The answer to this question depends on the underlying injuries and the kind of surgery(ies) needed to treat them. However, in this article, we provide some general cost information for common surgeries that can result if you are injured on someone else’s property.
Please remember that these are only cost estimates when reviewing the cost information.
Your ability to recover compensation for surgery after a slip-and-fall incident will depend on the specific circumstances surrounding your injuries, including the property owner’s negligence and the quality of your legal representation.
If you have been hurt in a slip-and-fall accident, one of our slip and fall injury lawyers can help you get a better idea of how much you may be able to recover. Call us at (480) 498-8998 to learn more in a free consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney.
Under Arizona’s personal injury laws, multiple key factors other than surgical costs go into negotiating the value of personal injury settlements.
These include:
We will not cover all these factors here, as our purpose is only to give you an idea of possible surgery costs from a slip and fall case. However, all of these factors can play a role in determining the final value of what you receive in a settlement payout.
The type of surgery you may need because of an injury connected with premises liability injury will naturally depend on how you are harmed. Here are some of the kinds of surgeries our clients have needed.
Orthopedic surgery treats bone, ligament, tendon, cartilage, joint injuries like bone fractures or breaks, cartilage or ligament tears, or shoulder injuries like dislocations and separations that cannot heal independently.
When you fall on a hard surface, for example, you may suffer a broken bone or a separated shoulder, both of which may need surgery to repair.
Orthopedic surgical treatment may require the placement of screws, rods, or plates, or in some cases, more advanced techniques like spinal disc fusion or even joint replacement.
Orthopedic surgery is invasive in nature and, therefore, can be expensive, costing thousands of dollars.
Here are a couple of common orthopedic surgery examples in premises liability cases and cost estimates for them:
Back injuries are common in premises liability cases. They can affect vertebrae or the bursa discs in your spinal column, cause injury to muscle tissue and ligaments surrounding the spine, or even spinal cord injuries.
Arizona spinal fusion surgery can cost from $18,900 to $113,500, depending on whether cervical, lumbar, anterior, or posterior surgery is needed. Disc replacement surgery can cost from $20,100 to $55,200.
Head trauma from a fall or a blow can result in varying degrees of damage to the brain, from a mild concussion to traumatic brain injuries like skull fractures, hematomas, brain swelling, intracerebral hemorrhaging, or even penetrations of the skull.
Neurosurgery treats these injuries by relieving fluid pressure on the brain, removing blood clots, stopping bleeding, and repairing cerebral fractures.
It can be difficult to estimate the cost of neurosurgery, but it is often extremely expensive and can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in complex cases.
The average cost to visit a neurosurgeon in Arizona is $146 to $190, with returning patient costs of $98 to $129. However, this does not count the cost of additional scans and tests needed to diagnose a brain injury, which can range from $5,000 to $7,500.
Aside from brain injuries, head trauma can also result in damage to the face, like a broken nose, fractured jaw, broken or missing teeth, fractured orbital rims around the eye sockets, and extensive soft tissue injuries from lacerations, contusions, and burns.
Facial reconstructive surgery, which includes plastic surgery, can treat the functional and disfiguring effects of facial injuries from a slip-and-fall accident. For injuries sustained to the mouth and teeth, oral surgery, dental implants, and other orthodontic treatment and appliances may be necessary.
The cost of facial reconstruction surgeries can depend on multiple factors, including the extent of the surgical procedures needed and where you are located.
Full facial reconstructive surgery can cost more than $100,000.
Surgery often requires additional costs that can significantly add to its expense, especially if insurance does not cover them.
For example, here are some common costs related to surgical procedures and their aftermath:
Follow-up appointments after surgery are often necessary.
If insurance pays for the surgery, the cost of these appointments is often covered, at least for a limited time, in the surgery fee. Most patients require two to six weeks of recovery time, but in some cases, follow-up appointments may continue to be needed for months or even years.
The cost of these post-surgery visits depends on several factors, including insurance provider policies, the type of underlying surgery involved, whether an agreement is in place with the treating hospital or clinic, and the availability of any state or local programs that can help to pay for some of the costs.
Surgery and its recovery afterward often means that you will at least temporarily be unable to return to work. Sometimes, a slip-and-fall injury may force you to look for another kind of work or might even keep you from ever being able to work again.
In these situations, your lost earnings, including lost future earning capacity, can be calculated into the value of your settlement amount.
Most personal injury cases never go to court but settle instead. Often, this will mean dealing with an insurance company and its lawyers. If you require surgery to treat severe injuries, fair slip-and-fall settlement injuries may reach hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the insurance company will likely try hard to minimize what they have to cover in the payout amount.
Therefore, to receive a fair settlement, your slip-and-fall lawyer must be skilled at proving fault and a good negotiator.
When you hire one of our Phoenix slip and fall injury attorneys at Stone Rose Law, we will help you negotiate with insurance companies and their attorneys from the strongest possible position. We will help you gather the evidence you need to support your claims, including your medical costs, costs for rehabilitation, lost wages, property loss values, and more.
Call us today at (480) 498-8998 to talk with one of our experienced personal injury attorneys about your slip-and-fall claim, or reach out to us via our contact form.
