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Knee Injuries

Knee injuries can have a significant impact on the injured individual. The knee is the largest and one of the most complicated joints in the body. The knee is also a weight-bearing joint, which, if it is not functioning properly, can cause significant complications affecting your ability to work, move, and your overall quality of life.

Brief Anatomical Summary of the Knees

Your knees are the largest joints in your body. They connect the upper and lower parts of your legs. The leg is made up of four bones: the femur, tibia, fibula, and patella. The femur is the largest bone of the body and makes the upper part of the leg. The lower leg consists of two bones, the fibula and the tibia. The tibia is the larger of the two bones, and is on the medial, or middle side of the body. The upper portion of the tibia supports most of the body’s weight. The smaller of the two bones in the bottom of the leg is the fibula. It is on the lateral, or outside of the body. The bottom of the fibula forms the ankle.

Minnesota personal injury claims often include fractures of the fibula or tibia, which can be caused by direct or indirect trauma to the lower leg. The last bone that makes up the leg is the patella. The patella is the knee cap. The patella serves an important function of protecting the knee joint from trauma.

Minnesota personal injury claims also often involve injuries not only to the bones of the leg and knee, but to the ligaments. The knee has multiple ligaments. First, there are cruciate ligaments consisting of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), and posterior cruciate ligament (PCL). The ACL is often considered the most important ligament of the knee. Injuries to the ACL can be caused by a direct blow to the back of the leg that drives the tibia bone forward. Injuries can also occur to the PCL. The PCL is the largest cruciate ligament in the knee. PCL injuries often occur when there is a blow to the front of the knee, such as when an individual is in an auto accident and their knee hits the dashboard. The knee also includes collateral ligaments, which stabilize the knee when it moves sideways. The collateral ligaments include the medial collateral ligament (MCL) and lateral collateral ligament (LCL).

Additionally, the knee has meniscus. The knee’s meniscus acts as a shock absorber for the knee. The meniscus distributes weight across the surface of the tibia. There are two types of meniscus; the medial meniscus and the lateral meniscus. It is more frequent to see injuries to the medial meniscus. The medial meniscus attaches the medical collateral ligament, and injuries are seen when there is contact from the outside of the leg causing a strong impact to the knee. Also, meniscus injuries are seen when there is a twisting motion to the knee, as is sometimes seen in trip and fall and slip and fall injuries.

Knee Injury Cases

If you have suffered a knee injury due to the negligence of another, in an automobile accident, in a slip and fall or trip and fall situation, as a result of a defective product, or as a result of an on-the-job injury, please contact our team of compassionate and qualified Minnesota knee injury attorneys today by filing out the form on the side of this page or by calling us at either our Twin Cities or Mankato offices.

Contact Our Mankato / Chaska Personal Injury Lawyer

Reitan Law Office, PLLC has represented injured Minnesotans for more than 35 years and would be happy to discuss your knee injury case with you. There is no charge to meet with us to discuss your case and ask questions. Furthermore, there is no charge for attorney fees unless you recover . We provide two convenient locations to choose from. Please call 507-388-1800 in Mankato or 952-448-2800 in the Twin Cities and speak to a qualified and compassionate Minnesota personal injury lawyer today.