Recent years have seen a steady rise in the number of car accidents here in Florida. The Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) reports that in the year 2020, there were a total of 341,399 car crashes. While that number was around 15% lower than the number of total crashes in 2019, it might be because of several factors, such as the lockdown imposed upon us, which made it harder for us to leave our homes. However, the fact remains that the number of car accidents is at an all-time high, and this means more and more people are getting injured in these crashes. The same report provides us with the number of injuries caused by car accidents, and it is quite alarming. Car accidents caused a total of 3,332 fatalities, and 15,614 incapacitating injuries were documented.
As you can see from the figures above, car accidents are potentially life-threatening. Apart from the threat of serious bodily injuries that car accidents pose, you also need to be aware of the costs that come with getting into an accident. In particular, we will discuss with you in this post the most common surgeries one might need after getting into an accident and the price tag that comes along with them.
Common Car Crash Injuries that Require Surgery After a Car Accident
Some are lucky enough to get out of an accident scratch-free. However, most will need at least a little bit of medical intervention for their injuries. For more extreme cases, surgery might be required. The Florida Surgery Consultants has listed the most common car accident injuries that require surgery, and they are the following:
Knee injuries – Knee and other leg injuries are common injuries in car accidents, particularly in head-on collisions where the front of the car is crushed. Such an impact could cause tears and breaks in the joint, and this could often require knee replacement surgery, the average cost of which is around $50,000. However, that will not be the only thing you have to pay for, as you will need to pay for physical therapy for at least a couple of months more.
Brain injuries – Brain injuries are also quite common in car accidents due to the impact crashes that may cause you to hit your head. Much like knee injuries, brain injuries can range from mild to severe. Even surgery for a mild brain injury can already set you back around $80,000. However, surgical treatment for traumatic brain injuries can cost hundreds of thousands or even millions. Apart from the actual surgery cost, you will need to spend some time going through rehabilitation, which will cost you more money.
Back and spinal injuries – Depending on the impact of the crash, you can suffer from a total displacement of your discs and vertebrae. Milder cases can be treated non-surgically, but some will require surgical intervention. Back surgery can cost somewhere between $15,000 and $100,000, depending on how badly you are injured.
Broken bones and fractures – Broken arms and legs and fractured hips are common injuries that you can get when you are in a car crash. Getting these injuries treated can cost around $16,000 for a broken arm or leg, or around $40,000 for a hip fracture.
Getting Compensated for Your Injuries or Getting a Settlement After a Car Accident
As you’ve seen above, it costs a lot of money to get surgery to treat your injuries from a car crash. Even if you are covered by a Personal Injury Protection (PIP) policy, which Florida requires all of its car owners to have, you can only get up to $10,000 to cover your medical expenses. What happens, however, if your injuries cost more than what your PIP can cover, as is the case with most of the injuries enumerated above? If that is the case, you might have to pursue a claim against the other party in the accident if they were the ones at fault.
Going to court to claim damages is the traditional way of getting compensation for your injuries. However, litigation costs money. After having gone through an expensive medical procedure to treat your injuries, you might have some trepidations about going through yet another ordeal that will cost you even more money. Not only that, litigation will bring back the traumatic ordeal you went through as you will be examined in court to prove your claim. The other party will most likely want to avoid litigation as well. To avoid this, your lawyer will suggest an out-of-court settlement (after the car accident) with the other party. As the name suggests, an out-of-court settlement is a process where you and the other party negotiate for compensation in order to avoid a court case.
Your claims for damages can include the economic and non-economic toll the accident and the succeeding surgery took on you. To reach a settlement that will be beneficial to you, your attorney might ask you to provide the following:
Medical bills – The cost of your medical bills will make up the biggest chunk of your settlement claim. The term includes not only past medical bills for the surgery you received, but also present and future bills for therapy you will need to complete your recovery.
Proof of loss of income – As you recover from your surgery, time off from work might be required. This could mean a loss of earning capacity for you, and you may include this in your settlement after the car accident as well. For this, you may provide documentation to prove that your injury affected your ability to perform your task at work, hence preventing you from earning your regular salary.
Proof of non-economic damages – Non-economic damages, while harder to prove in a claim, are just as important as economic damages. This includes the pain and suffering or moral anguish the accident caused you. To prove non-economic damages in your settlement, you may need to provide documentation such as your doctor’s notes if you are receiving therapy or testimony from those closest to you.
Call a Personal Injury Lawyer Now
If you or a loved one were ever in a car accident that required surgery, or sometimes amputation for serious damages from car accidents, you might want to think about settling the matter of compensation out of court to avoid the unnecessary costs and emotional toll litigation can take. Call a personal injury in Fort Walton Beach so we can discuss the options to get you the compensation you deserve.