While most knee injuries are not life-threatening, they do tend to result in significant disruption to one’s life and a great deal of physical pain and suffering. A tear of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of the more common car accident knee injuries. If you have sustained an ACL tear because of another motorist’s negligence, you are entitled to significant personal injury compensation.
Common Knee Injuries
The ACL is one of four ligaments that help stabilize your knee by limiting movement. ACL tears and other car accident knee injuries frequently occur because of sudden impact between the knee and some portion of the automobile. Knee injuries, including ACL tears, present symptoms such as pain on the outside and back of the knee, swelling, loss of strength and stability, and limited movement. You may also hear a loud “pop” noise when the knee injury occurs. If you present with such symptoms following a car accident, you should immediately go to the emergency room.
Treatment
Recovery from ACL surgery commonly takes a year or more. If you cannot work and earn your regular compensation or have to use a significant amount of your leave time, you are entitled to damages for lost wages or loss of wage-earning capacity. You will also be entitled to damages for the physical, mental, and emotional pain and suffering associated with knee injuries and the associated recovery period. The at-fault driver’s insurer is responsible for these medical bills.
Insurance Coverage
Your personal injury damages may often exceed the third-party liability limits in the at-fault driver’s automobile insurance policy. Our attorneys will work with you to determine whether any other insurance policies provide coverage for your injuries. For example, you may be entitled to additional personal injury compensation under your own automobile insurance policy’s underinsured motorist coverage.
Knee Injury and Torn ACL Attorneys
The North Carolina automobile accident attorneys of Maginnis Howard offer free consultations for all personal injury claims. We practice across North Carolina and have three conveniently located offices in Raleigh, Charlotte, and Fayetteville. For information about the office closest to you, visit our contact page.
Maginnis Howard handles all car accident knee injury claims, including ACL tear cases, on a contingency basis. You pay no attorneys’ fees unless we make a recovery on your behalf. We specialize in cases involving knee injuries and ACL tears.
