Suffering a knee injury can leave you battling significant pain and unable to place your full weight on the affected leg. These injuries can range from mild sprains that only require resting the limb to serious tears that could mean facing surgery and a long recovery process.
It is helpful to understand the most common types of knee injuries, their causes, and how you can pursue compensation for your injuries and losses.
Most Common Types of Knee Injuries
You might sustain any of the following knee injuries in a car accident or fall, while playing sports, or as a result of overuse:
Ligament Tears
Ligament damage occurs when the tough, flexible tissue that connects bones stretches or tears. The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is a vital ligament in the knee joint. The ACL connects the thighbone to the shinbone.
An ACL tear is most often the result of a sudden pivot, stop, or change in direction. This could happen while playing sports, though slip and fall accidents are also frequent causes of ACL injuries. It’s also possible to tear your posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), medial collateral ligament (MCL), or lateral collateral ligament (LCL).
Symptoms of ligament injuries in the knee include a popping sound or sensation, swelling, and feeling like your knee is going to give way. The pain can be severe and immediate.
Dislocations
Knee dislocations occur when the kneecap slips or the bones in the knee are forced out of their proper positions. These injuries most often happen due to high-impact trauma, such as speeding accidents or falls from heights.
The symptoms of a dislocated knee may include an audible pop, joint deformities, loss of range of motion, swelling, and intense pain or discomfort. You may also experience numbness in the lower leg or foot.
Meniscus Tears
A meniscus tear occurs when the C-shaped cartilage between the femur and tibia tears. You might experience pain, instability that makes it difficult to put any weight on the affected leg, stiffness, swelling, and the sensation that your knee is locked in place. Meniscus tears are ordinarily the result of a forceful twisting motion, like suddenly stopping and turning.
Tendinitis
Patellar tendinitis arises from strain or overuse. It’s often referred to as “jumper’s knee” and can impact anyone who does a lot of leaping or running, such as athletes or dancers. You might first experience pain just when jumping, but the discomfort can then set in when climbing stairs or performing any other normal movements.
Patellar Fractures
The patella, or kneecap, can break as a result of high-impact trauma. It might fracture in a single piece or in many, and the ligaments and tendons can be affected as well. It’s also possible for the bone to pierce through the skin, making the healing process more complex.
Falling directly on your knee, especially on a hard surface like concrete, can cause a patellar fracture, as can a car accident where the kneecap strikes the dashboard or steering wheel. Because of the patella’s location and importance, these injuries often require surgery.
Can You Pursue Financial Compensation for a Knee Injury?
If your knee injury occurred because of another party’s negligent or malicious actions, you may be eligible to file a personal injury claim. Doing so will require you to demonstrate that the responsible party didn’t behave with the reasonable care that they should have given the circumstances.
You’ll also have to prove that your injuries were the direct result of the at-fault party’s conduct and that you suffered damages. None of this is simple to do without the help of an experienced personal injury attorney.
Through a personal injury claim, you stand to recover economic and non-economic damages to address your medical needs, lost wages, and the physical and emotional distress you’ve experienced due to your injury.
Contact Our Stuart Personal Injury Lawyers at Kibbey Wagner Injury & Car Accident Lawyers for a Free Consultation
If you’ve suffered a knee injury because of someone else’s actions (or inaction), filing a legal claim could be the best way to recover your losses.
However, this means gathering a substantial amount of evidence and negotiating with insurance companies, which is never straightforward. If you attempt to do these things alone, you could end up with a much smaller settlement than you deserve.
By working with a skilled attorney, you can give yourself the chance to recover the full compensation you need to begin moving forward after suffering a knee injury. Contact the trusted team at Kibbey Wagner Injury & Car Accident Lawyers today at (772) 444-7000 to schedule a free consultation with a legal professional who can guide you through the process of filing a claim for compensation. Our dedicated Stuart personal injury lawyers are here to guide you through every step of the process and pursue just compensation on your behalf.
