If you’re a sports fan, you’re probably aware of the dreaded cruciate knee injury. The cruciate ligaments are useful for knee stability on impact – so running or jumping is where they come in to play the most. Sadly the knee joint can be fairly easy to injure, particularly in sports. Tearing or rupturing a ligament in the knee can be severely debilitating. As the title of this article suggests, I’ll focus on ruptured ligaments.
A ligament rupture by definition is where the ligament is literally torn in to two (or I suppose more) pieces. Tearing usually means the ligaments remains intact but part of the tissue is torn or ripped. Ruptured usually means it’s been split. If the ligament tears off a piece of bone with it, this commonly known as an avulsion fracture and can usually be repaired with the bone being sewn back on. You’re better off with that than a rupture – I’ll explain why.
Torn ligaments can be repaired, and bone can be sewn back on, but a ruptured ligament normally cannot be put back together. Once a ligament is ruptured, its nigh impossible to repair it. Surgeons will normally reconstruct the ligaments, which involves taking out the ruptured ligaments and replacing it with healthy tissue. In the case of cruciate and collaterals, it’s common for a hamstring graft or a patellar graft to be performed. This means that healthy tissue from either the hamstring or the patellar is manipulated or taken out and put in the place of ruptured ligament, thereby reconstructing the ruptured tissue.
This is a complex operation, and normally results in screws being placed in the bone to attach the new pieces of ligament, and a lengthy period of up to three months of none weight baring, and then a considerable period after that on crutches and having physiotherapy. None weight baring for three months results in the muscles in the injured leg pretty much shrinking to the extent that walking is a massive struggle during the recovery period. Months and months of physiotherapy is needed to build up the lost strength and get the new ligaments doing their job. Let me tell you from personal experience, it’s a long and difficult road to recovery.
Due to the severe impact it has on you, the amount you can recover in compensation is totally reflective of the severe impact rupturing a ligament has on you. You will almost definitely need re-constructive surgery, so you will face a situation like the above, which will likely keep you off work and housebound for a long period of time. You can claim for lost earnings as well.
I can’t value your individual claim, as its all based on individual medical evidence and your own personal losses – but I can tell you how much the claim could be worth according to the official guidelines we lawyers use for valuing claims for personal injury compensation.
JSB Guidelines
| Severe Knee Injuries Category | |
|---|---|
| (i)Serious knee injury where there has been disruption of the joint, the development of osteoarthritis, gross ligamentous damage, lengthy treatment, considerable pain and loss of function and an arthroplasty or arthrodesis has taken place or is inevitable. | £49,800 to £68,750 |
| (ii) Leg fracture extending into the knee joint causing pain which is constant, permanent, limiting movement or impairing agility and rendering the injured person prone to osteoarthritis and at the risk of arthroplasty. | £37,250 to £49,800 |
| (iii) Less severe injuries than those in (a)(ii) above and/or injuries which result in less severe disability. There may be continuing symptoms by way of pain and discomfort and limitation of movement or instability or deformity with the risk that degenerative changes and the need for remedial surgery may occur in the long term as a result of damage to the kneecap, ligamentous or meniscal injury or muscular wasting. | £18,700 to £31,000 |
For advice as to whether you have a claim for personal injury, get in touch with us 0800 634 7575.