Tearing your rotator cuff is not only painful, but it can have serious financial consequences. If you sustained this type of injury because of someone else’s negligent or reckless conduct, you deserve a good settlement for your damages.
Good settlements for rotator cuff injuries vary from case to case, depending on whether a victim needs surgery, physical therapy, or cannot work because of the injury. To get a good settlement for a torn rotator cuff, get all medically necessary treatments, document your pain and suffering, allow our lawyers to involve qualified experts, and do not sign the first settlement agreement presented to you. The first offer could be bad and leave you personally responsible for too many damages.
Call Rice Law’s Maryland personal injury lawyers at (410) 694-7291 to set up a free case analysis today.
What Would Be a Good Settlement for a Torn Rotator Cuff Injury?
A torn rotator cuff can be a serious injury, whether it happens because of repetitive use or sudden trauma. Victims who suffer these injuries deserve good settlements, but may be unsure how much compensation they actually deserve. We can gauge what a good recovery would look like for your rotator cuff injury, so you know what damages to anticipate in a settlement and how to tell a good offer from a bad one.
Partial-Thickness Tear
A “good” settlement for a torn rotator cuff depends on the extent of the injury and the required treatment. The depth and size of the tear determine whether or not you need surgery. You may not need surgery for a partial-thickness tear, so your settlement might be somewhat limited, as your damages may be lower.
Full-Thickness Tear
A good settlement for a more severe rotator cuff tear that requires surgery may be larger than a good settlement for a minor tear that does not. Full-thickness rotator cuff tears vary in severity, with deeper tears requiring more involved treatment, causing significantly more pain, and taking much longer to heal.
Not all full-thickness tears require surgery, and our lawyers can present medical evidence and expert testimony proving yours does.
How Can You Get a Good Settlement for a Torn Rotator Cuff Injury in Maryland?
Personal injury plaintiffs may secure the settlements they seek for torn rotator cuffs and related injuries by consulting our Baltimore, MD personal injury lawyers and following our advice as we prepare their cases.
Get All Medically Necessary Care
Getting all medically necessary care may get you one step closer to getting a good settlement for a torn rotator cuff. The medical treatment you receive will generate medical bills, which our attorneys can use to show what medical damages should be compensated in a settlement.
Follow the advice and treatment plans your doctors give you, and get all surgeries and procedures that may help you reach maximum medical improvement.
Track Your Lost Wages
You should know just how much a torn rotator cuff has affected your income so that you know if a settlement offer is good or not. Using paychecks, tax returns, and other wage documentation from your employer, we can accurately calculate lost wages if you cannot return to work.
Victims often underestimate their lost wages and do not realize they can even pursue compensation for future lost wages or a permanently reduced earning capacity without seeking a lawyer’s help.
Document Your Pain and Suffering
A good settlement for a torn rotator cuff should also cover the victim’s non-economic damages. For this to happen, we need ample documentation of the physical pain, mental suffering, and emotional distress the injury has caused you.
You can effectively document your pain and suffering by writing about your changed quality of life in a journal or confiding in a mental health professional about the depression, anxiety, or even physical pain you are experiencing.
Involve Expert Witnesses
Involving expert witnesses in your case and obtaining their statements through depositions can be a powerful asset in settlement negotiations. The opposing side might lack expert witnesses of their own and be intimidated by our use of them. To prevent expert witnesses from testifying in court, defendants might offer sizable out-of-court settlements, especially when trying to avoid additional punitive damages.
Don’t Accept the First Offer
More often than not, settlement offers start very low. While this is just the defense’s starting point, some victims accept it, thinking it is the most compensation they can receive. A settlement agreement is binding once both parties to a lawsuit sign it, and you don’t want to regret your decision and be unable to pursue additional damages if you accept the first offer.
Patience is key in getting a good settlement for any injury. Even if you need compensation as soon as possible, don’t jump at the very first offer.
What’s a Bad Settlement for a Torn Rotator Cuff in Maryland?
Defendants often make bad settlement offers in the hope that plaintiffs will sign them to resolve a case. We can keep an eye out for bad settlement offers and warn you when a proposal is not worth accepting.
Low Amounts
A settlement for a torn rotator cuff is bad if it leaves you responsible for too many of your medical bills and lost wages. Poor settlements might not include enough compensation for pain and suffering and other non-economic damages, which can be challenging to obtain out of court.
Unfair Payment Terms
A settlement is also bad if the payment terms and amounts are unfair or too low to provide the financial relief you are searching for from a negligent party. In a structured settlement, we can negotiate payment terms that favor you rather than the defendant.
We Can Help You Get a Good Settlement for a Torn Rotator Cuff in Maryland
You can reach Rice Law and get a free case assessment from our Annapolis, MD personal injury lawyers by calling (410) 694-7291.