Orange County Personal Injury Lawyer
OPEN KNEE SURGERY
Arthrotomy commonly known as open knee surgery is the traditional way used by an orthopedist (a surgeon specialized in bone and joint diseases) to look at an injury in the knee for purposes of evaluation and treatment. Open knee surgery is often performed to treat serious knee injuries such as ligament, cartilage and meniscal tears
In cases of open knee surgery, a personal injury lawyer could have his client either as the patient or the orthopedist. Either way certain information must be in his possession so as to be able to represent his client to his level best.
As such, the personal injury lawyer must first and foremost know what kind of knee injury the patient had so as to establish whether or not the open knee surgery was necessary. Secondly he should be in a position to know whether there was a better and safer alternative kind of surgery than the open knee surgery. Third, the personal injury lawyer should also factor in the patient’s profession as it might have been jeopardized by the open knee surgery or benefited from the open knee surgery. Finally, Looking at the medical reputation of the orthopedist would also be tendered in as persuasive evidence on his competence and experience in performance of the open knee surgery.
The type of knee injury
The personal injury lawyer must know the exact knee injury that the patient had as it is not all knee injury cases that are to be treated or can be evaluated by means of an open knee surgery. Therefore, personal injury lawyer will have to go out of his way to seek the medical reports of the patient as pertaining to the knee injury and understand the reason as to why the open knee surgery was the best option for the patient.
However, before even reading the medical reports of the doctor, the personal injury lawyer must be aware that an orthopedist comes in to treat the patient only after a referral by the doctor. This means that the doctor came to the conclusion that there was no other means of treatment that could be administered to the patient as the doctor could not diagnose what the injury was through the X-ray and he had tested the cartilage, ligaments and meniscal for sprains or tears and found nothing therefore calling in the assistance of an orthopedist who would then perform a knee surgery to first and foremost evaluate the knee for the possible knee injury and then treat the knee for the possible knee injury.
At this juncture, the personal injury lawyer must have in his possession the various possible treatments to a knee injury and when such treatment is best administered. This will help him know if the open knee surgery was the most appropriate option to be taken by the doctors.
Knowing that an open knee surgery is the last form of medical treatment that can and is to be a administered to a patient suffering from a knee injury, the personal injury lawyer must be able to see in the medical report that all other possible treatments were administered before the open knee surgery was taken as the best form of evaluation and treatment for the patient.
Alternative to open knee surgery
The next question that the personal injury lawyer will seek to answer in order to establish his case is, whether or not open knee surgery was the only form of knee surgery available to the patient at that particular moment.
On conducting research on the various possible surgery that are performed on the knee, the personal injury lawyer will come to the realization that indeed the open knee surgery is the traditional way of evaluation and treatment of serious knee injuries that other treatments are not in a position to cure.
He will discover that there is another modernized form of knee surgery from the open knee surgery commonly known as ARTHROSCOPY. The difference between it and the open knee surgery is that in arthroscopy; the arthroscope that is used contains a lighted video camera on the end and is wired to the television screen that the surgeon watches so as to get the exact knee problem by moving it around. On the other hand, in the open knee surgery, the surgeon operates on the knee to see the injury without the aid of a television screen.
Having discovered this, the personal injury lawyer will then have to inquire as to why the open knee surgery was preferred to the arthroscopy. Was it a matter of finances? Lack of equipment for an arthroscopy? Then he will move on to question whether the reasons given were valid enough to make an open knee surgery the best option.
Effect of the open knee surgery to the patient and his profession
Having known that arthroscopy is a better alternative to open knee surgery therefore the reasons as to why it’s a better alternative to open knee surgery must be established.
For one, arthroscopy if compared to open knee surgery decreased post operative pain and recovery time and more to that it has less scarring.
Such information is relevant especially if the patient turns out to be a professional athlete who requires a quick recovery or a professional model who requires a surgery that has less if no scarring at all.
The personal injury lawyer will have to consider such kind of information as he claims an award in damages for his client in this case who would be the patient
Competence of the orthopedist to perform the open knee surgery
The reputation and competence of the orthopedist must be established. Depending on he is representing, the personal injury lawyer must either seek to protect orthopedist’s reputation and competence or seek to destroy it. In doing either, his performance records will be looked into and any form of malpractice related to the surgery that he performed on other patients with similar knee injury will definitely injure his reputation and competence.
By establishing the aforementioned, the personal injury lawyer will be in a position to competently argue his case for either party that he might be representing in a case related to an open knee surgery.
Injury of the knee
In representing his client in a claim for damages as a result of injury of the knee, the personal injury lawyer must have done some research as regard to the knee, the possible injury of the knee, the possible causes of such injury of the knee, the treatment to the various injury of the knee and the possible precautionary measures against injury of the knee.
Such information puts the personal injury lawyer at an appropriate position in proving on a balance of probabilities that his client, the plaintiff herein is entitled to the award in damages he so prays for from the honorable court.
The personal injury lawyer must first and foremost understand the make up of the knee. In short the knee is made up of;
Bones
Cartilage
Muscles,
Ligaments and
Tendons all working as one.
Therefore any injury of the knee would be as a result of stress or damage to any of the body parts aforementioned.
Having known in brief what constitute the knee, the personal injury lawyer will be required to know the possible causes of injury of the knee which vary from;
Overuse (repetitive motions),
Sudden stops or twists,
Direct blows to the knee.
Such information on the parts of the body that make up the knee and the causes of injury of the knee will enable him to relate the information to the various injury of the knee which maybe;
Sprains – as a result of a torn or stretched ligaments
Strain – as a result of a partially or completely torn muscle or tendon
Tendonitis – as a result of irritation of the tendon or an inflamed tendon
Mensical Tears – as a result of sudden changes in speed or side to side movement
Fracture – as a result of a cracked or shattered bone.
Dislocation – as a result of knocking off of the kneecap (patella) to the side of the joint by twisting or some kind of impact.
Cartilage injuries – as a result of small pieces of the bone or cartilage softening to break off from the end of a bone
The personal injury lawyer so as to prove that the injury of the knee were server
and therefore deserve the damages prayed for and nothing less, he will need to know the various examination procedures that his client went through
X-ray – So as to get a good picture of the bones that make up the knee
CAT scan or MRI – So as to get a 3 dimensional picture of the bones, ligaments and cartilage.
Arthroscopy – Surgery that takes a direct look at the inside of the knee. (open knee surgery)
The personal injury lawyer must also know the various treatments available in treating injury of the knee. Such treatments to injury of the knee include;
Use of anti inflammatory medications – In cases of tendonitis
Application of RICE ( Rest, Use of Ice, Compression by use of bandages, Elevation f the leg) – In cases of Sprains, Strain and overuse
Use of Knee Immobilizer ( A sleeve wrapped around the leg to keep the leg from moving)
Physical Therapy
Wearing a cast
Use of crutches
Information on the specific examination and treatment that the client received herein the plaintiff can be adduced as evidence in a court of law in form of documentary evidence and have an expert witness (doctor) testify as to the gravity of the injury of the knee.
Both the documentary evidence and testimony of the expert witness will educate the personal injury lawyer on the exact examination that his client the plaintiff herein underwent and the prescribed treatment given to him. The personal injury lawyer will use the information to argue for the reasonableness of the damages so prayed for by the plaintiff herein.
More to that, documentary evidence in form of receipts indicating money spent to treat the injury of the knee like the X-ray examinations, the physical therapy payments and the purchase of crutches, knee immobilizer (a sleeve wrapped around the leg to keep it from moving) and anti inflammatory medications like ibuprofen would also be sufficient proof of the economic strain and stress that the plaintiff had to go through in order to recover money spent on the injury of the knee.
The personal injury lawyer will be finally required to prove that his client the plaintiff herein was not the cause of the injury of the knee by showing that he had done all that he could to prevent injury of the knee. The personal injury lawyer could adduce evidence to the fact that during the accident that caused injury of the knee the client had either, worn protective equipments, e.g. kneepads and supportive shoes that are in both good condition and appropriate to prevent such injury of the knee.
A medical past history of the client would also be relevant as it would show that the client did not have previous injury of the knee apart the current one that he claims compensation for.
The knee being an important part of the body that provides stability and flexibility for the whole body, the personal injury lawyer would further submit that due to the injury of the knee, the client, is not in a position to go about his normal day to day activities and therefore requires compensation for the loss of time and finances.
In conclusion, the personal injury lawyer will be required to relate the injury of the knee so experienced by his client the plaintiff herein with the accident and the extents of damage caused as a result of the injury and translate it into monetary terms. He is also required to prove that there has been both emotional stress caused by the pain of the injury of the knee that has caused the client plaintiff herein a considerable amount of distress and monetary loss as a result of the injury of the knee which were in no circumstances caused by his client.