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Common Knee Injuries Caused by Accidents

It is not uncommon for someone visiting a private residence, or country club, or running an errand in a grocery store or bank, to slip or trip and fall on a pothole or a spilled liquid on the floor. In these situations, injuries frequently come about and the most common by far are damages done to the knee and surrounding areas of the joint. Here is a general overview of some of the typical knee injuries caused by a slip and fall accident.

First of all, a quick look at the knee is important to understand what happens to it and what it's potential may be. The knee is a joint, which means that it is between the area where two bones connect. The knee is, maybe surprisingly, the largest joint in the body. Your knees provide you will stability and flexibility, to aid your legs in bending, swiveling, straightening, and redistributing your body weight on your ankles and feet. The knee is made up of body parts such as cartilage, muscles, ligaments, and tendons, which come together to all function as one unit. Any one of these with injury could effect the whole work of the knee.

Torn meniscus: On the top of your shinbone (otherwise known as the tibia), there are extra pads of cartilage known as menisci to help absorb the body's weight. Each knee has two, the inside meniscus, and the lateral meniscus. Damages to these are very common, especially in sports injuries, where there is greater chance of rapid increases of speed and side-to-side movements. Meniscal injuries tend to occur with severe sprains. These can cause tenderness, tightness, and swelling around the front of the knee. In these cases, fluid may build around the knee, causing some swelling.

ACL tear: The ACL is the acronym to refer to the anterior cruciate ligament. Tendons and ligaments help keep the knee moving naturally. Ligaments specifically are like cables of strong tissue that connect bones to bones to cartilage to bones. The anterior cruciate ligament connects your femur (bone in upper thigh) to your tibia at the center of the knee. I helps to control forward motion and rotation, keeping your shinbone from sliding out in front of your thighbone. When this tears it can cause some disrupted movement and be very painful, and cause further problems.

MCL tear: The MCL is another ligament within the knee, this one meaning the medial collateral ligament. This connects your femur to your tibia along the inside of your knee. It helps to keep the inner part of the knee stable and helps control the sideways motion of your knee, keeping it from bending inward.

Slipping can cause anyone to lose a control of their joints and pressure put on a slip can cause the knee to move in ways it should not, resulting in sprains, strains, tears and rips of sensitive and important body parts. These can be very painful and cause the need for a lot of medical attention, such as surgery and rehabilitation. If such an injury is due to someone else's negligence, you may not be responsible for covering all of those expenses. Use common sense and take care of yourself and your surroundings, because any injury can be a step backwards.


The Jurewitz Law Group is located in San Diego, has offices in Carlsbad, California, and serves all of San Diego County including the following cities and towns:

San Diego, Chula Vista, Escondido, Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos, El Cajon, Carlsbad, Poway, Encinitas, La Mesa, Santee, National City, Imperial Beach, Lemon Grove, Coronado.

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