By Danielle Newton. Last Updated 25th January 2023. If you suffer torn knee cartilage in an accident caused by someone else, it could lead to you making a torn knee cartilage claim for potential compensation. But what are the requirements for taking legal action after an injury like this? Well, this guide has the answers.
Torn knee cartilage compensation
We explore the personal injury claims process for a torn knee cartilage injury. We also cover care claims, simplify legal jargon and explain No Win No Fee.
You can talk to our expert team anytime about making a torn knee cartilage claim. They could put you in touch with our panel of personal injury lawyers. They can look into your case.
So call us on 0800 408 7825, send a message in our live chat box or fill out our contact form. Remember that our advisors are accessible day or night.
Jump ahead to any section of this guide by using the below.
Choose A Section
- Knee Injury Compensation Amounts – A Guide To Claiming
- What Is A Meniscus Tear?
- Should I Worry About Financial Loss?
- Accidents That Cause Torn Knee Cartilage
- Receive Additional Care Claim Settlements
- We Calculate Torn Cartilage Compensation Claims
- Case Study: £20,000 Torn Knee Cartilage Payouts
- Free Claim Estimates From Specialists
- Explain No Win No Fee Agreements
- Do The Locations Of Top Personal Injury Solicitors Matter?
- Talk To Us
- Additional Advice
Knee Injury Compensation Amounts – A Guide To Claiming
There are various incidents that could have caused you to suffer torn knee cartilage. We examine the types of incidents that could result in torn cartilage in your knee later as well as the legislation that sets the duty of care in various life situations.
To be eligible to recover compensation, you will require supporting evidence. This must show that you were owed a duty of care and a breach in this caused you to suffer broken cartilage in your knee. You may have different evidence depending on the situation.
Evidence that may prove useful in personal injury claims may include:
- This could be CCTV, mobile phone or dashcam footage.
- Medical records. They should show the nature of your injury as well as what date you sought treatment.
- Witness contact details. A solicitor can take statements from anyone who saw what happened.
- You could have photographs of the accident site or your injury if it was visible, such as swelling.
Time Limits For Knee Injury Claims
If your claim is valid, it needs to be started within the time limit. The Limitation Act 1980 sets this as typically three years. This could be three years from the date you injured your knee or three years from the date that your suffering was connected to negligence, such as following a medical appointment.
However, the personal injury claims time limit is suspended in certain circumstances. These include for minors and persons lacking the mental capacity to claim. In either of these situations, a litigation friend could start a claim on behalf of the injured party at any point during the suspension. For a child the time limit is no longer suspended on their 18th birthday. Should a person who lacks capacity recover, the time limit will no longer be suspended from the date it was determined that capacity was regained.
Call our advisors to discuss potential knee injury compensation amounts. Additionally, they can give you free advice about what evidence you could submit.
What Is A Meniscus Tear?
The menisci are the two C-shaped pads of cartilage between your shinbone and your thigh bone. The menisci consist of both the lateral meniscus (outside of knee joint) and medial meniscus (inner side of knee joint).
A meniscus tear could be very painful. There may be sudden swelling and stiffness in that area. Other symptoms of a meniscus tear include being unable to straighten the knee and a feeling of the knee giving way.
Depending on the severity of the tear, the recovery period could range from days to weeks to months. In the latter case, surgery may be involved. But any meniscus tear could lead to you making a compensation claim so long as it was caused by someone else’s negligence.
Now, to make a torn knee cartilage claim for negligence, you should be able to prove:
- Someone owes you a duty of care.
- They breached that duty of care which led to an accident.
- That accident caused you to suffer an injury such as a meniscus tear.
Workplace accidents could result in a meniscus tear. Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, employers should (so far as is reasonably possible) uphold the safety of their employees.
But any obstacles at work causing falls or trips could result in you tearing your knee cartilage. If your employer failed to use appropriate signage to flag the hazards or didn’t have them removed, an accident at work such as this could lead to a duty of care breach.
Torn knee cartilage can also occur because of accidents in a public place. The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 requires those in control of land, premises or property that’s accessible to the public to have a duty of care to prevent accidents in public places.
