Hip Pain After a Car Accident: Pain You Shouldn’t Ignore

Do you have hip pain after a car accident?

You’re not alone. Many crash victims report pain in their hips.

The pain and discomfort might start right after the accident or a few days later. Regardless, there could be many possible causes. In this blog, we discuss common hip injuries from a car crash. We also explain what to do about this kind of injury.

What Are the Common Types of Car Crash Hip Injuries?

The hip is a complex area of the body where your leg connects to your trunk. The femur (or thigh bone) connects to your pelvis through a ball-and-socket joint.

Sudden, extreme force from a car accident can damage the bones, muscles, soft tissues, and other structures surrounding the hip joint. Common examples of these injuries include:

Hip Fractures

The pelvis consists of three bones:

• Ilium (top of the pelvis)
• Pubis (low part of the pelvis)
• Ischium (the bone forming the base of each half of the pelvis)

A sharp blow could fracture any of these three bones. Some crash victims suffer a fracture of the hip bone socket. We call these acetabular fractures.

Any of these fractures is usually serious. Victims should seek immediate medical treatment.

Hip Dislocation

A sudden, violent jolt can push the rounded head of your thighbone (femur) out of the hip socket. This is referred to as a dislocated hip.

These are painful injuries and victims struggle to move their hips. The injury may also damage nearby soft tissues, nerves and blood vessels.

Hip Sprains

When the ligaments supporting your hip joint stretch or tear, you are experiencing a hip sprain.

Ligaments are connective tissues that attach bones together, providing stability. Hip sprains often cause:

• Pain
• Tenderness
• Reduced range of motion
• Weakness in the muscles surrounding your hip

Symptoms tend to worsen the more you use your hip.

Hip Tendonitis

Tendonitis occurs when the tendons that connect muscles to your pelvis become inflamed and swollen. Tendonitis is usually an overuse injury. However, it can also happen due to sudden and strong forces from a crash.

Symptoms are typically minor at first, but gradually worsen over time. If you do not get treatment, you could experience severe pain and limited range of motion. Pay attention in the days after an accident for hip stiffness and pain that increases as you move.

Hip Bursitis

The bones around your hip joint are padded with bursae. These are small fluid-filled sacs.

The sudden impact of an auto accident can irritate and inflame the bursae. Common symptoms include pain and tenderness along the point of the hip and outer thigh, along with stiffness in the hip joint.

Pain from hip bursitis is often sharp at first. The pain gradually develops into duller aches and soreness. Symptoms are often worse when lying on the injured hip or when getting up after sitting.

What Should I Do About Hip Pain After a Car Accident?

Seek Medical Attention Promptly

Hip pain can take days or even weeks to appear. That is why you should visit a doctor right away, even if you do not think you have an injury.

Hip injuries can worsen over time. Untreated hip pain can become chronic and lead to changes in your gait, affecting how you move.

Nearly every physical activity you perform requires your hips. If you do not get treatment, you could eventually have lower back pain, knee pain and many other problems. This is because other parts of your body must handle increased stress to compensate for your damaged hips.

You can manage most hip injuries with proper treatment, physical therapy, medication, or in serious cases, surgery. If you seek treatment early, you can catch injuries sooner and avoid unnecessary pain and suffering.

Seeking Medical Care Right Away Can Help Your Legal Case, Too

Seeing a medical provider for hip pain soon after a car accident, ideally in the first day or two, can help your legal case. You will have medical records that can help prove that your hip pain was a direct result of the accident.

You should keep detailed notes about your hip pain in the days and weeks following a crash to help your case.

Seeing a medical professional can sometimes be expensive. Even so, don’t let the cost of medical care prevent you from seeing a doctor. Your lawyer can include your medical bills and any treatment for hip pain in your claim for compensation.

Call Your Insurance Company

Notify your insurance company of your accident and injuries as soon as you can.

However, do not sign or agree to any insurance company settlement offers without consulting a personal injury attorney. Insurance companies’ first offers are almost always lower than what the case truly deserves. Your insurance company and the other driver’s insurance company want to save as much money as possible.

Insurance companies’ first offers are almost always lower than what the case truly deserves. Your insurance company and the other driver’s insurance company want to save as much money as possible.

An Experienced Legal Team Can Help You Maximize Your Settlement Amount

When you hire a Mobile car crash lawyer, you can be sure your case will receive care and attention from someone who knows the law and has your best interests at heart.

An attorney can determine the true value of your case by factoring in current losses (medical bills and lost wages) and projecting future losses from the accident (continued treatment for hip pain, future lost wages, etc.). You may also be eligible for pain and suffering.

RELATED: How to Calculate Your Damages After an Accident

A personal injury attorney can protect you and your case by thoroughly investigating the crash. He or she can make sure important evidence is kept safe.

They can work with expert witnesses, like doctors and accident reconstruction experts. They also handle the many other parts of the case, such as negotiating with the insurance company and their adjusters.

Study after study shows that working with an experienced lawyer not only saves you time and stress, but also returns larger settlement amounts (even after subtracting lawyer’s fees) on average.

Andy Citrin Injury Attorneys Are Here for You. Call Today

If you have a hip injury from a crash, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at Andy Citrin Injury Attorneys. We have more than 25 years of experience helping crash victims in Mobile, Biloxi, and throughout Alabama and Mississippi. We have recovered millions for our clients, and we are ready to fight for you!

Schedule your free legal consultation to learn about your legal options. Give us a call today at 251-888-8888 or schedule your free consultation online.

The content provided here is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject.