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The Reality of Serious Car Accident Injuries
Being involved in an auto accident is a frightening experience, and suffering a broken bone, whether it is your arm, leg, back, hand, neck, or another part of your body, can make it even more overwhelming. The long-term consequences of these injuries can be serious, so it is essential to take the right steps to protect your health, rights, and financial future.
Car accidents can also cause significant damage to the spine and shoulder joints, sometimes requiring complex surgical procedures. Many injury victims do not fully understand the surgeries they may need or the recovery timeline ahead of them. Below, we break down three of the most common and serious injury categories that arise from car accidents: broken bones, spinal laminectomy surgery, and shoulder decompression surgery.
Broken Bones After a Car Accident: What You Need to Know
Fractures are among the most frequently reported injuries in auto accidents. Whether it is a fractured arm, leg, hand, neck, or back, broken bones demand immediate medical attention and often involve extended treatment, surgery, and rehabilitation. Beyond the physical suffering, the financial consequences can pile up quickly if victims do not take the right steps early in the process.
Do Not Accept an Early Settlement Offer
A common tactic for insurance companies is to offer you money immediately after a crash, before you know the full extent of your injuries. Do not even consider discussing settlement with the insurance company for the other driver until you are out of the hospital and have finished treatment for your injuries.
If you were to accept an offer early on and sign settlement documents, you are most likely stuck and could end up having to pay the entire amount back to your health insurance. If your health insurance pays for your medical bills caused by the auto accident, you are required to pay them back from your recovery. This is called subrogation, and all health insurance policies have a provision that requires it.
However, if your health insurance plan is not a self-funded ERISA plan, there are Iowa laws that can help protect you. If you do not make a full financial recovery, your health insurance company may also be prohibited from making a full financial recovery. Additionally, if you hire an attorney to help you through the process, your attorney can charge your health insurance company a fee for making the recovery.
If your plan is a self-funded ERISA plan, which is very common if you work for a company with 500 or more employees, then federal laws apply. If you settle your case without reaching an agreement with the plan, you may have breached the contract and end up paying all of that settlement money back to the ERISA plan.
Use Your Health Insurance for Medical Bills
Many Iowans injured in auto accidents think they should have the hospital and medical providers bill the insurance company for the other driver. This is a bad idea for several reasons. The insurance company for the other driver may have asked you to send them your medical bills, but this does not mean they will pay them. This tactic is designed to put more pressure on you to settle when your bills remain unpaid and you start receiving collection calls and letters.
If you have health insurance, it is best to provide that information to all medical providers and ask them to bill your health insurance. Some hospitals and medical providers will tell you they cannot bill your health insurance if there is an auto accident, but this is simply not true. It is a tactic they use to be paid the full bill rather than the contractual, often much lower amount they previously agreed upon with your health insurer.
For example, if the hospital charges $50,000 for treating your broken bones, they would like to be paid the full amount rather than the contractual rate your health insurance negotiated, which could be close to $10,000. Under Iowa law, the minimum car insurance liability coverage is only $20,000. If the other driver has minimum limits, you could end up owing money toward your medical bills after the insurance has been paid.
Understand Your Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage
If you purchased a car insurance policy, chances are that you have UM (uninsured motorist) and UIM (underinsured motorist) coverage. UM coverage compensates you for personal injuries, medical bills, and lost wages if the other driver has no insurance at all. UIM coverage provides compensation when your injuries and damages exceed the amount of coverage that the other driver carries.
For example, if you sustained broken bones, required surgeries, and your health insurance paid $25,000 for your medical bills, but the other driver only has a $20,000 policy limit, you would want to bring a UIM claim to recover your full damages. Keep in mind that there are legal requirements in bringing a UIM claim, including getting your insurance company's approval before settling with the other driver.
Laminectomy Surgery After a Car Accident
Car accidents frequently cause trauma to the spine. When that trauma results in lumbar spinal stenosis, a condition where spinal nerve roots in the lower back are compressed or choked, it can produce symptoms of sciatica, including tingling, weakness, or numbness that radiates from the low back into the buttocks and legs. In those cases, physicians often recommend a laminectomy, a lumbar decompression back surgery designed to alleviate that pain by relieving pressure on the affected areas of the spine.
Before deciding to undergo laminectomy surgery, injury victims should fully understand what is involved.
Surgery Does Not Guarantee Full Relief
Some patients do not achieve the relief they expect from a laminectomy. In documented cases, patients still experienced significant pain weeks after the procedure. In some instances, follow-up imaging revealed fluid and nerve inflammation that required additional surgery to block the nerve. That additional procedure does not reduce fluid or inflammation; it simply stops the pain signals. This reality is important to understand before committing to the procedure, especially if the surgery is tied to a legal claim for damages.
