Yes. A medical meniscus tear will result from a car accident when the circumstances of the wreck cause an occupant to plant and twist her knee. A lateral meniscus tear may also result from planting and twisting during a car accident or from hyperextending the knee. Auto insurance companies deny many auto insurance claims for medial and lateral meniscus tears caused by car accidents because the injured victim fails to describe the mechanism of injury in a recorded statement accurately, and the insurance company uses this as an excuse to deny and defend the claim. In reality, many claimants simply do not understand the mechanism of injury, and so they impose their own incorrect understanding of the facts.
What is the Medial Meniscus?
The medial meniscus is a small piece of cartilage on the inside of the knee that provides padding between the femur and the tibia so that the knee can easily glide as it moves.
What is the Lateral Meniscus?
The lateral meniscus is a crescent-shaped cartilage piece on the knee’s outside. It is similar to the medial meniscus in both shame and purpose, cushioning between the femur and tibia.
How Does a Car Wreck Cause a Medial Meniscus Tear?
The mechanism of injury in a car accident that causes a torn medial meniscus is typically when the occupant sees the wreck coming and plants their foot hard in anticipation. The driver commonly slams on the brakes and either presses so hard his knee twists, or the impact causes his foot/knee to slip and twist.
How Does a Car Wreck Cause a Lateral Meniscus Tear?
A lateral meniscus tear often occurs in a car accident through the same mechanism as a medial meniscus tear: planting the foot and twisting the knee. However, hyperextension of the knee (bending it too far backward) is another common way the lateral meniscus tear can happen in a car wreck.
Reasons Legitimate Torm Meniscus Claims Get Denied After a Car Accident
While there are many reasons a claim may be denied, legitimate injuries to the meniscus are sometimes denied by insurance carriers because they trick claimants into saying things that are inconsistent with the injury being caused by the wreck, even though it is. It is not uncommon for an insurance adjuster to request a recorded statement to “help them better understand the injury claim.” It may seem like an innocent request, but insurance adjusters are well-trained at tricking claimants into saying things that harm their case. When an insurance adjuster asks you for a recorded statement, it is not to help your case. It would be wise to consult a Houston car accident attorney the moment any adjuster wants to discuss your injuries, much less record you.
The mechanism of injury often causes confusion. Usually, the plant-and-twist motion happens very fast. The next thing that commonly occurs is that the person goes back, and their knees pop up and hit the underside of the dash or driving column. All of this occurs in a matter of a second or two. The sharp pain they remember most afterward is their knee hitting the underside of the dash—so they assume that the impact caused the injury. When asked by an adjuster how they injured their knee in a car wreck, they answer, “I banged it under the dash on impact.” The problem with this description is that this type of impact does not cause a meniscus tear. Now, the adjuster has the client on recording claiming an injury occurred in a way the injury cannot not occur—and they can call the client a liar.
What Are the Symptoms of a Torn Meniscus
According to Johns Hopkins, the symptoms of a torn meniscus include:
- Knee joint pain on the sides
- Swelling
- Catching or locking of the knee
- Inability to fully extend the knee, and
Additionally, clients with a torn meniscus often describe hearing or feeling a popping and clicking that comes from the knee with movement. It may be accompanied by pain.
How Do You Treat a Torn Meniscus?
There are many ways to treat a torn meniscus. You should consult an orthopedic surgeon to determine your best course of action. What is best for you will be determined by your age, healing ability, health, degree of the tear, and the degree of symptoms you are experiencing. Here are some of the options you may be given:
- Conservative Treatment. The most conservative treatment for initial symptoms is to do all or any combination of the following: ice the injury, elevate it, take anti-inflammatories, wear a support or compression brace when walking, rest, and physical therapy.
- Minimal Invasive Treatment. When the above care fails, or a doctor determines it is unlikely to benefit you, there are different types of injections that may be added to your case. These include steroid injections and Synvisc injections. Steroid injections deliver anti-inflammatories directly to the point of the pain and can help alleviate inflammation deep inside the knee joint. Synvisc injections are typically more for people who have symptoms of degenerative arthritis in the knee (which can also accompany and even produce meniscal tears). The doctor injects a sort of gel into the knee to act as a buffer when the meniscus is damaged.
- More Invasive Treatment. The most invasive treatment is arthroscopic surgery to fix the tear. Although arthroscopic surgery is not as invasive as open knee surgery or more complex surgery, it involves inserting tiny medical devices, such as a camera and knife, into the knee to fix the parts of the tear-causing issues.
What Damages Can You Claim for a Torn Meniscus?
A torn meniscus can have a significant impact on your life. It may affect your ability to walk, run, jump, or even just sit without pain. In the personal injury filed, the following elements of damages may be sought due to a torn meniscus that is caused by someone else’s negligence:
- Past medical expenses,
- Future medical expenses,
- Scarring,
- Pain and suffering,
- Physical impairment,
- Mental anguish,
- Lost wages and earning capacity due to the injury,
- Medication, medical supplies, and other expenses.
Whatever damages you claim, you need to take into consideration what the future will hold for you and what care will cost.
Other Causes of A Torn Meniscus
In addition to car accidents, there are many ways that a person may suffer a torn meniscus. Sports injuries are one of the main ways in which people tear their medial and lateral menisci. Sports that require a lot of planting the foot and cutting, such as football, rugby, and soccer, are common causes of torn menisci. Some people get torn menisci simply from the aging process. Slip-and-fall accidents and work-related accidents may also result in the tearing of the meniscus. Lastly, wear and tear over time can cause the menisci to get ground down. The ground-down part is often referred to as a chondromalacia in medical reports and films.
How Can a Lawyer Help?
Victims suffering a torn meniscus and other injuries in a car wreck can greatly benefit from the advice of a personal injury lawyer. A lawyer can act as the go-between so that you do not take with the adjuster and get tricked into saying something that is not accurate. A lawyer with experience handling meniscus tear cases can educate you to understand how the injury occurs so that you do not get tripped up by insurance adjusters. Moreover, a lawyer can prepare and present a demand that accounts for the past and future damages you are reasonably likely to incur due to your injury.
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