By: Michael J. McConnell, New York Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
A torn meniscus is among the most common work-related knee injuries in New York. In this article, I will discuss the following regarding workers’ compensation for a torn meniscus in New York:
- What is a torn meniscus?
- What causes a torn meniscus?
- What types of jobs commonly see this injury?
- What will workers’ compensation pay for a meniscus tear?
This article is for informational and educational purposes only. It is neither legal nor medical advice.
If you are injured, it is strongly recommended that you see a doctor. If you are seeking legal advice on your workers’ compensation case, you are encouraged to contact a New York workers’ compensation lawyer.
The Law Office of Michael J. McConnell offers free consultations to injured workers in New York.
Understanding What a Torn Meniscus Is
According to the Mayo Clinic, a torn meniscus is a tear of the “C-shaped piece of tough, rubbery cartilage that acts as a shock absorber between the shin bone and thighbone.”
This knee injury is very common in people of all ages and can usually be diagnosed by an orthopedic doctor through a physical examination and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Symptoms typically include feeling a “pop” in the knee, swelling stiffness, pain when twisting or rotating the knee, difficulty straightening the leg, and feeling a locking sensation with movement.
Causes of a Torn Meniscus at Work in New York
Meniscus tears are usually caused by “a sudden motion in which your knee twists while your foot stays planted on the ground.”
Examples of accidents involving twisting of the knee that might cause a meniscus tear in New York include:
- Sudden twisting or rotating
- Quickly pivoting the knee
- Landing awkwardly during a fall, particularly from heights
- Heavy lifting (especially when combined with twisting, rotating, bending, kneeling, or squatting)
- Forceful impact to the knee
In addition to specific accidents that lead to an acute meniscus tear, these injuries can sometimes be caused by repetitive job duties or overuse such as prolonged walking, standing, bending, twisting, kneeling, or squatting.
Jobs in New York Where Meniscus Tears are Fairly Common
As the causes of meniscus tears mentioned above tend to imply, this injury can happen to almost any employee regardless of what their job duties are.
With that said, there are some jobs that tend to see a greater frequency of meniscus tears in New York, including:
- Construction workers
- Nurses and other healthcare professionals
- Home health aides
- Warehouse workers
- Manual laborers
- Auto repair employees
- Fast food workers and restaurant staff
- Retail employees
- Package delivery drivers
All of the above-mentioned jobs are either fairly physically demanding or involve a lot of repetitive standing, bending, and twisting. This is why they might be more prone to meniscus tears.
Yet even employees who work sedentary jobs like office workers can tear their meniscus. For example, maybe someone twisted their knee too forcefully when getting up from a chair. Or perhaps the surface they were walking on caused a sudden twisting of the knee. Those two situations happen all the time and can result in a torn meniscus.
Workers’ Compensation for Meniscus Tears in New York: Lost Wages, Medical Treatment, and SLU
If you tear your meniscus at work in New York and the insurance company accepts your claim, you could receive workers’ compensation benefits such as:
- Temporary disability payments for lost wages
- Medical care covered fully by the insurance company
- Schedule Loss of Use Award (SLU) for permanent impairment
Temporary disability payments apply when you are out of work due to a work-related meniscus tear. You can get up to two-thirds of your average weekly wage up to certain maximum and minimum limits fixed by law.
Medical care is free to the injured worker for a meniscus tear in New York. Covered treatment can include:
- Knee specialist appointments
- Physical therapy
- MRIs or other diagnostic tests
- Pain medication
- Surgery
Some types of medical care require authorization from the insurance company, but their decisions on authorization are controlled by the New York State Medical Treatment Guidelines (MTGs). If they improperly deny treatment the injured worker needs, there are ways to challenge their denial.
Schedule Loss of Use (SLU) is something I’ve written about previously, but the short version is that injured workers in New York who tear their meniscus could potentially get a lump sum payment for SLU if the injury results in permanent impairment.
Even if you return to work after a meniscus tear, you can still get an SLU if there is permanent impairment like loss of function for the knee.
The overall amount of an SLU will vary based on the facts of any particular case, but it can often result in a lump sum payment of anywhere between several thousand to tens of thousands of dollars.
Sometimes an SLU can be well over one hundred thousand dollars if there is significant permanent impairment and/or the worker is a higher wage earner.
Too often insurance companies will fight really hard to minimize the amount of an SLU award, so getting maximum compensation for a meniscus tear in New York might require litigation, including depositions of doctors.
If you are seeking legal guidance on how to maximize your SLU for a meniscus tear, it is recommended that you consider a free consultation with an aggressive and skilled workers’ compensation lawyer in New York to argue for the highest amount possible based on the law and facts of your case.
Conclusion
Meniscus tears in New York are common but painful injuries, but workers’ compensation can generally pay all necessary medical expenses and temporary disability payments for lost wages. If the torn meniscus results in permanent impairment, an injured worker could get an SLU in New York.
If you hurt your knee at work in New York, please contact the Law Office of Michael J. McConnell today for a free consultation.
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