DELVENTHAL LAW
INJURY OR WRONGFUL DEATH FROM A WORKPLACE ACCIDENT?
Knee injuries at work are surprisingly common. Because the knee is so complex, many things can go wrong in an accident or even at work. Many of our clients report being in intense pain and sometimes immobile after suffering a knee injury.
At Delventhal Law Office, we fight to obtain compensation for those who are injured in accidents. If you have suffered a knee injury, you should find the right Fort Wayne knee injury lawyer for your case.
TYPES OF KNEE INJURIES
The knee is the largest joint in the human body and connects the thigh bone to the shin bone. An accident can damage any of the following:
- Menisci. The knee has 2 meniscus pads that provide cushion and stability to the knee. They can become torn in an accident.[1]
- Ligaments. The knee has multiple ligaments that connect bones to each other. These ligaments can stretch, tear, or be completely shorn off the bone.
- Cartilage. This is a thin tissue that ensures that joint surfaces move easily past each other. After a knee injury, cartilage can begin to break down, leading to arthritis and pain.
- Tendons. Tendons connect muscles to bones and can be injured in a traumatic accident.
- Bone. Bones can chip or break and require surgery to stabilize. The patella, which is the kneecap, can also break if struck with sufficient force.
CAUSES OF KNEE INJURIES
Any traumatic accident can injure the knee. In our experience, most of our clients have suffered a knee injury due to:
- Car accidents
- Workplace accidents
- Slip and falls
- Violent crimes
The key will be to determine if someone’s negligence or reckless conduct is to blame for the injury. If so, a lawsuit is often possible.
RECEIVING COMPENSATION FOR A KNEE INJURY
If you sustained a knee injury at work in Fort Wayne, the amount of compensation will depend on the seriousness of the injury and how much money it has cost you. That being said, it is imperative that you report your workplace knee injury as soon as possible to ensure you are eligible to receive full compensation.
It is difficult to determine in advance how much compensation a person might qualify for. Because knee injuries often degenerate over time, our goal as experienced Fort Wayne knee injury lawyers is to make sure our clients receive full compensation in the event they need surgery in the future. Call us today at (260) 484-6655 to learn more about your rights and getting the compensation that you need.
The Indiana law that applies to your knee-injury case
Indiana's two-year personal-injury statute of limitations (IC 34-11-2-4[2]) governs filing deadlines for almost every knee-injury claim arising from a crash, fall, or third-party workplace negligence event. Indiana also follows a 51% modified comparative-fault rule (IC 34-51-2-6[3]) — if a jury finds the injured worker more than 50% at fault, recovery is barred entirely. Workers' compensation claims run on a parallel track under Indiana Workers' Compensation Board[4] rules, and a meaningful share of serious knee injuries also support a third-party suit against an equipment manufacturer, premises owner, or careless driver.
How insurance carriers fight Fort Wayne knee-injury claims
Every knee-injury claim we file in Allen, DeKalb, and Whitley County runs into the same handful of carrier defenses. The first is the pre-existing-condition argument — the adjuster pulls every prior orthopedic visit, every gym membership, every weekend-warrior tear in the medical record and tries to argue the knee was already failing. The second is the imaging-timing argument — carriers point to a gap between the incident and the first MRI as evidence the injury "must have happened later." The third is the conservative-treatment argument — the carrier insists physical therapy alone would have been enough, even when the AAOS clinical guidance documented at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons[5] patient resource supports surgical intervention. We build the case-file to anticipate every one of these.
Evidence we preserve in the first 48 hours
Knee-injury claims live and die on the medical-imaging and treatment-timeline record. From the moment we open the file, we lock down:
- The emergency-room intake, x-ray and triage records — even a normal-looking ER x-ray rules out fractures and frames the soft-tissue case;
- Pre-incident orthopedic records (the last five to ten years) so the carrier cannot ambush with surprise "pre-existing" exhibits at deposition;
- Initial MRI imaging and the radiologist's written impression — the difference between "Grade 2 sprain" and "complete ACL rupture" is a six-figure swing in case value;
- Workplace incident reports, OSHA 300 logs (where applicable), and supervisor statements within hours, not weeks;
- The full physical-therapy progression — every session, every PT note, every functional capacity evaluation.
Damages categories in an Indiana knee-injury case
Recovery breaks into economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages include past and future medical care (surgery, hardware, physical therapy, follow-ups), lost wages during recovery, and lost future earning capacity if the knee permanently affects work performance. Non-economic damages cover pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and permanent impairment. Published National Institutes of Health[6] chronic-pain research grounds the long-term-impact argument insurers routinely try to discount.
What our knee-injury clients ask most
How much is a knee-injury claim worth in Indiana?
Claim value depends on the severity of the injury, the duration of treatment, the impact on work, and the strength of the imaging evidence. ACL tears requiring reconstructive surgery routinely settle in the high five- to mid-six-figure range when documented correctly. Meniscus tears with arthroscopic repair fall lower. A free case evaluation gives you a meaningful range for your specific situation.
Do I have a case if I had a prior knee surgery or injury?
Yes. Indiana follows the "eggshell plaintiff" rule — a defendant takes the victim as they find them. The carrier may argue pre-existing condition, but the law lets you recover for the aggravation of a prior injury. Your pre-incident medical records become evidence of the baseline against which the new injury is measured by the jury.
How long do I have to file a knee-injury lawsuit in Indiana?
Indiana's general personal-injury statute of limitations is two years from the date of injury under IC 34-11-2-4[2]. Workers' compensation claims have a shorter notice clock — typically thirty days for reporting. Government-defendant cases trigger Indiana Tort Claims Act notice deadlines as short as 180 days for political subdivisions, so it is important not to wait.
Will I need surgery for my knee injury?
That decision is made by your orthopedic surgeon based on imaging, function loss, and conservative-treatment response — not by your lawyer or the insurance carrier. AAOS clinical guidance recommends surgical evaluation for complete ligament tears, displaced fractures, and certain meniscus patterns. Conservative care suffices for many sprains and partial tears that respond to physical therapy.
What if my knee injury happened on the job?
You have a workers' compensation claim under Indiana Title 22 administered by the Workers' Compensation Board, and you may also have a third-party negligence claim against a manufacturer, premises owner, or other non-employer party whose conduct contributed to the injury. The two tracks run in parallel, and a third-party recovery does not eliminate your workers' compensation benefits.
What happens after you hire us
From the day we open your file, we preserve evidence, place hospital and physical-therapy records on litigation hold, and notify the at-fault carrier in writing that all future communications go through this office. We coordinate ongoing medical care with your providers, send a settlement demand once you have reached maximum medical improvement, and — if the carrier's offer falls short of the documented damages — file suit in Allen Superior Court or wherever venue is proper. Every step is on a contingency-fee basis: no fee unless we recover.
