Compensation For Shoulder Injury Requiring Surgery

Article Updated:  November 10, 2023

Compensation for Shoulder Injury Requiring Surgery

I reviewed 32 real life shoulder injury and surgery verdicts and settlements to write this article.

Although not very common, shoulder injuries and resultant surgeries do occur from falls, such as those that happen in a nursing home.  More common are shoulder surgeries resulting from vehicle collisions.

Regardless of the injury causing incident which necessitated your surgery, knowing the right compensation for a shoulder injury that required a surgery will help protect you from being tricked into a bad settlement by the defendant who caused your injury.

Thus, below I share with you my research on shoulder surgery compensation amounts (real case results).  I hope this helps you achieve greater justice in your case.

Shoulder Injuries Requiring Surgery

Shoulders carry a large amount of pressure and tension on your body.

For vehicle accidents your seatbelt can add to the injuries you sustain in an accident.  For a fall, the direct impact is enough to cause the injury.

Not all shoulder injuries, however, require surgery. Only the more severe injuries require shoulder surgery.

The average settlement for a shoulder surgery gets much higher in cases where you need more intense and invasive surgeries like a shoulder replacement.

Surgery for Shoulder Injury

The average settlement for your shoulder surgery will vary depending on which surgery you need. Some of the more common shoulder surgeries are:

◊  Shoulder Arthroscopy

◊   Rotator Cuff Surgery

◊   Torn Labrum Surgery

◊   Reverse Shoulder Replacement Surgery

In the case of fracture repairs, the more serious they are, the more intensive the surgery process.

In a shoulder replacement surgery, sections of the shoulder are beyond repair and this necessitates an artificial shoulder segment.  This is a major operation that requires an open cut made into the shoulder.

The procedure is a complicated one and has intense pain associated with it.  Such pain, obviously, will impact your compensation for a shoulder surgery as it increases your recoverable “pain and suffering” damages.

Shoulder surgery settlements for open incision surgeries and shoulder replacements are valued much higher due to longer recovery times associated with them.

Sample Compensation for Shoulder Injury Requiring Surgery

Compensation for shoulder injury and surgery from car collision

$38,550.00 (Louisiana):  A mid-20’s male driver was going west through an intersection when a vehicle going north failed to stop at their stop sign. The car slammed into the plaintiff’s vehicle and caused the plaintiff to suffer a shoulder strain and a torn shoulder ligament. There was the need for extensive physical therapy as well as arthroscopic surgery for the shoulder as well to help with the recovery process. I would not consider this a fair compensation for a shoulder injury resulting in surgery.  I suspect there are additional facts we don’t know about this compensation result that impacted the recovery.

Compensation for shoulder injury and surgery from work accident

$48,145.00 (Mississippi):  A self employed male contractor suffered injuries to his right shoulder which had a previous shoulder impingement. The plaintiff suffered additional damage that required another shoulder arthroscopy. The surgery period and the associated physical therapy required that the plaintiff miss considerable time from work which played into the economic losses recovered in the settlement. This below par shoulder surgery compensation could be explained by a conservative venue, but I’m not 100% sure as the compensation report I found did not have a great deal of additional facts.

Shoulder injury and surgery recovery from pickup truck accident

$275,400.00 (Kentucky):  An early 40’s male suffered major injuries including lumbar and shoulder strains and a fractured left shoulder that required open incision surgery. The injuries were the result of the plaintiff being hit by a pickup truck that failed to drive safely in a parking lot where the plaintiff was walking to his car. There was an initial settlement for $25,000 which was later supplemented with the additional verdict which accounted for past and future medical expenses and pain and suffering, coming to a collective $275k+ of compensation for the plaintiff’s shoulder injury which required surgery.

Compensation for shoulder injury that required surgery from parking log collision

$176,202.00 (New York):  A late 30’s female driver was pulling her car into a parking lot when she was hit from the rear by a defendant who was not following speed rules and could not stop his car in time and hit the plaintiff. The injury caused left shoulder impingement and a fractured right shoulder. There was the need for multiple surgeries to address the injuries and pain that the plaintiff suffered. Defendant denied liability and stated that the plaintiff’s own actions had caused the injuries and damages.  Nonetheless, the jury disagreed and awarded full compensation for this shoulder injury with surgery case.

