Hip Fracture From Car Accident

The high speeds of large motor vehicles hurrying down Chicago roads and highways leave personal injury victims with serious injuries after car accidents happen.

Hips are frequently broken, dislocated, lacerated, and otherwise injured in these events. That can cause great pain right after they occur and have long-term medical implications.

If you sustained a hip fracture from car accident speak to the car accident lawyers at our firm today. The personal injury attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, LLC help accident victims understand every settlement amount and recovery option possible for them to help cover costs for medical treatment, missed work, and property damage.

If you have questions about your case, schedule a free consultation today with a Chicago car accident lawyer. All confidential or sensitive information you share with your personal injury attorney remains private through an attorney-client relationship.

Broken hips are a common injury sustained in car accidents, and the effects of this painful injury can be debilitating both physically and financially for the victim.

A broken hip can often lead to months or even years of rehabilitation, during which time the victim is unable to work and may require full-time assistance. In addition, the cost of surgery and hospitalization can be tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Our team of experienced attorneys will work tirelessly and give you legal advice to get you the best possible outcome in your case. We have successfully recovered millions of dollars for our clients in cases like yours. Contact us today for a free consultation.

Chicago Auto Accident Hip Injuries

Hips are not often the first part of the body harmed in an automobile accident around Chicago. Yet, when they are, they can cause substantial pain and generate exorbitant bills for medical treatment (surgery; rehabilitation; prescription; etc.).

The broken bone damage can be short-lasting or long-lasting, but they are also normally hard to spot, too, so it is important to speak to a doctor about your hip after the Illinois car crash.

Because the hip joint is situated between the upper leg bone (femur) and the pelvic bone, it bears a great deal of weight. It also comprises many muscles critical to walking, running, etc.

The accident result makes a broken hip injury very significant because few other joints carry this much responsibility.

Hip fractures occur when one or both of these bones in the hip fracture because of blunt trauma. Intense trauma is the leading cause of hip fractures in older adults. Hip injuries from car accidents can occur when one car crashes into another or a side impact, rollover, or rear-end collision.

Organ and Soft Tissue Injuries

Serious injury to the nerves, blood vessels, and soft tissues can also occur in a hip injury from a Chicago motor vehicle collision.

The ligaments and tendons surrounding the hips area can be damaged, especially if there is a significant amount of force at work. This risk increases greatly when an automobile accident happens on the outside part of the hip versus the hip’s interior.

Injuries to soft tissues that need to be repaired will take some form of surgery to repair the damage.

Often, there are two options for hip surgeries, including restoring normal function or replacing the joint with metal components. It is best to discuss healing options with a doctor to repair a hip injury.

Common Types of Hip Fracture From Car Accidents

Here is how hips are most often injured in Chicago automobile collisions:

• Fracture of the femur injures the longest and heaviest bone in the body
• Dislocation of the hip joint happens when a complete or partial loss of normal joint position involves the femur and pelvis slipping the joint out of the socket.
• Tendonitis around the hip area can be caused by the overuse of the hip joints’ muscles. It may cause pain and stiffness, and it could be worsened by walking, running, or other activities that put excessive force on those tendons.
• Bursitis is caused by inflammation (irritation) of a small fluid-filled sac known as a bursa that protects your bones and tendons.
• Strain/sprain injuries involve the ligaments and tendons surrounding your broken hip joint.

Your car accident, hip injuries, and related personal injuries may take different forms than these, but these are just the most common.

Talk to the group of car accident lawyers at our law firm specializing in personal injury cases to see if you have a claim for your broken hip. The personal injury case may make up for the costs, harm, and burden of the broken hip injury.

Treatment for Hip Damage After a Chicago Car Crash

Hip injuries manifest in all different ways and can be impacted by the unique circumstances of the auto accident, the victim’s medical records, and other contributing factors.

Due to this fact and the general nature of hip damage, treatment can vary from person to person. Therefore, injury victims need to consult with their physicians to determine an individual course of care to best treat the problem.

At home, people can do many things to alleviate pain and suffering from their hip injury after a motor vehicle accident. Here are some of the best at-home remedies: rest, heat and ice, stretch and exercise, and over-the-counter pain medication.

If the damage is more advanced, doctors might need to recommend surgery, prescribe medications, or even refer the person to a physical therapy specialist.

Our team of medical experts and personal injury attorneys can help you determine what financial compensation might be available to make up for these items. So call us today to craft the best path to relief and recovery for you!

Hip Replacement Surgery

An alternative plan can be implemented if the damage is so severe and the pain and discomfort so intense that doctors can’t effectively treat the problem without replacing the hip.

