If your knee is injured in an accident, one of the first things you need to do is figure out just how serious your injury is. The best way to do that is by visiting a medical professional, your doctor, or a specialist recommended by your doctor.
Before you talk to the insurance companies or anyone else involved in your accident, know if your knee injury is serious and how it could affect your life going forward.
Getting Your Prognosis
A knee injury can be minor, but there are many ways for things to get complicated. There are bones in your knee, along with ligaments and tendons. All of these can suffer serious damage. Your doctor might look for signs of issues like:
- Broken patella
- Posterior cruciate ligament, or PCL, injury
- Injuries to the meniscus
- Anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, injury
- Medial collateral ligament, or MCL, injury
You may need to be subjected to a number of tests, examinations, and office visits before a final diagnosis is decided upon. You may even need surgery. This all costs money. If your medical bills begin to pile up, you should make sure that you are keeping receipts with the rest of your records. They can be used later if you pursue compensation.
For a free legal consultation, call 317-636-7777
When to Pursue Compensation
If your knee injury is serious and could affect your life going forward, it may be wise to pursue compensation. If someone else was to blame for your accident, why should you and your family have to deal with the stress of handling the medical bills and making up for missed wages on your own? A fair settlement could help you deal with all of the costs associated with your knee injury.
Common Causes of Knee Injuries
Our law firm has worked many cases for clients who have sustained knee injuries. Common causes include:
- Car accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Biking accidents
- Sporting events
- Slip and fall accidents
- Boating accidents
If you believe that someone else’s negligence or actions caused the accident that resulted in your knee injury, you should pursue damages.
Types of Damages
Damages can roughly be broken down into two different categories. There are economic damages, meant to reimburse you for the direct costs of your accident. This can include compensation for things like:
- Medical bills
- The cost of future care and medical needs
- Lost wages
- A loss of future earning potential
- Property damage
Then there are non-economic damages. These can help compensate you for the things that are harder to quantify. Non-economic damages include payments that are meant to make up for:
- Diminished quality of life
- Past and future pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
A fair compensation offer addresses all of your issues, not just the financial ones.
How a Lawyer Can Help
We do not recommend representing yourself in a case like this. There is just too much at stake, and a lawyer can help you with your personal injury suit in a number of important ways. Your knee injury attorney will:
File your case before the statute of limitations expires: You do not have an unlimited amount of time to pursue your knee injury case. Per IC § 34-11-2-4, you have just two years to begin pursuing compensation. An attorney can help make sure that you do not miss the chance to pursue damages after suffering a serious knee injury.
Gather all evidence needed to make your case: Whether there are eyewitnesses to talk to, a police report to look at, or surveillance footage of the accident scene, you can be sure that your lawyer will gather every bit of evidence needed to show that you deserve compensation.
Defend you against any accusations: Other parties involved might try to accuse you of being at fault for the accident. If that fails, they could say that your knee injury was simply a preexisting condition. We can show that your accident caused your injury, and then we can show how another party caused that accident.
Calculate fair compensation: Your lawyer will talk to your doctor about the seriousness of your knee injury. They will look at the paychecks you missed and how this injury will affect your future ability to work. Then they will calculate what kind of compensation would be fair.
Handle all communications for you: You do not have to talk to insurers or other parties involved with your case. Your lawyer will communicate on your behalf and let you know about any significant updates to your case.
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Contact Our Office for a Free Consultation
If you want to learn more about the value of your case, contact Sevenish Law Firm, P.C. today. In your consultation, we can tell you more about your legal options and how you could be entitled to compensation. The consultation is free, but what you learn could be invaluable.
Call or text 317-636-7777 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
