, remember that a personal injury lawyer from our law firm can bring a claim against the at-fault driver, truck driver, or insurance company, especially if you are located in Cook County, Kane County, DuPage County, or Will County.

How are Legs Damaged in Chicago Car Accidents

The small space within a car can force legs into damaging situations during crashes. The specific force, speed, and nature of the automobile collision will dictate how the leg is harmed but here are some common scenarios.

Fracture. The weight of the motor vehicle or objects within it can come bearing down on the leg and fracture it. This might also happen to the knee, foot, or toes.

Laceration. Glass, steering wheel, dashboard, or something else can cut across the leg and cause an unruly laceration. This may cut the skin, nerves, soft tissue, or muscles around the leg.

Amputation. If too much force is brought down on the leg or a part within it, circulation might be lost and the leg may need to be amputated above or below the knee.

Tear. The speed and movement of a car accident can tear or sprain your leg or sections of it. This often happens when part of the leg gets caught in something but the other part continues forward.

These methods of leg injury in Chicago car crashes may cause immediate harm, temporary disability, or even permanent disability. With that pain and suffering you might also expect substantial medical treatment and medical bills, plus other costs.

Of course, you can experience a totally different leg injury from an Illinois motor vehicle accident, but these are some frequent and fundamental ones!

Treating Legs after Auto Crashes in Illinois

You will most likely notice the effects of a leg injury right after it happens in a car accident, truck accident, motorcycle accident, or similar motor vehicle accident.

Yet, the consequences might linger on well after the immediate trauma and can drastically alter a person’s life. Only with treatment can personal injury victims get back to a normal life.

What medical treatment do car accident victims with leg injuries receive? It typically depends upon the person’s injuries, medical background, crash circumstances, and other individual factors.

With that being said, there are some routine measures taken by doctors and surgeons to correct harm done to legs in automobile collisions like these.

• Surgery
• Rehabilitation
• Casts and Splints
• Traction
• Immobilization

Even if these or other options work, you might be looking at many months or even years of medical treatment and attention. This will take lots of resources and energy-not to mention missed work, hobbies, and family time.

Our car accident attorneys work to make sure people with leg damage from Chicago car crashes get the financial compensation and recovery they deserve to make up for this!

Leg Injury Statistics from Chicago Car Accidents

• Millions of people injure their legs in car accidents each year.
• Legs are one of the five most common parts of the body harmed in car crashes.
• Leg injuries routinely cause victims thousands of dollars in medical bills after an auto collision.
• Settlements and jury awards can fetch as much as tens of thousands of dollars for leg damage and related harm.
• The tibia and femur are the more frequently fractured bones in the leg during car accidents.

Most Frequent Chicago Car Accident Leg Injuries with Highest Settlement

3 Reasons Why Leg Injury Claims in Chicago Auto Crash Cases Payout Settlements

What your automobile accident personal injury case will be worth depends upon the specific facts and circumstances of your crash. However, whatever you obtain in terms of financial compensation, it will take much longer to get it if you go to trial rather than settling. Defendants will settle only if they think you will definitely win the case or it will save them time and money.

Here are the three biggest factors that will affect your settlement and most likely expedite the negotiation process.

1. Extraordinary medical expenses and disability.
2. Reckless defendant behavior including intoxicated driving, driving while texting, or wanton speeding.
3. Death or incapacitation of a motorist.

Speak to our car accident attorneys about what settlement amounts may be possible for you. We can also discuss different ways to obtain that and other areas for relief under Illinois law.

Illinois Auto Accident Leg Injury Awards and Settlements

$1,365,000 Settlement; Chicago Illinois; 2012:

A motorist was fleeing the scene of a crime and being chased by cops when he smashed into the plaintiff’s motor vehicle. The plaintiff, a man in his middle fifties, worked as a supervisor prior to the crash.

He would be unable to after the accident due to the severity of his injuries which included the following: tibiofibular fracture; partial amputated leg bone; pantalar dislocation; and broken calcaneus.

These wounds cost him well over $300,000 in medical expenses and he cited over $500,000 in lost wages. He also claimed long-term disability and pain from these events. The two parties settled for a reported financial compensation agreement of $1,365,000 for his economic damages and non-economic damages.

$350,000 Settlement; Chicago, Illinois; 2011:

The plaintiff, an elderly woman in her early nineties, was being driven in a passenger vehicle by one of her friends. They were driving on the south side of Chicago. Another motorist collided with them while they were turning left onto Kostner Avenue.

The elderly woman suffered a broken wrist and puncture wound in one of her legs. Subsequently, the puncture became infected and required substantial medical care at home.

That medical treatment cost her over $100,000. To make up for this, she brought a claim against both drives and against her own insurance carrier for uninsured motorist coverage. The three parties gave her a combined amount of $350,000.

$5,000,000 Settlement; Cook County, Illinois; 2006:

This unfortunate incident occurred on the highway in Cook County when a young teenager ran into another vehicle at speeds of over ninety miles per hour. That passenger vehicle contained a family-a couple and their three little children.

The father sustained several broken bones including the leg, shoulder, and elbow. One of the kids, a little girl, injured her leg as well and needed a rod and plate surgically installed. The mother and other kids also suffered various personal injuries.

The family’s total medical bills for medical treatment totaled nearly three quarters of a million dollars. They sued the other driver; the owner of that vehicle; and other related parties.

The defendants did not contest the matter to a finish though, they settled before that could happen for a combined sum of $5 million.

$895,000 Settlement; Madison County, Illinois; 2020:

In this automobile accident case, a woman in her late teens was a passenger in a rental motor vehicle travelling down I-55 in Southern Illinois. They were riding through a construction zone when they were suddenly rear-ended.

She suffered a femoral shaft fracture that needed intramedullary nailing. The girl also injured her shoulder, spine, and brain. The bills for her medical treatment were about $175,000. She was also left with serious pain, disability, and reduced quality of life.

To recoup these harms and losses, she brought a personal injury claim against the other driver and owner of the construction zone. The defendants gave her $895,000 combined for her damages, both economic and non-economic.

Chicago Car Accident Attorneys That can get the Most for Your Leg Injuries

Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers has worked with many clients with leg injuries from car accidents across the Chicagoland area. These serious injuries have drastic consequences. You will need an experienced law firm and committed group of car accident attorneys to combat the insurance companies, truck companies, and other at-fault parties.

Talk to our team today. We can schedule a no-obligation and free consultation to discuss your legal rights and settlement options under Illinois law. We work on contingency so our services until you get the financial compensation you deserve. Let us get to work together!

Further Reading and Sources for General Information Purposes

• Lower Extremity Injuries and Intrusion in Frontal Crashes
• Road Traffic Injuries and Deaths—A Global Problem
• Motor vehicle crashes