Employees sometimes are injured at work, and a knee injury can knock even the most dedicated workers off their stride. Fortunately, most employers are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance to provide coverage for medical treatment and wage replacement benefits when their employees are injured on the job.
If you have injured your knee on the job and are anticipating benefits and a settlement from the insurance company, you may have some unanswered questions. Even if the claims adjuster has been friendly and accommodating throughout your ordeal, can you be sure that you are receiving all the workers’ comp benefits to which you may be entitled? Can you know what the average workers’ comp knee injury settlement is? Seriously…just how much is a knee injury worth to workers’ comp insurance carriers on average?
Below are some other questions that I hear often from clients who have injured their knees at work and want to know more about average knee injury compensation amounts and what benefits they may be able to expect for their injuries.
What Are Workers’ Compensation Benefits for Knee Injuries?
Knee injuries can be serious. Proper treatment may require surgery and significant time out of work, so workers’ compensation benefits can play an important role in helping you provide for your family. Workers’ comp benefits for knee injuries can include:
- Lost wages, usually equal to two-thirds of your pre-injury average weekly wage, for a specified period of time based on the severity of your knee injury and doctors’ opinions about your work limitations. Potential compensation for lost wages is determined by whether your disability is partial or total, and whether your disability is temporary or permanent
- Medical treatment, such as doctor appointments, surgery, prescriptions, and physical therapy from medical providers approved by your employer’s insurance carrier
- Vocational benefits, including retraining, rehabilitation, and job modification services
Once your treating physician determines that you have benefitted as much as you can from medical treatment, he or she can declare that you have reached maximum medical improvement (MMI). Then, you may be entitled to permanent partial disability benefits for permanent damage to your knee(s). These are the benefits that can be the basis for final settlement and payout negotiations.
What Is the Average Workers’ Comp Knee Injury Settlement Amount?
Each workers’ compensation case is unique, and any final settlement amount will be based on the specifics of the case. A workers’ compensation attorney can help you identify important issues, such as possible future medical needs and how the settlement might be structured, that should be considered when negotiating a knee injury settlement with the insurance company.
So while I can’t provide you with an average workers’ comp knee injury settlement amount, I can tell you what the average amount of workers’ compensation benefits paid out has been. The National Safety Council reported that the average compensation claim cost for knee injuries was $34,932 during 2019 and 2020 – $18,293 in medical costs and $16,639 in wage loss benefits.1
What do these average benefits amounts mean to you? To break them down a bit more, average workers’ comp benefits for a knee injury will generally include payment for medical treatment plus ⅔ of the worker’s average weekly wages during the period the worker receives that medical treatment and cannot work. If you are unable to fully recover, you can seek additional weeks, months, or years of pay in the settlement, usually at ⅔ of the rate of your average pre-injury pay, as compensation for the fact that you have a continuing disability.
If you are receiving pressure from your employer and the insurance company to settle your workers’ comp claim, you do not have to enter into an agreement to resolve your claim. The insurance company may be prioritizing its own interests over yours and trying to limit or end its exposure. Once you accept a settlement, you generally forfeit all rights to further workers’ comp benefits.
Remember: the potential settlement amount for your knee injury should equate to the dollar value of all the ways your injury has interfered, and may possibly interfere in the future, with your ability to live and work. Consult with a workers’ compensation attorney who can help you try to get the highest possible workers’ comp benefits and settlement.
What Factors Impact Knee Injury Settlements?
Each case is unique and has a distinctive set of factors. An experienced workers’ compensation attorney can help you fight for a knee injury settlement amount that takes the following factors into account, amongst others:
- The type and extent of your knee injury
- The kind of medical treatment you require
- The circumstances surrounding your knee injury
- Whether you will need knee surgery in the future
- How your average weekly wage is calculated
If you’ve injured your knee at work, don’t wait to act. You have a limited time to report the injury to your employer and to file a workers’ compensation claim. A workers’ compensation attorney can help you navigate these factors and help you determine when may be the right time to seek a settlement and whether a settlement amount offer is fair. Contact us online today or call 1-866-900-7078 to get a free workers’ comp case evaluation.
Do You Need a Lawyer for Your Work-Related Knee Injury Settlement?
If it’s time to negotiate a settlement, an experienced workers’ comp attorney can listen to your concerns, answer your questions, and help you think of the bigger picture. For example, what if you need knee surgery in the future? Does the insurance company’s knee injury settlement offer take that possibility into consideration?
I think workers should always seek the advice of a lawyer if they sustain a serious knee injury at work. An injured worker may need to navigate multiple stages of the workers’ compensation process, such as:
- filing a claim
- negotiating with the insurance companies
- working with doctors on billing issues and medical opinions
- seeking a second medical opinion
- evaluating possible compensation factors
- evaluating whether you’re getting all the benefits you may deserve
- appealing denials, if needed
- negotiating a possible final settlement
At the Law Offices of James Scott Farrin, our goal is to try to make sure that our clients receive the maximum benefits and settlements for their work-related knee injuries. I tell my clients that I will be there with them every step of the way, fighting for the highest possible compensation, to try to ensure that both their current and future needs are met. This matters because these cases can quickly get complicated.
For example, I had a client whose workers’ compensation claim was denied by the employer’s workers’ comp insurance carrier because they didn’t believe the knee injury occurred at work. There were no witnesses to the work accident. The insurance company argued that my client’s knee injury was either degenerative in nature or occurred during non-work recreation. My client also had no witnesses to their work accident. Despite these factors, we convinced the insurance company to pay for the complete cost of the knee surgery and rehabilitation, for permanent damage to my client’s knee, and for wage loss benefits.1
Do you need help with your knee injury claim or your workers’ compensation settlement negotiations? We have a workers’ comp team that includes seasoned lawyers and paralegals who used to work for insurance companies. We utilize this “inside knowledge” when fighting for our clients’ rights, and we’d like to do the same for you. If you have hurt your knee at work, call today at 1-866-900-7078 for a free case evaluation.
