Torn Cartilage In Knee: How to determine the compensation payout you can claim

Find out in a Q&A how to know if you can claim for a torn cartilage in your knee; how your solicitor determines the compensation payout for pain & suffering plus financial loss – with examples of compensation amounts for knee injuries & other body parts.

Torn Cartilage In Knee Compensation Question

In January I was hit from behind whilst waiting at a set of lights. The other driver was insured and his insurers accepted blame and repaired my car.

I am a big guy and during the accident my right leg rammed against the pedals very heavily from the force of the collision. At first – I was in shock, so did not realise properly my injury – but that evening and the following morning the knee pain became far worse.

I thought I might get better, but after a month I decided I should go to my GP for the first time. My GP referred me to hospital, x-rays were taken that showed that I had a torn cartilage in my knee.

I am now on the waiting list to have keyhole surgery.

My knee injury has also affected my ability to work as a plumber – requiring frequent time off, which my employer has not been too happy with. I believe I will be unable to work for a month following the keyhole surgery.

Can I claim for my knee injury as I only sought treatment after a month and if so how much can I claim for my torn cartilage?

Personal Injury Solicitor Response

It seems that liability for the car accident is accepted by the motor insurer of the driver at fault, which is evidence by their willingness to repair your vehicle.

Despite liability for the accident events being accepted – you as the Claimant must prove every aspect of injury and financial loss from your car accident, which will include showing medical causation.

Typically, an injury is reported to the medical authorities immediately after an accident. Although this did not happen – there seems good reason and a month is not so long a time period albeit it will be a consideration.

To prove your injuries came from the accident – an independent medical report obtained by a solicitor acting on your behalf would be necessary for the purpose of your claim. The medical report must show on the balance of probability that all of your injuries – including that of your knee, were as a result of your car accident.

You should be aware that a knee only injury would be unusual in a road accident. Typically, when the force of a collision is such to cause injury to the knee – other body parts would also be injured.

Remember – when claiming for personal injury you make one claim, to include all injuries (physical & psychological) and all financial loss & expense (although very often an insurer will repair your vehicle before resolving the personal injury claim).

Please see our records to keep to support a personal injury claim article which explains how you can help your solicitor support your injury claim.

How is the compensation payout determined for a torn cartilage in your knee?

There are primarily two aspects that need to be assessed to value your car accident claim:

Pain and suffering compensation for your actual torn cartilage injury

You have mainly pointed to the torn cartilage in your knee as your primary injury. You should however consider all physical injuries and any psychological injuries, so you should properly reported these to the treating medical authorities.

Earlier we explained you will need of an independent medical report to assess your injuries – this report will not only determine what injuries were as a result of your car accident, but also set out the full extent of your torn cartilage injury setting out in a prognosis any likely ongoing problems plus possible time periods for recovery.

This report will be the basis of determining your compensation payout for pain and suffering for a torn cartilage injury.

The amounts that you can claim will vary as time goes by – see our torn meniscus compensation claim for our regularly updated article setting out the likely compensation awards.

Currently the amount is for a torn cartilage in the knee is worth up to £38,000.

Should you have any other injuries – see our compensation amounts by body part article.

Financial loss and expense incurred as a direct result of your injury

In addition to pain and suffering – you can claim for costs, expenses and losses as a direct result of an accident. This will include lost income (so long as any time off work is considered reasonable by the independent medical expert who should specifically comment in the medical report), vehicle damage, medical expenses, care and assistance in the home.

See our car accident compensation article for a full list of the types of loss and expense that you can claim.

Specialist Solicitor Free Help

Remember – should you wish to speak to our solicitors direct about your accident or have further questions, you can use our specialist solicitor free telephone / online help.