The Complete Guide to Workers Compensation Knee Injury Settlements
Knee injury workers comp is tricky to calculate. However, if you have suffered a knee injury at work, you can opt to apply for knee injury workers comp settlement. Average workers comp knee injury settlements can vary, depending on the nature and complexity of the knee injury. Workers comp knee injury is covered under the Workers’ compensation law. In this article, you will learn about the workers compensation knee injury settlement, how much does workers comp pay for knee injury, and how much is a knee injury worth to workers comp/ You will also get answers to the questions like how much compensation for knee injury at work and why workers should apply for workers compensation for knee injury if they got hurt at work.
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Worker’s Compensation Benefits for Knee Injuries
If a worker has suffered a knee injury you can claim compensation under Workers’ Compensation benefits for knee injuries. These benefits may include; а
- Medical bills: All the medical expenses incurred due to knee injury. It can include hospitalization expenses, doctor fees, medical bills, treatment expenses, etc.
- Wages: Loss of wages due to knee injury are also covered under the benefits of workers’ compensation law. This can include weekly or monthly wages. In some cases, the compensation for wages is provided as a lump sum.
- Vocational benefits: Some knee injuries make it hard for the worker to return to their previous job or perform them adequately. In such cases, vocational rehabilitation benefit is provided to the injured employee.
- Job accommodation due to disability: If the knee injury has resulted in a temporary or permanent disability of the worker, they are entitled to the benefit of job accommodation. The employer has to reasonably accommodate the worker. This may include assigning tasks that are convenient for the worker to perform, providing a reasonable sitting arrangement and facilities so that the worker can perform their job with ease, etc.
- Other specific benefits: The worker can also be entitled to other circumstantial benefits, depending on the severity of their knee injury.
Average Workers’ comp settlement for knee injury
The National Safety Council estimates that in 2020, approximately $34,932 was claimed as Workers’ Compensation costs for a knee injury. According to the statistics, $18,293 was claimed under medical expenses, whereas $16,636 was indemnity claims. An average of $163.9 billion was claimed as work injury costs for various injuries in 2020, out of which per worker average compensation was $1,110. The claimed medical expenses were around $44,000, and death compensation soared up to $1,310,000.
Types of Knee injuries
Many types of knee injuries can happen at work. Some of them are;
- Knee fractures: Fractures can happen due to slipping, falling, or getting struck by someone or something. Fractures can be minute in some cases, while in others, they can be severe.
- Dislocated knee: Knee dislocation is also a common type of knee injury at the workplace. It can induce severe pain, swelling, limited mobility, and in some case blood loss too.
- Damage to ligaments: Damaged ligaments, which hold the knee joint, can cause acute pain. Damage to the ligaments is also a common knee injury at work.
- Damage to the tendons: Tendon damage causes limited mobility.
- Others: Other types of knee injuries can be contusion, torn meniscus, strain, arthritis, etc.
What are the symptoms of a knee injury?
Some common symptoms of knee injury include pain, swelling, stiffness, unable to walk, instability, redness of the injured area, clicking or popping of knee bone or joint, etc.
How Common is a Knee Injury at Work? (are they common in certain industries)
Knee injuries are more prevalent in industries that require jobs like lifting weights, prolonged standing, etc. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated approximately 170,000 knee injuries in the workplace in 2019. The construction industry is the most vulnerable in terms of knee injury accidents. Other industries, such as healthcare, manufacturing industry, agriculture, transportation, etc, also have a higher rate of knee injury accidents. Jobs that involve climbing, kneeling, etc, are more susceptible to a knee injury at work. Carpenters, laborers, construction workers, electricians, etc, are at high risk of getting knee injuries at work. Desk jobs also cause knee injury due to prolonged sitting. Bad posture causes a strain on the joints, especially on the knee joints.
How to Make a Knee Injury Claim?
The workers who have suffered an injury can claim compensation under workmen’s compensation law. The process usually begins with reporting an injury and going through a medical valuation of the degree of severity of the injury. This may also include the expenses you may incur during receiving medical attention. The process of filing for an injury claim has the following steps.
- Communicating your name injury with your employer: The first step is to communicate with your employer about the injury that you have suffered at work within 21 days of being injured. If for some reason, you failed to report your injury within the prescribed time, you still have the opportunity to report your injury within 120 days, but this will impact the date on which you will start receiving the benefits.
- Proper medical valuation of your knee injury: Medical evaluation of your knee injury will enable your employer to get an estimation of the compensation that you deserve. This may include medical bills, hospitalization charges, doctor’s fees, and long-term implications of your injury on your ability to work again and earn suitable wages. This is essential for the evaluation of the exact amount that you deserve as compensation.
- Filing the claim: The last step is to file the claim under Workers’ Compensation.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, Workers’ compensation settlements for knee injuries are difficult to negotiate without the proper medical evaluation of the injury. Once the evaluation is done, the worker can apply for compensation within the prescribed time to reap compensatory benefits from the reporting date. Consulting an injury attorney will help to understand your legal position.
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