If you’re injured in a public place, then it may be because there has been a breach. A public injury claim or public accident claim is a possible outcome if your knee tear isn’t your fault. Bear in mind that if you file a public liability claim, then the defendant may have public liability insurance to cover any compensation you receive.
You could also endure a meniscus tear during road traffic accidents (RTAs). In this case, The Highway Code requires road users to follow a duty of care: to use the roads with care and skill. This would apply to motorists and vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists. If a crash or collision results in you tearing your knee cartilage, it may have arisen because of a breach in the duty of care owed to you by the other road user.
Your knee injury could be only one of multiple injuries, and that could lead you to file a multiple injury claim. In any event, our knowledgeable team could put you in touch with our panel of personal injury lawyers. And they may handle your torn knee cartilage injury claim if you’re happy for them to do so.
So, call our personal injury claims team to begin that conversation with us.
Should I Worry About Financial Loss?
You may find that you have suffered financial losses due to your torn knee cartilage injury. Additional stress on top of the anguish you’re experiencing due to your injury can be difficult. However, you could recover financial losses as part of your torn knee cartilage claim.
You could calculate expenses relating to your injury such as:
- Any lost earnings for sick leave.
- The cost of travel to and from hospital appointments.
- Medications you’ve had to pay for.
You will, however, need proof. You may use, for example, bus tickets, receipts or invoices as evidence of losses. Think about how you could receive expenditure back as part of your compensation. If you do have concerns about financial losses due to your knee injury, call us anytime to chat.
Accidents That Cause Torn Knee Cartilage
In 2019/20, there were approximately 693,000 reported injuries at work. This number, though not excessively high, is still significant. Kneeling, squatting or lifting something heavy can sometimes lead to a torn meniscus. If you aren’t adequately trained in heavy lifting in the workplace, for example, you may be at risk of injuring yourself this way.
It could be a simple accident in a public place that causes torn knee cartilage, however. Indeed, a slip or a trip could result in a tear. Accidents in public places of this nature may well lead the way for a public accident claim, providing you weren’t at fault.
And we can’t forget about road incidents. Torn knee cartilage could very well be the consequence of a traffic accident. In Great Britain, there were 153,158 reported casualties of all severities in 2019. And, in 2018, there were 17,550 cyclist injuries. These numbers emphasise just how often accidents occur on the road.
If you’d like, you can talk to us anytime about how to make a torn knee cartilage claim.
Receive Additional Care Claim Settlements
Care claims mean you could claim due to any care you receive because of your injury. That could include the following:
- Additional support from family
- Professional care costs
- Costs of professional cleaners or gardeners
You will need to provide evidence to support your claim. This could include:
- Invoices
- Receipts
- Bills
Your family and friends may have provided gracious care. In this instance, you could claim compensation for the time they spent looking after you. To find discuss care claims and what you could use as proof, get in touch today.
We Calculate Torn Cartilage Compensation Claims
For a final valuation of your injury, you should undergo a medical assessment as part of the claims process. An independent medical professional would evaluate your injury to the greatest extent possible, and give a recommendation on the prognosis.
Crucially, the medical assessment could support the argument that, but for the accident, you wouldn’t have torn knee cartilage. This information could increase the likelihood of you receiving compensation. A solicitor should then calculate what you could claim for. Any compensation would be divided into either general damages or special damages.
General Damages
General damages compensate you for physical and psychological suffering. The pain and loss of amenity would fall under this part of your torn knee cartilage claim.
Special Damages
As for special damages, these would compensate you for financial losses caused by the injury. So, lost earnings, medical expenditure, public transport usage and private physiotherapy are elements here. Also, professional nursing costs would be a factor.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Case Study: £20,000 Torn Knee Cartilage Payouts
Miss Bayles works as a swimming instructor in Hartlepool. She lives alone in a town centre apartment, though she has two pet dogs. In her spare time, she enjoys travelling and socialising with her friends.
