How Much is a Shoulder Injury Worth?
According to the Comp Pinkbook, shoulder injuries are the second most common workplace injuries in Maryland. Between January 1, 2011, and June 30, 2012, there were 1,990 awards for shoulder injuries, amounting to over $50.5 million paid out to workers with shoulder injuries. Many common tasks can stress the shoulder in ways that make it prone to injury. For example, a shoulder injury can occur as a result of a repetitive job, process, or operation. Employees involved in tasks such as painting walls, hanging curtains, repairing vehicles raised on a lift, filing, and lifting objects are at risk for shoulder injuries due to excessive overhead arm motion.
While lower back injuries were the most common workplace injury, shoulder injury awards were more valuable, averaging $25,378 per award compared to the average award of $22,447 received for back injuries.
The three largest individual shoulder injury PPD awards were: $307,286 against Browning Ferris Industries; $254,400 against FedEx; and $253,230 against Montgomery County Board of Education. The three largest CO settlements were: $250,000 against P C A National; $242,910 against Waste Management; and $210,000 against G & H Insulation.
Out of the 1,990 awards for shoulder injuries, the three Maryland employers that had the most shoulder injury awards against them were Mayor & City Council of Baltimore (132 awards), State of Maryland (125 awards), and Montgomery County Maryland (89 awards).
Shoulder injuries sometimes occur in conjunction with injuries to another body part. The following table shows average awards for shoulder combination injuries:
| INJURY |
AVERAGE AWARD |
AVERAGE % DISABLEMENT |
# OF AWARDS |
| Shoulder only |
$25,378 |
16.39% |
1,990 |
| Shoulder + Neck |
$29,323 |
6.04% (shoulder) 11.56% (neck) |
451 |
| Shoulder + Neck + Lower Back |
$23,688 |
3.13% (shoulder) 11.08% (neck) 2.30% (lower back) |
278 |
| Shoulder + Lower Back |
$26,265 |
3.53% (shoulder) 10.05% (lower back) |
238 |
| Shoulder + Arm(s) |
$30,510 |
15.70% (shoulder) 10.26% (arm(s)) |
151 |
| Shoulder + Knee(s) |
$29,506 |
12.42% (shoulder) 8.09% (knee(s)) |
90 |
| Shoulder + Neck + Arm(s) |
$29,778 |
1.58% (shoulder) 13.40% (neck) 5.00% (arm(s)) |
66 |
| Shoulder + Wrist(s) |
$31,915 |
13.75% (shoulder) 10.78% (wrist(s)) |
50 |
Numerous factors go into determining the value of a shoulder injury case. You can estimate of the Value of a Shoulder Comp Claim with our Maryland workers’ compensation calculator. Make sure you check off shoulder injury so you know the compensation is as accurate as possible. That said, the calculator provides only a rough estimate. No two workers’ comp cases are the same, just as no two shoulder injuries are the same. Cases vary widely, and the quality of Maryland workers’ compensation lawyers for shoulder injuries varies widely.
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