How Permanency Impacts Compensation for Shoulder Injury with Surgery

If you have permanent restrictions after a shoulder surgery, it means you can no longer engage in the same lifestyle that you used to partake in before the shoulder injury and surgery.

Permanent shoulder restrictions, therefore, affect your shoulder injury compensation for two major reasons:

◊   You will have the potential for lifelong pain and will also need lifelong medical treatment to address that shoulder pain

◊   Your quality of life and normal activities will be permanently affected in a negative manner

These realities translate into higher shoulder injury compensation amounts because you have more pain for a longer period of time and have to change your life in ways you would not have had to if you didn’t suffer this injury and didn’t have to undergo the related surgery.

The amount of compensation increase you obtain will vary depending on the type and extent of future needed medical interventions, and the specific life activities you can no longer perform.

Your lifestyle, job and activity level before surgery, as well as your age and any prior injuries will also have a big impact on your recovery for a shoulder surgery claim.

Average Settlement for Shoulder Surgery

Worth mentioning that I’ve personally handled this type of case and injury.  I researched case values when I settled my client’s shoulder injury and surgery case, and I did more of that research in writing this article.

The sub-50k results listed above are anomalies.  Based on 32 real life shoulder injury and surgery verdicts and settlements that I researched and reviewed, the average settlement for a shoulder surgery case is between $175,000 and $225,000.

Coincidentally, my client’s shoulder injury and surgery case settled for $220,000.  I thought that was pretty interesting after having done this research and calculating the average shoulder surgery settlement based on the 30+ cases I found.

Shoulder Surgery Settlements Disclaimer

A necessary and important disclaimer is needed here.

Just because the average shoulder surgery compensation amount is around $200k does not mean that’s more or less what you should, could, or might get.

You’ve seen that disclaimer on every legal website that says “every case is different” or “past results do not guarantee future results.”

There’s a reason for those disclaimers.  It’s because the lawyer does not know the facts of your case.

Until a lawyer knows those nuanced facts, she or he can’t ping your case value against any measuring stick of prior shoulder injury and surgery compensation amounts.

Shoulder Surgery Settlements Q&A

How much compensation will I get for rotator cuff surgery?

Using the real life shoulder surgery settlements outlined above in this article, you can get $200,000 or more for a rotator cuff surgery insurance claim.

How much does a shoulder injury cost?

To answer how much a shoulder injury costs, you should re-read the section above which outlines the different types of shoulder injuries and surgeries, because based on that your shoulder injury might cost only $2,000 but it could easily cost over $50,000 if you get post-surgical rehab treatment.

How much is a shoulder worth in a car accident?

Based on the research above, my case which I mentioned, and the other car accident cases summarized in this article, you know that depending on the facts of your case your shoulder injury from a car accident is worth as much as $220,000.

Maximize Your Compensation for a Shoulder Injury Requiring Surgery

To maximize your compensation for any claim that caused you to undergo shoulder surgery, you need:

◊   Imaging films & surgical demonstratives of the shoulder surgery

◊  An orthopedic doctor familiar with shoulder surgeries including shoulder replacements (even if you didn’t get a shoulder replacement surgery)

◊  Strong non-economic damages case development to highlight your specific life changes and losses

Please make sure whomever you hire as your lawyer understands and is capable of fulfilling these requirements.

If the injury was in a nursing home setting, you also need to investigate the failed safety issues that let this happen to you or your family.  That’s a complicated conversation that extends too far beyond shoulder surgery compensation amounts to get into in this article.

If you need help, reach out to me via email or using the contact form below.  I am here for you.

I wish you a successful settlement for your claim.

Warmly,

Reza Davani, Esq.
State Bar No.:     #1212110211
Federal Bar No.: #30168

Cell phone: (301) 922-4598
Email: reza@nursinghometruth.com

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