Knee injuries are a frequent Pennsylvania work-related injury. Knees provide flexibility and stability to the body. The knee is made up of several bones, cartilage, muscles, ligaments, and tendons. Your knees carry the brunt of everyday motions and activities, and when they are injured, it can be difficult to stand, sit, walk, and run. Depending on the seriousness of the injury and the extent of medical treatment received, knee injuries can cause significant pain and often can lead to chronic pain in the knee joints.
Common Work-Related Knee Injuries
Common work-related knee injuries occur because of lifting heavy items, twisting the knee, soreness and aching due to overuse, aggravating asymptomatic arthritis, frequent squatting and kneeling, impact injuries, such as an object directly impacting the knee, and slip and fall type injuries. Common injuries we see are:
• Fractures;
• Sprains and strains;
• Tendonitis;
• Bursitis;
• Dislocations;
• Meniscus tears; and
• ACL tears.
Often times, when a work-related knee injury occurs, the injury may be narrowly accepted as a ‘knee sprain/strain’. Many ,of course, are denied injuries.
Description of Injury for Knee Injuries
Sometimes workers compensation insurance carriers accept a work-related knee injury. The acceptance confuses injured workers because often times the injury is only accepted as a ‘knee sprain/strain. Despite diagnostic testing, such as an MRI, which confirms a more specific diagnosis, the insurance carrier continues to acknowledge a sprain/strain. Why?
By keeping the description of injury narrow to a sprain/strain, it provides leeway for workers compensation insurance carriers to deny paying for surgery or other expensive medical treatment. It happens often. That is why it is critical to have an experienced, proven, and trusted workers compensation attorney fighting for you to protect your rights and benefits. Description of injury is quite important in a Pennsylvania workers compensation case.
Pennsylvania workers who experience a traumatic knee injury or experience pain, achiness, or stiffness while working should immediately inform their employer that pain occurs while working, seek medical treatment right away, and call Mooney Law for a free case evaluation.
Treatment for work-related knee injuries
If your knee pain is minimal, it’s possible you may have just soreness from overexertion. Often times, rest can treat minor knee pain. However, if you are suffering from more significant pain, swelling, bruising, instability, inability to bend the knee, and inability to put weight on the knee, your injury may be more serious than a simple sprain/strain. Seeking medical attention right away can avoid a worsening knee injury.
Other medical treatment for knee injuries include inflammatory medication, steroid medication, and muscle relaxers. Treatment also can include bracing the knee for stabilization and use of assisted devices, such as crutches to prevent you from putting weight onto the knee.
Your doctor may also provide you an order for physical therapy, which may consist of a program to strengthen your knee. The program may also consist of exercises designed to increase the range of motion of your knee joint.
Your doctor may also provide injections for your knee. Injections could include steroid injections, synvisc injections, and others, depending on your type of injury and serious of injury.
Finally, your work-related knee injury could lead to surgery to treat your knee injury, particularly if the treatments listed above fail to alleviate or improve your symptoms. Surgeries can be exploratory or specific to fix known. For some older workers that experience a significant knee injury, the final treatment very well could be a total knee replacement.
Effective Representation for You
Mooney Law has recovered tens of millions of dollars on behalf of injured workers throughout Pennsylvania. Mooney Law is trusted, experienced, and proven in Pennsylvania and Maryland for workers compensation.
Attorney Mark Buterbaugh has been selected as a prestigious Super Lawyer by the national magazine Super Lawyers. Only 5% of all Pennsylvania lawyers earn that distinction. Attorney Buterbaugh was also selected as a Rising Star in Pennsylvania, of which only 2.5% of Pennsylvania attorneys earn such recognition. You can view his Super Lawyer profile right here. His distinctions were for his excellent representation of injured workers in Pennsylvania. An attorney earns these prestigious distinctions through peer recognition only, meaning, Attorney Buterbaugh was nominated for these distinctions by several attorneys not affiliated with his own firm. He has been admitted to both the Pennsylvania and Maryland Bars.
Mooney Law offers absolutely FREE CONSULTATIONS for injured workers in Pennsylvania and Maryland. Call today at 833-MOONEYLAW or 717-200-HELP to schedule a free phone consultation with Attorney Buterbaugh.