One evening, Miss Bayles was completing a class with students. The cleaners had failed to provide a sign by the changing rooms warning of a spillage. Therefore, when Miss Bayles headed away from the pool area, she slipped and landed hard on her right knee. She was able to get to her feet, but as she did so, she felt excruciating pain. This brought her back to the ground, and she required assistance.
Miss Bayles was unable to work the next day due to the injury, and so she visited her hospital to be checked out. She was officially diagnosed with a torn meniscus injury, though she was told that no surgery was required. Instead, an eight-week recovery period was recommended, along with painkillers and physiotherapy. However, Miss Bayles was told that the possibility of osteoarthritis in the future couldn’t be ruled out due to her injury.
The avoidable nature of the accident angered Miss Bayles the most. She wondered how this setback could impact her teaching for the coming months and years.
What’s more, the lost earnings during her eight weeks off work would be severely felt due to her living alone. This was compounded by her requiring a professional to look after her dogs while she recuperated.
After seeking the services of a lawyer, Miss Bayles made a compensation claim. She recovered £20,000. This included £17,800 in general damages and £2,200 in special damages.
| Type Of Special Damages | Includes: | How Much? |
|---|---|---|
| Loss of earnings | Time off work | £1,500 |
| Travel costs | Taxis to and from physiotherapy and the hospital | £200 |
| Medical Expenses | Prescriptions and medications | £70 |
| Other Expenses | Dog walking costs | £200 |
| Care Costs | Family’s gracious care | £230 |
Miss Bayles’ case is an example to illustrate the personal injury claims process. It is fictional and based on previous experiences of claims.
Free Claim Estimates From Specialists
Some sites may offer you online personal injury claims calculators. These tools offer ballpark figures that you could receive as your compensation. But, such figures are general estimates that don’t take into account a whole variety of unique circumstances relating to cases. And we know that no two knee injuries claims are ever the same.
This is why we bring a more personal approach to predicting your possible payout amount. Indeed, we prefer to learn about you and your specific situation. That way, we can provide a far more accurate compensation estimate for your torn knee cartilage claim.
Better still, this service is free, even if you choose not to pursue your case any further. So put aside the compensation calculators, and learn more about our free claim estimates by speaking with us.
Explain No Win No Fee Agreements
No Win No Fee forms the backbone of our service for claimants. And you could reap the benefits. The advantages of using a No Win No Fee solicitor include:
- You don’t pay lawyer fees upfront.
- And you also don’t pay lawyer fees during the case.
- Your personal injury lawyer would take a nominal amount as a fee, but only if you’re awarded compensation. The success fee is capped by law.
That means you don’t pay a penny in lawyer fees if the case is unsuccessful.
Use our live chat anytime to ask any questions you may have about No Win No Fee.
Do The Locations Of Top Personal Injury Solicitors Matter?
If you want quality personal injury lawyers, there are certainly several key factors to look for. They would include:
- A strong track record
- Positive reviews
- Suitable credentials
- Potential specialities relating to your knee injury
But location isn’t one of them, as a solicitor can work on your case from anywhere in the country. So, why limit your choices to one particular area when you could truly find the top personal injury lawyers by going online?
And that’s how we’re here to help. Our service benefits claimants with torn knee cartilage injuries just like yours. And, to prevent us from wasting anyone’s time, we determine the viability of a case before proceeding. Telephone us today for more information.
Talk To Us About A Torn Knee Cartilage Claim
Our expert team could link you with our panel of personal injury lawyers. And that could initiate the process of handling your torn knee cartilage compensation claim. You can get in touch with us by:
- Calling 0800 408 7825
- Using our live chat
- Completing our contact form
Our knowledgeable team is at your service at any time of any day or night. And remember that there is no necessity for you to proceed with our services.
Additional Advice On A Torn Knee Cartilage Claim
We hope you now have greater knowledge about making a torn knee cartilage claim. However, you can also use the links below to find out further information.
To see a breakdown of all of our services, you can view our homepage.
You can learn about how to handle a claim for a public transport accident by reading our guide to public accidents.
You can also read about gym accident scenarios.
Discover more about cartilage damage.
You can read about knee pain too.
The NHS also have a guide on how to identify broken bones,
Article by AR
Publisher UI