There is no average settlement for torn labrum claims. As with all personal injury claims, the settlement for your torn labrum will depend on multiple factors, including the severity of your injury and the extent to which it has caused (and will later cause you) you to sustain financial losses, suffer physical and emotional pain, and other damages.
That being said, our law firm has seen settlement amounts ranging from a few thousand to several hundred thousand in a torn labrum claim.
Determining the Impact of Your Injury
A personal injury lawyer at our firm will thoroughly research the full amount of compensation that you should consider seeking for your torn labrum. In this effort, we will:
- Gather all the medical records related to your injury
- Talk to medical experts about the prognosis for your injury
- Talk to occupational therapists who can tell us how your injury will affect your ability to live and work
- Talk to economic experts who can speak to how this injury will financially affect you—now and in years to come
- Obtain copies of wage statements from your employer
Types of Damages You Might Recover for a Torn Labrum
Based on what we discover in our research of your injury, we will determine the types of damages for which we will seek compensation from the negligent party’s insurance company. Again, the total settlement you might receive depends on the details of your case, but the following list will give an idea of some of the types of damages that often result from a torn labrum injury:
- Medical treatment costs
- Physical rehabilitation
- Physical therapy
- Lost income and benefits
- Diminished future potential earnings
- Mobility assistance devices
- Replacement services
- Home modifications
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Emotional distress
- Diminished quality of life
Types of Torn Labrum Injuries
Keeping in mind that a settlement or court award for a torn labrum depends on the extent of the injury, it is helpful to know the different forms of this type of injury. According to John Hopkins Medicine, there are several ways to tear a shoulder labrum, the thick tissue that keeps the ball of the shoulder joint in position.
The tissue can tear:
- Completely off the shoulder bone
- On the labrum’s edge
- At the point of attachment to the bicep tendon
Your injury, its severity, the treatment, and the extent to which you will suffer from it, depend largely on the type of tear you have experienced. You will need to undergo a physical examination, including an MRI and CT scan—possibly also an arthroscopy of your shoulder and have a medical professional diagnose your injury.
Do Not Take the Insurance Company’s Offer at Face Value
Too often, people who suffer injury due to another party’s negligence assume they can step through the process, and everything will work out as it should. They assume that if they have evidence of injury and of a policyholder’s fault, the insurance company will do the right thing and pay an honest settlement.
These people forget that insurance companies are businesses. They make their money by selling policies, not by paying settlements. The standard practice in a case like yours involves the insurer denying your claim or, at best, drastically undervaluing it.
You need to know this reality so you will resist accepting an insurance company’s first settlement offer. It’s a lowball offer. You need to know not to talk to the insurer. They will use what you say against you. Finally, you need to know not to sign anything the insurance company gives you to sign. You could be undermining any chance to recover the compensation you deserve.
Strongly consider having a personal injury lawyer at our firm talk to the insurance company on your behalf, protecting your best interests.
Any Settlement Negotiation Begins with Establishing Liability
The biggest obstacle to getting the settlement you need for your labral tear is establishing that someone else is legally liable for the accident that caused your injury and the resulting damages.
A lawyer from our firm will investigate the incident that caused your labral tear and identify the responsible person or party, ensuring that the following required elements of liability are met:
- The person or party owed you a legal duty to act in a way that would keep you free from injury.
- The person or party breached this “duty of care.”
- This violation of duty caused your torn labrum.
- You sustained physical, economic, and emotional damages.
Our Law Firm Will Fight to Get You a Fair Settlement for Your Torn Labrum
Our personal injury lawyers will dig to discover the full extent of your torn-labrum-related damages, and we will fight to recover them from the insurance company. If the insurance negotiations do not succeed, we will file a lawsuit on your behalf, but we will need to do so before the Florida statute of limitations (Florida Statutes §95.11(3)(a)) expires.
Strongly consider hiring us soon after your injury so we have plenty of time to work through the process and get you your settlement. Call the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine today for a free consultation.
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