Hip replacement surgery has a high success rate, although it may require patients to spend many months in physical therapy or rehabilitation before their bodies are working correctly again.

Total hip replacement surgery is complex and critical to restoring the quality of life of the patient. The total hip replacement surgery will usually consist of replacing the ball and socket components of the hip with artificial implants that mimic these natural parts — made out of metal alloys or other durable materials.

Hip problems typically arise from age-related wear and tear on the joints and tissues surrounding them, although most hip injuries can certainly bring about related health problems.

Tendon Tears and Joint Dislocations

The most common hip injuries are bone fractures of the hips, tears in the tendons surrounding the joint, and dislocations of the joint itself; these can occur due to car accidents or other actions that bring about traumatic injuries.

The cost of hip replacement surgery (both financially and personally) can be staggering if brought upon by an accident or poor medical care. To help recoup these losses, people who have been seriously injured in a car accident may want to speak to a qualified personal injury attorney about their legal options.

The personal injury attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, LLC are dedicated to protecting the rights of injury victims for years. As an experienced team of trial lawyers that have handled thousands of car accident cases, they know how to effectively plan your claim and represent your best interests in court.

Our Illinois law firm has received countless multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements for our clients; if you suspect you might have a case, it’s important to consult with an attorney as soon as possible.

Facts About Hip Injury Settlements in Illinois MVA Accidents

• Settlement payouts for hip damage can range between tens of thousands of dollars and hundreds of thousands of dollars.
• The most common hip injuries from car accidents are pelvic fractures, dislocation, and tears.
• The hip areas most prone to damage from Illinois auto wrecks are, in order, the ilium, ischium, and pubis.
• After a Chicago car crash, surgery for hip damage and related personal injuries can be as much as $30,000.
• Rehab and recovery from these hip injuries can take you away from work (and paychecks) for as long as one to two months.

Chicago Car Accident Hip Injuries With Highest Settlement

3 Biggest Factors Affecting Settlement in Hip Injury Claims and Chicago MVA Lawsuits

“What is my car accident case worth?” This is on the tip of the tongue of every personal injury victim of a motor vehicle crash in the Chicagoland area, especially those with serious injuries and who need a hip replacement.

No experienced car accident lawyer can give you a precise number because judges and juries are inconsistent, and your settlement payout will be unique.

However, these three factors may influence settlements and verdicts the most.

• Medical expenses
• Lost income and property damages
• Long-term suffering, disability, and changed life circumstances

To be clear, positive answers to these issues will not dictate a successful or large recovery. That is why you should talk to one of the car accident attorneys at our law firm.

Yet, they will probably keep you in the running for what you desire in terms of financial compensation, so it is important to consider and estimate them early on in your defendant claims process.

Recent Hip Fracture From Car Accident Awards and Settlement Payouts in Illinois

$2,050,000 Settlement:

An elderly couple was driving on the highway (Route 2) in Northwest Illinois when suddenly T-boned.

The instigator was a truck driver hauling a trailer and pickup. As a result, the trucker had blown through a stop sign and slammed into the pair’s motor vehicle. The husband suffered a fractured hip, patella, and ribs, causing chronic pain.

He also sustained a concussion and mental trauma. The man needed medical treatment, and a hip replacement, and was in a nursing home for months topping $300,000. The woman also suffered a concussion, cuts, and other personal injuries.

Her medical bills were $25,000. Since the commercial truck driver was working at the time of the crash, the pair brought a hip fracture case against the truck driver and the truck company.

The two defendants did not want to pursue this matter in court and sought to negotiate this car accident case with the plaintiffs’ counsel in private hip fracture settlements to bring about a quicker end to the dispute. In the end, they were able to settle for $2,050,000.

$1,375,000 Settlement:

A motorist lost control of his motor vehicle on the Edens Expressway and crashed into the plaintiff’s automobile. The plaintiff was forty-two at the time of the accident. He suffered a traumatic brain injury, memory loss, a dislocated hip, and a damaged knee.

He needed major surgery and was housed in a nursing home for about three months. Medical costs for the related treatment totaled $290,000. In addition, the defendant claimed $25,000 in lost wages.

His claim sought damages from the other motorist for negligence. However, not long after it was filed, the insurer, Allstate, took over and directly negotiated a settlement with him for a reported $1.375 million of financial compensation for his economic damages and non-economic damages.

$440,000 Settlement:

A family riding through a snowstorm was hit head-on by a large truck on a cold winter night. One of the little girls, just eleven years old, was paralyzed below the waist.

The other girl, nine years old, had a left hip fracture and sustained a concussion, among other personal injuries.

