Key Takeaways
- Suffering a hip injury in a car crash can make simple tasks such as walking or sitting painful, impacting your quality of life.
- The most common causes of hip pain following an accident include fractures, dislocations, bursitis, tendonitis, and hip sprains.
- While a personal injury claim is possible for a hip sprain, the settlement amount can vary widely depending on individual circumstances.
- In Michigan, your injury must affect your life in some definable way to qualify for a settlement. Proving this will be essential to your hip injury claim.
Caring for your hip sprain after a personal injury claim can be challenging. The persistent pain and discomfort from the injury can disrupt your life and daily activities, leaving you frustrated and agitated. Just take a look at what happened to this Reddit user who suffered a fractured hip after a terrible car accident. While she states in her post, “I’m just so happy that I’m alive!” she still had to go through so much.
Suffering from a hip injury can make simple tasks like walking or sitting become sources of agony, impacting your overall quality of life. However, there is a silver lining: you can seek compensation for your suffering.
By pursuing a personal injury claim, you can alleviate the financial burden of medical expenses and lost wages, allowing you to focus on your recovery without added stress. By working with an experienced Michigan personal injury lawyer from Matz Injury Law, you can focus on healing from your hip injury while your car accident lawyer handles your claim.
What Causes Hip Pain After a Car Accident?
Following a car accident, hip pain can result due to different causes. These causes include the following.
- Hip fracture: The hip consists of three sections. Any of these can be fractured and cause severe pain.
- Hip dislocation: A hip dislocation can lead to a high level of pain and requires immediate medical care.
- Bursitis: The bursae are minuscule, fluid-filled sacs cushioning the bones. They can become inflamed as a result of the trauma suffered in a crash.
- Hip sprain: Sprains occur when hip joint ligaments stretch beyond their limit or tear.
- Tendonitis: Inflammation can occur within the hip joint’s tendons due to a car crash.
- Pinched nerve: When a nerve becomes pinched, shooting pain can occur.
Symptoms of a Hip Injury or Hip Sprain
Following a car accident, common symptoms you have suffered from a hip injury include:
- A sudden, sharp pain in the pelvis or hip after trauma to that area
- Cramp-type sensations in the upper leg muscles or thigh bone
- Increasing pain with activity, such as when stretching, walking, or running
- Radiating pain reaching into the lower back
- Swelling
- Tenderness
- Stiffness
- Reduced range of motion
- Muscle spasms
- Bruising all along the hip
- A loss of muscle strength or flexibility in the hip area
- Difficulty walking
Can I Have Delayed Injuries After an Accident?
Following a car accident, you may believe you feel fine. While many personal injuries are immediately apparent, other injuries and symptoms do not always appear immediately. Delayed injuries can take hours, days, or weeks to alert you that something might be wrong.
If you are in an accident, seek medical attention immediately and keep all medical records in a file. You will most likely need X-rays, MRIs, CT scans, and other diagnostic tests to prove your claim.
By seeking care from a medical professional immediately following a car accident, your physician can check for delayed injuries that you may not even feel yet. These delayed injuries can be hidden behind the adrenaline and emotions that come with experiencing a car crash.
If you experience delayed symptoms or injuries, first seek medical attention. Then, speak with a Michigan car accident lawyer to determine your next steps.
Most Common Hip Injuries in Car Accidents
Following an accident, whether your injuries occur immediately or are delayed, you need to know how to proceed with your claim. It also helps to understand the three most common injuries to the hip in a car accident: dislocation, fracture, and sprain (or strain).
- Hip dislocation: Such a dislocation can occur when the knee is slammed into something, like the dashboard, causing sudden hip displacement. You could feel the hip joint pop out of its socket.
- Hip fracture: The force of impact in a motor vehicle accident can fracture the hip bone in different areas, including the section called the pelvic acetabulum (acetabular fracture) and also the head of the femur.
- Hip sprain or strain: The force of the crash can pull your tendons beyond their limits, stretching or tearing them.
How Long Does Hip Pain Last After a Car Accident?
