Knee injuries are incredibly common for workers.

It can happen from something as dramatic as falling hard on your knee to the simple act of climbing stairs. Falling, twisting or hitting the knee can cause injury. While there are a number of different ligaments that you can injure, but far and wide the most workplace knee injuries occur in the meniscus cartilage.

What are Meniscus Tears?

As the most common knee injury, you would be right to suspect that a meniscus tear occurs in a commonly used area of the knee. The term meniscus tear is used to describe a tear in the cartilage in the knee joint. The meniscus is a disc that cushions the knee joint and is responsible for the balance of the knee and apportioning the weight put on it. Damage to either meniscus disc on either knee is excessively painful and often results in temporary loss of use of your leg, meaning you probably won’t be able to work until it is fully healed.

Common ways to injure this part of the knee is standing in a bent-knee position, turning quickly, or twisting on planted feet. As you can imagine, acts like heavy lifting and unloading trucks are common causes for this knee injury while at work.

If you do suffer a meniscus tear, typically there are three degrees of injury – minor, moderate, or severe. Minor injuries can heal up in two to three weeks, but even then you will likely still need worker’s compensation for your medical bills and lost wages. However, if the injury is of an advanced nature it can cause reoccurring pain even after the healing period or, in the most severe cases, disability to the knee and thus the leg.

Compensation for Meniscus Tears

After your doctor has diagnosed the severity of the meniscus tear, treatment can either be easy or difficult depending on the extent of the injury. Treatment can range from resting the leg and icing it all the way to surgery and physical therapy. In the most severe cases, a total knee replacement surgery may be needed. Depending on the extent of the injury, workers may need permanent disability and may even need to change jobs to something less strenuous on the knee.

Regardless on if the meniscus tear was severe or minor, if it happened at work, you are entitled to compensation. Even if the injury happened in part because of a pre-existing knee condition, a torn meniscus can still receive compensation.

As a meniscus tear is so easy to diagnose, the filing process for worker’s compensation should be fairly straight-forward. You are entitled to loss of wages and disability benefits for the amount of time you need to heal. However, your employer is entitled to offer you a different position that accommodates your injury. If the new position features significantly less pay, you can get be compensated fore the difference in pay.

Our team of workers’ compensation lawyers deal with these claims everyday and can make sure all benefits available are paid. Call 910-341-3202 to discuss your case.

Call today for a free consultation and explore your options - (910) 341-3202