Meniscus Injury

Chicago, IL Workers’ Compensation Attorneys for Meniscus Injuries

Meniscus tears are among the most common work-related injuries, resulting from both isolated events and gradual wear-and-tear. If you suffered a meniscus injury at work, our attorneys can help you file a claim for workers’ compensation.

Each year, hundreds of thousands of individuals in Illinois and throughout the United States suffer meniscus injuries. Many of these injuries are work-related. Although meniscus injuries can heal over time (or can be repaired with surgery), they often lead to expensive medical bills and missed time from work. If you suffered your meniscus injury on the job, in most cases these are going to be losses that you are entitled to recover through workers’ compensation.

At Malman Law, we help individuals with meniscus injuries secure the workers’ compensation benefits that they deserve. While the law entitles both private-sector and government employees to recover benefits, employers and their insurance companies often make it exceedingly difficult for injured employees to file successful claims. This includes using delays, wrongful denial of claims, and other tactics that work to their benefit – not yours. When you hire us to represent you, we will use our decades of experience to help you enforce your legal rights.

Understanding Meniscus Injuries

The meniscus is a specialized piece of cartilage that acts as a shock absorber between the thighbone (the femur) and the shinbone (the tibia) in the knee joint. Each knee has two menisci – the medial meniscus on the inside of the knee, and the lateral meniscus on the outside.

Like all other parts of the body, each meniscus is fragile. As a result, workers often suffer meniscus injuries due to traumatic accidents (known as “acute tears”), as well as wear-and-tear over time (known as “degenerative tears”). Acute tears can fall into three different categories:

• A bucket handle tear, which involves a tear that splits (but does not sever) the meniscus;
• A flap tear, which is similar to a bucket handle tear but involves the meniscus becoming severed at one end; and,
• A radial tear, in which one side of the meniscus is sliced horizontally across the cartilage.