How long hip pain can last after a car accident will depend on the type of damage you sustained. If you suffer a severe injury such as a hip fracture, recovery can take up to 12 weeks or longer. However, if only tendons become inflamed (tendonitis), healing can occur in a few weeks.
Still, there can be long-term complications, especially when the injury is severe or goes untreated. For example, you can have lifetime traumatic arthritis, which can permanently affect your mobility and quality of life.
How to Ease Hip Pain After a Car Crash
There are several ways to ease hip pain after a car crash, and the appropriate treatment will depend on the type of injury.
For milder or moderate soft tissue strains or sprains, the RICE method (rest, ice, compression, elevation) may be all you need. Gentle massages, an elastic bandage, or compression shorts may help to ease swelling, provide support, and promote healing.
For more severe injuries, you may need medical treatment, such as:
- Surgery and partial or total hip replacement
- Neurological treatment
- Medication (e.g., prescription painkillers, anti-inflammatory medications, etc.)
- Steroid injections
- Physical therapy
Be sure to follow your doctor’s treatment plan at all times to heal properly and show in your insurance claim that you took the injury seriously.
The Mental Toll of Accident Injuries
Experiencing an auto accident can bring with it not only physical injury and pain but also mental turmoil. Mental issues are real for accident victims and often include PTSD or depression.
- PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder): PTSD develops in approximately 9% of accidents. Victims often experience flashbacks, nightmares, and extreme anxiety.
- Depression: Accident survivors can experience feelings of hopelessness, sadness, and a loss of interest in hobbies or once-loved activities.
What is the Average Personal Injury Claim for Hip Pain?
A personal injury claim for hip pain can vary, and the settlement amount will depend on all the factors involved. An average dollar amount is not helpful as every case is unique. Also, more must go into your claim than just your specific injury.
In Michigan, the law states that you must have your life affected in some definable way by the injury to qualify for a settlement. You must show what you cannot do because of your injury and how that has negatively affected your life. For example, if a professional athlete suffers a hip injury in a car crash, it will be worth much more than the settlement for someone older with a sedentary lifestyle.
In one of our cases, a 17-year-old girl was walking across the street when a car came out of nowhere and hit her. She was able to catch herself before falling and continued crossing the street but then turned around, stumbling as she made her way to the urgent care center nearby where her mom worked. While she was able to walk away from the accident, she had bruising and some walking difficulties that required physical therapy. The insurance company adjuster challenged her claim, but we prevailed with a settlement of $7,500 for her medical expenses and suffering.
Again, it is only possible to estimate your potential settlement by knowing the details of your case and your injuries. Schedule a free consultation with a skilled Michigan car accident lawyer to understand what your injuries are worth.
Learn what Matz Injury Law can do for you. Schedule your free consultation today.
Additional Resources About Car Accidents & Settlements
- Car Accident Lawyers in Michigan: Find out your options following a car accident with injuries, including what no-fault insurance covers, how lost wages are calculated, whether you can sue the other driver, and what compensation may be available.
- Settlements: Gain a sense of what a potential settlement can look like in a car accident case by reviewing Matz Injury Law’s past settlements.
Reclaim Peace of Mind and Focus on Healing
At Matz Injury Law, we take pride in our fight to deliver justice and fair compensation to our clients. It all starts with our knowledgeable attorneys and their dedication to reaching a satisfying outcome through settlement negotiations or aggressive litigation.
Our law firm has decades of experience. We know the steps to take in a Michigan personal injury claim and will guide you through each one, explaining them as we go and listening to you along the way.
Testimonials
“Steve was outstanding from the first telephone conversation all the way through until he settled my case at an amount that exceeded my expectations. He is a consummate professional and a compassionate attorney and I would highly recommend him if you ever find yourself in need of a personal injury attorney.” — Sharyn G.
“Steven Matz is the absolute best personal injury attorney you will find. He is such a good man, not just a lawyer; he is good to the core. I can never describe all of his outstanding attributes.” — Michelle L.
Ready to Secure the Compensation You Deserve?
Trust Matz Injury Law to fight for your rights. Let us guide you through the legal process and help you pursue justice for your injuries. Contact us today at 866-226-6833 or through our online contact form to schedule a free consultation with a personal injury attorney.