Recovery Takes Longer Than the Surgery Itself
Although a laminectomy typically takes around three hours to perform, recovery is far more demanding. You may be sent home after three days in the hospital, but it can take weeks or even months to fully recover. You may not be able to drive until your doctor clears you, and some laminectomies result in unforeseen complications that extend that timeline further.
Risks Associated With Laminectomy
Like all major surgeries, a laminectomy carries risks that patients need to consider carefully. These include:
- Bleeding
- Infection
- Blood clots in the legs or lungs
- Spinal cord injury
- Nerve or blood vessel injury
- No pain relief or increased pain after the procedure
- Risks associated with general anesthesia
After a laminectomy, patients should alert their doctor immediately if they notice a fever, redness, swelling, or drainage at the incision site, increased pain around the incision, numbness in the legs, back, or buttocks, or difficulty urinating or loss of bladder or bowel control.
Laminectomy Surgery Is Expensive
The cost of a laminectomy can range from $50,000 to $90,000, far beyond what most people can pay out of pocket. When this surgery is necessary because of injuries sustained in a car accident, pursuing a legal claim becomes essential. If your claim has been denied by the insurance company, having experienced legal counsel can change the outcome significantly.
Shoulder Decompression Surgery After a Car Accident
Shoulder injuries are another common consequence of car accidents. If you injured your shoulder in a crash, you may need shoulder decompression surgery, also known as subacromial decompression. This procedure treats nerve impingement syndrome that results from a shoulder injury. Many of these procedures are performed arthroscopically, using small incisions and an arthroscope, rather than through open surgery, which helps minimize recovery time.
What Is Shoulder Impingement Syndrome?
Shoulder impingement syndrome is a painful condition characterized by the narrowing of the space between the small bone at the top of the shoulder, called the acromion, and the rotator cuff. When that space narrows, the bone can impinge upon the rotator cuff tendon and the bursa, causing pain and inflammation that can significantly limit mobility and function.
How Arthroscopic Shoulder Decompression Works
Shoulder decompression surgery requires two very small incisions in the shoulder, one at the deltoid joint and one directly above the rotator cuff. The surgeon uses an arthroscope to inspect and examine the tissues and the injury. The surgeon then uses the tool to remove and smooth the bone and soft tissue that is causing the impingement and inflammation. The goal is to create more space so that the rotator cuff can move freely without being pinched.
What to Expect During Recovery
According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, after surgery the arm will be placed in a sling. Once the patient is able, the sling is removed and rehabilitation exercises begin to restore full mobility and function. Full pain relief may be achieved within two to four months, though some patients may require up to a year to fully recover. The lengthy recovery can affect a patient's ability to work, especially in jobs that require use of the shoulder and upper body.
Your Right to Compensation After a Car Accident Injury
Whether you have sustained broken bones, undergone spinal surgery, or required shoulder decompression following a car accident, you may be entitled to significant compensation. Under Iowa law, if another motorist caused your accident, you may recover compensation from that driver's liability policy. Recoverable damages can include payment of medical bills, replacement of lost wages or reduced earning capacity, and compensation for pain and suffering.
Any surgery can be expensive, and patients frequently miss work during both the procedure and the recovery period. The pain and physical limitations that follow these surgeries can further reduce a person's ability to earn a living or carry out daily activities. These losses are compensable, and it is critical that you hire a car accident lawyer to help you quantify and pursue those damages.
Critical Mistakes to Avoid After a Car Accident
In the days and weeks following a serious crash, many injury victims unknowingly take actions that damage their claims. Here is a summary of the most important mistakes to avoid:
- Do not accept an early settlement offer before you understand the full extent of your injuries and the costs you will face.
- Do not let the other driver's insurance company pay your medical bills directly. Use your health insurance instead to ensure proper billing rates apply.
- Do not ignore your own UM and UIM coverage. If the at-fault driver is uninsured or underinsured, your own policy may cover the gap.
- Do not delay seeking legal help. Insurance companies move quickly, and waiting too long can compromise your ability to recover full compensation.
Seeking Legal Assistance in Altoona
Seeking legal counsel from experienced Altoona Iowa car accident attorneys such as those at Walker, Billingsley & Bair can provide invaluable support in filing insurance claims or pursuing personal injury lawsuits. With a comprehensive understanding of Iowa law, their team can help gather evidence, establish liability, and secure the compensation deserved by accident victims.
Suffering from the aftermath of a car accident shouldn't impede your pursuit of justice and fair compensation. The Iowa injury lawyers at Walker, Billingsley & Bair work hard to level the field between injured Iowans and insurance companies.
That's why we provide this FREE book; The Legal Insider's Guide to Iowa Car Accidents: 7 Secrets to Not Wreck Your Case. To learn more about what our legal team will do to help you protect your Iowa injury claim, contact Walker, Billingsley & Bair to schedule a no-cost consultation. Call 641-792-3595 to order your free accident book today.