Their combined medical expenses were hundreds of thousands of dollars. Their subsequent personal injury cases targeted the driver and the driver’s insurance policy.

The two were able to recover $440,000 collectively in financial compensation, and their parents’ claims against the same defendants were still outstanding at the time of these outcomes.

$63,000 Settlement:

A mother and daughter swerved to get away from another motor vehicle crossing the median and heading toward them and they landed in a ditch. The mother injured her hip and back.

She needed injections and other medical treatment worth $25,000 and her daughter sprained her back and neck. She also injured her elbow. The younger woman’s medical care bills were nearly $10,000.

Together they brought a car accident case against the driver that forced them off the road. They settled with his insurer, American Family, for $63,000.

About $47,000 was for the mother’s injuries and hip pain and suffering. The rest was apportioned for the daughter’s pain and suffering.

$200,000 Settlement:

A semi-tractor trailer traveling at a high rate of speed on a multi-lane highway in Illinois crossed three lanes and hit a car. The impact injured the driver and the passenger, who were both in their twenties at the time of the crash.

The woman suffered a broken leg, and her man sustained several broken bones and hip fractures, lacerations, and other hip injuries. Their medical bills topped $100,000 apiece. The male also reported $30,000 in lost wages.

Their insurer agreed to a settlement of $125,000 for the woman and $75,000 for the man.

$136,500 Settlement:

A driver ran a red light and crashed into the plaintiff’s car. After the car accident happened, he discovered that he had suffered a lower back hernia and fractured hip and needed hip surgery and other major surgery to repair both injuries.

He also experienced pain in his neck, headaches, post-traumatic stress disorder, hip pain, anxiety, and depression. His medical treatment expenses topped $125,000.

He sought damages for hip surgery values from the defendant’s insurer but could only recover $130,500. That amount was split between his economic and non-economic damages.

$741,000 Settlement:

A truck was pulling a trailer headed westbound on the highway in Cook County when it failed to yield to eastbound traffic at an intersection. A collision occurred that injured an eastbound driver of another vehicle.

He suffered an intertrochanteric hip fracture and foot injury that led to surgery. His medical care bills totaled more than $120,000.

He sought damages from the defendant’s insurer for his hip pain, economic losses, and compensation for non-economic harms, including pain and suffering. They agreed to settle with him for $741,000.

$35,000 Settlement:

A woman traveling near her home was struck from behind by a semi-tractor trailer. She sustained a femur fracture, hip pain, and whiplash between the initial impact and the second jolt of the crash.

Her medical expenses topped more than $20,000. She sought damages from the American Family Insurance Company for partial hip replacement and medical bills. Both sides reached a $35,000 settlement agreement.

$10,000 Settlement:

A man who always drove the speed limit ran a red light at an intersection in Will County when another driver crashed into him from behind. The impact made him have a hip dislocation while suffering from a pre-existing knee injury.

The man sought damages from the defendant’s insurer for pain and suffering and medical bills. The parties settled for $10,000.

$689,500 Settlement:

A semi-truck was traveling on a highway in Will County when it ran off the right side of the road. It crashed into another car, killing its driver and injuring its passenger.

The passenger suffered a fractured hip requiring surgery. The man was an active member of his community, church, and family. He had two children (both under five years old) when he died.

The victim’s wife filed a lawsuit against the trucking company on behalf of herself and their two children.

The company’s insurance agreed to settle the case for $689,500 split between economic damages and non-economic damages. The former would cover lost wages, medical bills, funeral expenses, etc., while the latter covered pain and suffering.

$2.5 Million Settlement

A man in his mid-sixties was driving with his son when a woman ran a stop sign in Lake County. Her car hit them on the passenger side, where the victim’s wife sat. Both of them were injured in the crash.

The plaintiff suffered a typical hip fracture that required surgery while his wife had to get an MRI scan, ended up with two herniated discs, and needed physical therapy. As a result, her medical expenses were over $350,000 plus the initial hospitalization expenses.

The jury awarded the victims $2.5 million to compensate for lost wages, medical bills, and other damages, including hip pain and suffering.

$75,000 Settlement

A man was driving his wife and children home from a family gathering around 1:00 AM when another vehicle lost control and struck them head-on. Their injuries included broken bones, ball and socket joint dislocation, a fractured hip, lacerations, concussions, hip pain, burns, pain management issues, and traumatic stress. The children also experienced night terrors afterward.

Their medical bills came to nearly $75,000 among the six of them collectively. They were able to settle their hip injury case with the other driver’s insurer for a reported $44,000 in pain and suffering from its policy limits plus an additional $31,500 from underinsured motorist coverage.

