Mobility is not something to be taken for granted. The ability to stand, walk, and manipulate your body is likely vital to your work. Limited mobility may not be career-ending, but severe leg and knee injuries can keep doctors from work for extended periods, and require long-term limits on occupational duties. In these circumstances, long-term disability insurance benefits can help you maintain financial security while you are out of work or receiving reduced or no income. If you have suffered a leg or knee injury keeping you out of work, you need to contact a leg injury disability lawyer to discuss your potential claim for long-term disability insurance benefits. Contact Seltzer & Associates to discuss your claim for disability benefits, today.
Common Leg and Knee Injuries
Leg injuries are common and result from a variety of causes. For example, such injuries can be caused by overuse, illness, injuries and accidents. New injuries can exacerbate existing symptoms from prior illness or injury.
Common types of leg injuries include:
- Muscle strain or tear: Muscles can be damaged due to overuse or trauma from an accident, and muscle tissue and connected tendons can tear.
- Bone fracture: Bones can break, and recovery can take time while the bone heals or is surgically repaired.
- Dislocation: Joints can dislocate due to injury. Knee dislocations are common injuries, but hip dislocation can also occur.
- Ligament tear: Injury to the ACL in the knee is one of the more common ligament tear injuries people experience.
- Cuts, burns, and bruising: This may require medical treatment if cuts or burns are deep or if an infection occurs.
To properly diagnose and assess the extent of damage caused by a leg injury, diagnostic imaging such as x-ray and MRI will be utilized.
How a Leg Injury Impacts Your Ability to Function and Work
Injuries to the knee or other parts of the leg can have a drastic effect on mobility, making it difficult to accomplish a wide range of everyday tasks and critical job performance. Often, the effects of an injury are exacerbated when people overcompensate by using their core muscles, leading to secondary back injuries.
Depending on the injury, the person affected may be able to walk on a level surface, but navigating a crowded hospital hallway or stepping up even a small incline can be problematic. Standing can be painful and lead to unusual fatigue.
Not only will a professional who needs to stand to perform tasks need to take frequent breaks, but they may also find that their concentration is frequently interrupted. A dentist might take three times as long to complete a procedure, severely limiting the number of patients that can be seen. A chiropractor or nurse might not be able to treat patients at all due to mobility impairment.
Regardless of whether the impairment results from pain or from a condition that physically interferes with movement, it often prevents many professionals from performing job duties at the high level of performance expected in the profession. Those who can perform in a limited capacity may have to cut back on workloads significantly, resulting in a substantial reduction in income and potentially qualifying for residual disability benefits.
A Pennsylvania knee injury attorney at Seltzer & Associates can work to demonstrate why the policyholder is entitled to receive benefits under the terms of their disability insurance policy.
Treating Common Leg and Knee Injuries
Appropriate treatment for leg and knee injuries depends on the type of injury and its severity. For example, a kneecap dislocation may resolve with treatment in a matter of weeks, while an ACL tear may require surgery and months of rehabilitation. Frequently, months of physical therapy or occupational therapy are necessary to regain mobility.
While undergoing treatment, many medical professionals will be unable to continue performing occupational duties due to:
- Debilitating pain preventing mobility
- Side effects of medication, including fatigue, weakness, dizziness, confusion, or lack of concentration, among others
- Recovery time from surgery
- Limited range of motion and mobility, including limitations in walking and lifting
- Reduced stamina and strength of the limb
- Time away from work for physical therapy and occupational therapy
In addition to treatment, periods of rest and recovery to aid in the healing process may be necessary.
How a Leg Injury Disability Lawyer Can Help You
Since leg and knee injuries are common, insurance companies may be reluctant to approve your claim for disability insurance benefits. In that case, working with a leg injury disability lawyer can help you address denials, terminations, and other disruptions to your disability insurance claims. For example, an insurance company may terminate benefits by alleging that you do not satisfy your policy’s definition of disability. Let Seltzer & Associates fight this battle for you. We are experienced in disability insurance claim handling and maintenance.
FAQs About Leg and Knee Injuries in Disability Claims
What evidence is needed for a knee injury claim in PA?
To recover benefits under a disability insurance policy, a Pennsylvania knee injury attorney may rely on a variety of evidence depending on the injury and the requirements of the claimant’s policy. Medical records demonstrating the extent of the injury will play an important role, but it is also necessary to demonstrate how the injuries impact the ability to perform work functions. A knowledgeable attorney will often work with physicians to prepare statements that make this crucial connection.
How do I document “professional duties” beyond a simple job description?
It is helpful to break down the job into specific components and then explain the skills and abilities required for each. For instance, to perform a root canal procedure, which would be one professional duty of a dentist, that dentist would describe the necessary steps and the necessity of being able to stand and move to complete each step. The level of detail in the description of each duty must meet the insurance company’s requirements. At Seltzer & Associates, we have focused our practice on disability insurance for decades, so we are intimately familiar with disability insurance claim requirements.
What is a “Legal Disability” defense, and why should I care?
Insurance companies often try to expand the reach of the “legal disability” defense to use it as grounds for denying benefits even when a leg injury or other disabling condition prevents a professional from working. They will claim that what actually prevents you from working is not your injury but a legal barrier such as a lapsed license. A professional may let a license lapse because they are unable to physically perform their duties, but the insurance company will take a “chicken and egg” approach to argue that the lapse is the cause rather than the effect. Working with an experienced knee injury attorney who understands disability insurance can prevent problems caused by this defense tactic.
Contact a Pennsylvania Knee Injury Lawyer to Discuss Your Disability Insurance Benefits
If you cannot maintain your medical practice due to a leg or knee injury, you need to contact a leg injury disability lawyer to discuss your claim for disability insurance benefits. Schedule your consultation with Seltzer & Associates by completing our online contact form or calling us at 888-699-4222.