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Every knee over forty shows wear on an MRI. That fact is what the insurer will build its refusal on.
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Knees get hurt at work constantly. Climbing down from a cab or a ladder and landing awkwardly. Twisting while carrying something. Kneeling on concrete for years. A slip on ice in a yard. A direct blow from equipment.
Then the MRI comes back and, alongside the meniscal tear, it describes degenerative change, chondromalacia or arthritis. It always does, in anybody past their thirties. The report is accurate and it becomes the basis for saying the knee was already worn out and the work incident merely revealed it.
Ohio law recognizes the substantial aggravation of a pre-existing condition. A knee that was managing fine on Monday and required surgery after Tuesday is the situation the concept exists for, and proving it is what these claims are about.
You injured your knee at work in Ohio, whether in one identifiable moment or through the cumulative demands of the job, and the claim has been refused, limited to a strain, or allowed for less than you actually have.
What an altered gait does over the following months, and what gets left off the claim.
Four things, and the first is the one people undervalue most.
A worker who was doing a physical job full time, with no knee treatment, no restrictions and no absence, has a powerful answer to the suggestion that the knee was already failing. Employment records, attendance and the absence of prior medical treatment are all evidence, and they are the easiest evidence to obtain.
Not I hurt my knee at work. What the foot was doing, which way the body turned, what was being carried, what the surface was. A described mechanism consistent with the imaging findings is what connects the two.
An operative report describing what was actually found inside the joint, and a surgeon willing to say whether it is consistent with the incident, carries more weight than any radiology report.
Symptoms beginning immediately, treatment sought promptly, and a continuous record from the incident forward. Delay is the gap the defense argument lives in.
General information, not legal advice. Every case turns on its own facts. The only way to know where yours stands is to have someone look at it.
No, and this is the single most common reason people give up on a good claim. Nearly every adult knee shows degenerative change on imaging. The question is not whether wear exists, it is whether the work incident substantially aggravated it, and that is proved with the history rather than the scan.
Cumulative injuries can be compensable, and they are harder to establish because there is no date to point at. What helps is a detailed job description, the physical demands over time, and medical opinion connecting the condition to those demands.
That is a very common position and it is fixable. An allowance for a limited condition will not authorize treatment for a tear that is not on the claim. The tear has to be requested as an additional allowed condition, with the imaging and surgical opinion behind it.
Months of favoring one leg loads the other, and the hip and back as well. Conditions that flow from the original injury can sometimes be added to the claim. Mention it to the treating physician early so it appears in the notes as it develops.
That is an independent medical examination, and it is a normal part of a disputed claim. It is not neutral in practice. Attend, be accurate, do not exaggerate and do not minimize, and tell us what was asked afterwards.
Ohio workers compensation runs on short deadlines, and they are the reason most appeals are lost rather than the merits.
An order of the Bureau is appealed to the Industrial Commission within 14 days. An order of a District Hearing Officer is appealed to a Staff Hearing Officer within 14 days. An order of a Staff Hearing Officer is appealed to the full Industrial Commission within 14 days.
Where the dispute is about your right to participate in the fund at all, there is a further appeal to the Court of Common Pleas, and that one runs for 60 days.
A dispute about the extent of your disability does not go to the common pleas court. That is challenged only through a mandamus action, which is a different proceeding on a different standard. It is one of the most common misunderstandings we see, and it costs people appeals.
The rest of this practice area, in case your situation fits one of them better.
One incident can open more than one claim, and they are handled together here.
Doug Casper helped me with my Workman's Compensation claim, including a hearing before the Ohio Industrial Commission, in which he was successful. He was able to obtain total compensation for my hearing aids, which were desperately needed after a profession where I was continously over-exposed to very high decibel noise. Thank you Doug Casper!
Joni Hayes the best the lady saved Christmas. She was on top of this self insured employer of mine that dint wanna pay up was two months. when I hired them she fixed the problem in couple hours and was holiday season wow she was amazing I totally recommend
I have Doug Casper for my workers comp. He has helped me tremendously. I am now also working with Steve for my disability. Steve also helped us so so much when my late husband needed help with his illness. I have recommended this group to anyone who would need a lawyer.
I had great service from Casper & Casper and I recommend them to all my family and friends for their Workers Compensation needs.
Casper and Casper has taken care of my family for years my dad was hurt really bad and handicapped the rest of his life they helped him getting everything he needed and now that i was hurt on the job they have taken care of me
I was injured on the job a while ago, and my employer decided that instead of taking care of me, they would let me go, even though I reported the injury. I contacted Dan Allnutt, of Casper, Casper & Casper, and told him my problem. He and his team went to work and got me the surgery i needed, and the workman's compensation I was due to get back to where I am today. Kim Chupka was an incredible rock, and every time I had a complaint or question, she was always there, with an answer.
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Free consultation, no fee unless we win.
No fee unless we win
