Our Ohio Workers' Compensation Attorney Helps Guide You Through Meniscus Tear Claims
Your knee buckled while you were lifting a heavy box at work. The sharp pain and swelling that followed led to a meniscus tear diagnosis. Your self-insured employer or BWC is pushing for a quick settlement, promising to cover your immediate medical bills and get you back on the job fast.
Unfortunately, a torn meniscus often leads to more severe knee problems that require ongoing treatment and possibly surgery. So, before you make any decisions about workers' comp benefits for a meniscus tear, our team at the Monast Law Office believes it's essential to understand the potential long-term consequences of your injury and how we can help you establish a better claim.
How Meniscus Tears Happen in the Workplace
Each knee has two C-shaped discs of fibrocartilage called menisci located on the inside and outside of the joint. Situated between the thigh and lower leg bones, they are critical shock absorbers and weight stabilizers.
A torn meniscus typically occurs when twisting or rotating your knee, especially while bearing weight. It’s often a repetitive stress or overexertion injury caused by job-related tasks, including:
- Lifting heavy objects
- Climbing stairs
- Frequently bending down onto one knee
- Working in cramped spaces that require awkward positions
Manufacturing workers, warehouse employees, and construction professionals are at a higher risk of these injuries.
Initial damage to the knee often causes pain, swelling, and difficulty moving normally, so at first, it’s easy to dismiss a torn meniscus as minor soreness and continue to work. However, even a tiny tear can worsen without proper treatment and time to heal. Then, the meniscus may begin to fray, leading to additional knee problems. Let's explore why it's crucial to understand the full scope of your injury before settling your workers’ comp claim.
The Progressive Nature of Meniscus Injuries
In some cases, if you experience a minor tear, your physician might prescribe 4–6 weeks of rest, physical therapy, anti-inflammatories, and other conventional treatments. Maybe you’ll use a brace for a while and return to your regular work activities over time. An X-ray or MRI can help assess your maximum medical improvement (MMI) at the end of your treatment cycle, and you’re good to go.
However, in other cases, the damaged meniscus creates excess friction in your knee joint, wearing away the additional protective cartilage, the hyaline cartilage, covering your bones. This deterioration often leads to chondromalacia, a condition in which the hyaline cartilage under the kneecap softens and breaks down. Symptoms include grinding sensations and pain when climbing stairs or standing from a seated position.
As this joint damage progresses, you may develop arthritis. The constant friction between bones causes inflammation, stiffness, and chronic pain. Many workers are unable to perform their regular job duties at this stage.
In severe cases, the combined damage from the original meniscus tear and resulting conditions may necessitate a total knee replacement. This major surgery requires extensive rehabilitation and can permanently affect your ability to work.
How the Monast Law Office Assesses Ohio Workers' Comp Settlements for Meniscus Tears
Even with decades of experience as workers’ compensation lawyers, we can’t begin to generalize how much your potential benefits might be—there are too many factors to consider, such as the full scope of your duties and overall health in addition to the injury’s progression. It’s also important to note that a 25-year-old construction worker with a meniscus tear faces different challenges than a 55-year-old office worker with the same injury.
Additionally, the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation considers several aspects when calculating benefits. These include:
- Your average weekly wage
- The extent of medical treatment required
- Your MMI determination
- Whether surgery was necessary
- How the injury affects your ability to return to work
Our goal is to secure compensation that covers not just your immediate medical bills but also potential future treatments, including possible knee replacement surgery. For example, if your torn meniscus requires arthroscopic surgery, you might receive temporary total disability benefits while you recover.
If you develop permanent restrictions, additional compensation may be available through permanent partial disability or wage loss benefits. This is particularly important if you can’t return to your former job because of physical limitations.
Ultimately, we want to build a thorough meniscus tear workers’ comp case that accounts for what you could face down the road. At the Monast Law Office, our promise to you is we’ll do everything possible to help you stay patient, know exactly what’s going on at all times, and work through the process step-by-step.
