Knee Injuries

Aside from back and neck pain, knee pain is among the most common orthopaedic complaint after car, bus or tractor-trailer accidents. Your attorney at McAleer Law will help you find information about causes of your knee pain and injury including assisting you in finding the right orthopedic surgeon to treat your knee.

The four major ligaments which stabilize the knee are the medial and lateral collateral ligaments (MCL and LCL) and the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments (ACL and PCL). The medial collateral ligament (MCL) is one of four ligaments that are vital to the stability of the knee joint and runs from the end of the thigh bone (femur) to the top of the shin bone (tibia) and is on the inside of the knee joint. The MCL opposes widening of the inside of the joint, in other words, it helps prevent the knee from opening-up.

We commonly see injuries to the MCL following high impact car wrecks as well as after trips or slips and falls. The MCL becomes injured when the outside of the knee is hit by an outside force. This mechanical action causes the outside of the knee to give which then causes the inside of the knee to stretch or widen. When the medial collateral ligament is stretched too far, it can tear. An injury to the MCL may result from a one-time trauma, such as a car wreck or work injury, or it may play a part in a more complex injury to the knee. Other ligaments, usually the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), may also be torn when the medial collateral ligament is injured.