How Much Uber or Lyft Could Pay You If You Have a Hip Fracture

Ridesharing companies are responsible for paying injured passengers and others when colliding with the drivers’ automobiles in crashes and accidents. In some hip fracture cases, they may end up paying more than the driver’s policy limits.

According to data, Uber and Lyft both paid out around $5 million in settlements between early 2017 and mid-2018 for about 70 cases that involved significant personal injuries.

Ridesharing Accidents and Hip Fractures

Uber and Lyft drivers must maintain insurance coverage on their personal vehicles to transport passengers. Most importantly, they must maintain $1 million in liability insurance. The rideshare companies also provide drivers with excess coverage when their primary insurance does not apply.

A passenger can use their car insurance policy to collect hip fracture settlements under the ridesharing company’s coverage if it applies to accidents near Chicago or elsewhere in Illinois.

The ride-sharing company may be partially liable in egregious cases where the rideshare driver was neglectful, and the accident led to serious injuries or death. That situation can happen when the driver is logged into the rideshare app but is not engaged with a passenger at that moment.

Ridesharing Apps With the Potential to Pay You Out for Personal Injury Claims in Illinois

Based on court data and media reports, Uber has paid out more money for injury claims than Lyft. Uber has had more lawsuits filed against them for insurance claims up to this point than other ridesharing companies.

How You Can Calculate How Much Your Hip Injury Settlement is Going to Be

The most effective method to know if you received a reasonable settlement for your hip injury is to hire a car accident lawyer to represent you in court. Concerning the severity of your vehicle accident injury, as with most moderate to severe automotive accident injuries, having a vehicle accident attorney handle your case is the best way to find out whether you got a fair deal.

After you consult with a car accident attorney and they help you know whether your settlement amount is fair, the next step is to negotiate for more money from an insurance company that represents the at-fault party in your car wreck.

That amount may be considerably greater than the at-fault insurer’s policy limits. Again, an experienced car accident attorney can help you collect that additional money.

Hip injuries may result in long-term consequences, including paralysis or amputation. A competent personal injury lawyer will be able to determine what your condition is and what prior settlements in your area were for a comparable condition with study and legal resources.

Concerning the value of your hip injury claim, you must hire a car accident lawyer with vast experience in Illinois auto accident settlements. Without the assistance of an excellent lawyer, you run the danger of undervaluing your claim and receiving far less than you are owed.

When Can You File a Personal Injury Claim For a Hip Damage Caused by Another Driver?

In Illinois, you can file an injury claim for a hip fracture caused by another driver after making a reasonable effort to settle the claim with the other driver’s insurance company. If settlement negotiations fail, you can file a lawsuit against the at-fault driver.

If you have a paper document showing that you reported the accident to your insurance company, your lawyer can use it as evidence of an effort to settle. Email correspondence with the other party’s insurance company qualifies as a written notice in most cases.

The timing to file a hip injury claim against another motorist depends on when you:

• Reported the accident
• Informed your own insurance company
• When the other driver’s insurance company denied liability

Your claim could be considered untimely if you file too soon after reporting the accident to law enforcement. In that case, a judge may dismiss your case without more investigation.

Should you fail to file your hip injury claim within the statute of limitations (the time frame during which you can file legal action), you won’t be able to sue at all. Losing rights to file for compensation past the statute’s time restriction is true for every type of lawsuit, not just those involving rideshare drivers.

When Should You Contact an Illinois Car Accident Lawyer?

If you suffered a hip fracture in an accident involving another driver, you should seek the assistance of a qualified car accident lawyer as soon as possible. An attorney will be able to:

• Help you make settlement demands and communicate them effectively
• Assist with negotiations and help ensure that your settlement is fair and adequate
• Review all medical records and documents related to your accident
• Advise you on the hip injury claim process

Review any medical bills your healthcare providers sent you to ensure accuracy and collectibility. A review could help determine whether you need to hire an economist or other expert witness to support your case.

Talk to Our Chicago Car Accident Lawyers About Your Hip Injuries

Did you injure your hip in a car accident? If so, you may feel overwhelmed with the incident’s pain, expense, and disruption.

You are not alone. Our experienced group of Chicago personal injury attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, LLC, with a great attorney-client relationship, can be by your side through the whole personal injury claims process.

Talk to a member of our law firm today at (888) 424-5757. You can fill out the contact form to get a free consultation today.

We work on contingency so that you do not have to worry about paying us for anything until we get the financial compensation package you deserve and need in Illinois.

The contact form sends information to us on how you can get legal advice. Find out what you can get right now!

Resources:

• Hip Pain After Car Accident & Related Hip Injuries
• Road Traffic Injuries and Deaths—A Global Problem
• Motor vehicle crashes