A sudden crash. A loud impact. Then, a deep, radiating ache in your hip that doesn’t go away. Car accidents often come with more than just twisted steel and broken glass. Many people walk away only to discover serious joint injuries days or even weeks later.
If you’ve suffered a hip injury in a California car accident, you’re in a fight for your health and your future. And you only get one shot at getting the compensation you need. So, how do you avoid being stuck with the bill? Or worse, how do you protect yourself from a lifetime of pain without the financial support to manage it?
Here’s how to take control and make sure you receive the hip injury compensation you deserve.
Why Hip Injuries from Car Accidents Are So Serious
Your hips are among the most powerful and complex joints in your body. When they’re injured, even simple tasks like walking, sleeping, or bending can become painful or impossible.
Some of the most common hip injuries from car accidents include:
- Fractures,
- Dislocations,
- Labral tears,
- Bursitis,
- Tendon or ligament damage, and
- Post-traumatic arthritis.
Some symptoms appear immediately. Others sneak up on you days or weeks later. Either way, these injuries can lead to long-term pain, mounting medical bills, and disruptions to your life.
The bottom line is this: Your compensation should reflect the full extent of your injury, not just the initial ER visit. Anything less fails to recognize the actual toll this accident has taken on your health and your future.
What Determines the Value of Your Hip Injury Claim?
Insurance companies are not your allies. They’re trained to pay you as little as possible. That means if you don’t know what affects compensation, you’re walking into a trap.
This is what impacts your hip injury car accident settlement.
1. The Severity of Your Injury
A minor fracture is one thing. Needing surgery, physical therapy, or facing long-term disability is another. The more severe your injury, the higher your compensation should be, but only if it’s documented and backed by strong medical records.
Miss a follow-up or return to work too early? That could cost you thousands.
2. How Your Injury Disrupts Your Life
Can’t work? Can’t pick up your kids? Missed out on a job promotion or your favorite sport?
That matters. And it’s compensable.
You could be entitled to lost wages, reduced future earning potential, and payment for pain, suffering, and emotional distress.
3. Who Was at Fault
California has a pure comparative negligence system. This means that even if you were partly at fault in the accident, you can still recover damages. However, they will be reduced by your percentage of blame. That’s why proving fault with hard evidence like crash reports, photos, and witness statements is crucial.
Don’t let someone else’s mistake become your financial burden.
Warning: Don’t Take the First Offer. It’s Not Enough.
After the accident, an insurance adjuster may call with a quick offer. They’ll sound friendly and claim it’s “fair.”
It’s not.
They want you to settle before you’ve seen a specialist or know the full extent of your injury. Once you accept, it’s over. You can’t go back, even if your condition worsens.
When it comes to negotiating with insurance companies, you need a fierce advocate who knows how to calculate the full value of your injury: i.e., medical bills (both now and later), missed paychecks, therapy costs, future surgeries, and everything else you’ve lost.
Accepting a lowball offer now could cost you tens—or hundreds—of thousands later.
How to Build a Hip Injury Claim for Maximum Compensation
Much of the strength of your case depends on what you do after the crash. Here’s how to protect your right to full hip injury compensation:
- Keep detailed medical documentation. Attend all follow-ups, follow prescribed treatments, and keep records of appointments, diagnoses, and prescriptions.
- Gather proof of the accident’s impact. Track time missed from work, physical limitations, lifestyle changes, or emotional setbacks.
- Avoid gaps in treatment. Skipping appointments or ignoring doctor’s orders weakens your claim and allows insurers to argue you aren’t seriously injured.
- Never speak directly to the at-fault driver’s insurance. Your attorney should handle all communication to protect your interests.
Proving the actual value of your injury goes far beyond showing an X-ray of your hip. It takes understanding how the injury affects every part of your life now and how it might continue to impact your future.
Why You Need a Lawyer Who Knows Hip Injury Claims
You’ve got one shot to get this right. One.
And if you go it alone or trust the insurance company to “do the right thing,” you could end up with a settlement that’s a fraction of what you truly need.
At the Law Offices of Steers & Associates, we’ve handled thousands of personal injury cases and recovered millions for people like you. We understand how devastating a hip injury can be, and we don’t let our clients walk away with less than what’s fair.
Your Case Isn’t Average, and Your Compensation Shouldn’t Be Either
Google can’t tell you what your case is worth. Searching online for the “average payout for a broken hip” doesn’t matter when your life has been turned upside down.
Your age, your job, and your healing timeline matter. So do the surgeries you may need and the activities you’ve had to give up. With over 40 years of combined experience and the trust of more than 3,000 clients, we know how to build cases that reflect the weight of your loss.
We’re not here to settle quickly—we’re here to help you get your life back to normal.
Speak with a California Hip Injury Lawyer Today
Your hip injury is about more than just physical pain. It affects your independence, your work, and your future. Making the wrong decision now could cost you the full recovery and financial support you’ll need later.
Let our team fight for what you’re entitled to. Schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with a California car accident attorney who knows how to calculate the true value of hip injury settlement amounts and will push back against any offer that comes up short.
Call now or contact us online to get started. If you’re injured, you deserve justice.
