Anyone who has ever turned awkwardly or had their feet slip from under them knows how painful and debilitating a minor injury to the knee can be. More serious injuries may not only keep you out of work for months at a time but also have a permanent and negative impact on your ability to perform your normal job duties once you reach maximum medical improvement, as determined by your treating physicians.
Regardless of the circumstances of your injury or the specific type of trauma you have experienced, the guidance of a skilled Downey workplace knee injury lawyer is crucial in maximizing your workers’ compensation claim. Collaborating with a dedicated workplace injury attorney could significantly increase the benefits you receive, and in some cases, it is the only way to secure any benefits at all.
As is the case with any other type of injury that stems from an accident on the job or builds up over time from repetitive work-related stress, knee injuries can serve as grounds for a workers’ comp claim so long as they are serious enough to require some form of professional medical care and prevent the affected worker from performing their usual job duties for any length of time. Examples of injuries that could potentially justify a claim for benefits include:
Regardless of how mild or severe a workplace knee injury is, the injured worker needs to provide written notice of the injury to their employer as soon as possible after discovering they were hurt, which is something a Downey attorney could assist with if necessary.
Workers’ compensation benefits in California include reimbursement for all reasonably necessary medical treatment needed to help the injured person reach maximum medical improvement (MMI). In other words, to get them as close to complete recovery as possible. Reasonably necessary care can include not just inpatient and outpatient visits with doctors but also things like physical therapy, prescription medications, assistive equipment like crutches or wheelchairs, and expenses for travel to and from doctors’ appointments.
Additionally, if a workplace knee injury keeps someone in Downey out of work for several days in succession, a seasoned lawyer could help them seek benefits for temporary total disability, which usually equates to about two-thirds of what the person would have received as take-home pay averaged out every week. Permanent partial and permanent total disability benefits are also available for people who can never return to their previous jobs or any job even after reaching MMI.
Knee damage can be challenging to treat and take a long time to recover from physically, emotionally, and financially. While you have help available from workers’ compensation if you are classified as an employee and sustain this sort of harm at work, navigating California workers’ compensation laws is often challenging, even if you have experience pursuing a claim of this nature.
Assistance from a Downey workplace knee injury lawyer will certainly be crucial to getting you the benefits you need while minimizing additional stress for you and your family. Call today for a consultation.
