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Leg Injuries – Hips, Knees and Ankles

Leg injuries can be some of the most difficult and frustrating workers’ compensation injuries.  They affect your ability to stand, walk, and squat.  This article will discuss some of the specific issues associated with hip, knee, and ankle injuries.  Since it is not written by a doctor, it is not intended as medical advice.  Instead, it is intended to provide you with some helpful information about Georgia workers’ compensation claims for leg injuries.

Getting medical treatment for a leg injury

When you suffer a leg injury (or any other type of injury), one of the first things you should do is tell your employer.  Georgia law requires you to give notice of your injury.  When you do so, your employer should provide you with a list of doctors (otherwise known as a panel of physicians) to treat your injury and you should be able to choose from that list.

The employer’s panel of physicians should include at least one doctor who specializes in orthopedics.  If you have an injury to a hip, knee, or ankle, you will generally need to see an orthopedic specialist at some point, but you may not have to choose that doctor as your initial doctor.  Remember that the doctor that you choose as your authorized treating physician can refer you to a specialist if needed.

What medical treatment will I need?Seeing a doctor will help you determine what medical treatment you need for your leg injury

The medical treatment you need will certainly depend on the type of injury you suffer.  The doctor you choose will likely perform x-rays.  These help the doctor determine if you have a fracture.  If there is no fracture, you will likely be treated with medication and physical therapy.  If you continue to have problems, the doctor may order other diagnostic tests like an MRI.  MRIs often show problems, like a torn ACL or MCL ligament in a knee, that cannot be seen with x-rays.  Sometimes, the doctor needs to do surgery to repair the problem so you can recover from your injury.

How a leg injury can affect your work

The doctor will usually give an opinion about whether you should be working or not.  Sometimes, the doctor will allow you to work but place restrictions on what you can do at work.  Leg injuries often make it difficult to return to work.  Many jobs require you to spend a lot of time standing or walking.

When you have an injury to your hip, knee, or ankle, it can be very difficult to stand for a long time or walk long distances.  Driving can be difficult as well.

Because of this, the may limit the time you can stand or walk and the amount you can lift.  These restrictions could prevent you from working.  If your injury prevents you from working, the insurance company should pay you temporary total disability benefits.

You may very well find that you still have problems with your leg injury even after you get all the medical treatment you need.  Often, injuries to hips, knees, and ankles lead to some form of permanent impairment.

In other words, your leg may not be as good as it was before the injury even though the doctor has done everything he or she can do.  This could affect your ability to go back to work now or it may affect your ability to work in the future.

If you cannot go back to work, the insurance company will probably have to keep paying you temporary total disability benefits.  However, there are limits on how long you can receive those benefits in Georgia.

What if I have questions about my leg injury?

Serious leg injuries have lasting consequences that can affect your ability to earn a living and support your family.  If you are injured, it is important to make sure that you look out for yourself and know your rights.

Many people are unsure what to do.  Talking to an attorney may help.  I provide free consultations in workers’ compensation cases so people can find if I can help them.

What if I have other questions about workers compensation?

Georgia’s workers compensation system can be very confusing.  You have to worry about getting the treatment you need and paying your bills while also worrying about not missing any deadlines that could cause you to lose your right to receive workers compensation benefits.

If you have questions, I would recommend that you try to get answers.  To find out more about how to schedule a time to talk to me about your workers compensation questions, just read this short article.

Jason Perkins is an attorney who specializes in representing injured workers.  He regularly publishes videos and write blog articles about Georgia’s workers compensation system and issues that are important to injured workers and their families.

To be notified of Jason’s new workers compensation videos, subscribe to his Georgia Workers Compensation Video Series channel on YouTube by clicking the subscribe button below.

Brittney-lee orourkeBrittney-lee orourke
05:23 18 Feb 22
Amazing! Jason and his team were very helpful and had the best communication by far. Walked me though every step with great detail and had answers for any question I had. They handled my case better then I could imagine, it was a weird case and they stayed on top of it and kept me updated every step of the way! Highly recommend this Team! Thanks so much to Jason and his Awesome team!-Brittney
China JonesChina Jones
18:58 08 Feb 22
I absolutely love this group of attorneys, when I was at my lowest they did everything they could to help me get justice for my injury. I believe if I were to have never picked my phone up and called the amazing group that helped me I definitely would not have received my idea of rights. If you have an issue and are just not sure please understand that they will help you, stay in contact, answer any question you have, and for sure get you the justice you deserve I thank them from the bottom of my heart and I will definitely refer them to anyone who has been hurt because they most definitely care about their work and clients.
Luv LocsLuv Locs
16:08 15 Jan 22
The entire law office was attentive and responsive to all of my concerns dealing with my workers compensation case.
moombimoombi
21:14 02 Jan 22
If you must get a lawyer involved, you’d do well to work with Jason Perkins and his team at Perkins Studdard Law.They were thorough in gathering information and in sharing all the steps in the workers comp process specific to my case. Jason and the team were responsive to my bevy of questions and concerns.I appreciated the informative videos and consultations provided by Jason over video meetings and multiple phone calls.I hope I’m never injured on the job again. However, if I am and if my employer responds as my previous employer did, I’ll contact Perkins Studdard Law immediately to handle the case.
Dana BessDana Bess
23:57 10 Dec 21
Everyone at Perkins Studdard was kind and professional. They were always extremely responsive and answered all questions that I had and followed up to make sure I had an understanding of what was going on along with emailing videos to explain every step of my case so I would know what to expect and be prepared. Jason is a very genuine person and I trusted him with my case. He answered so many questions for me even before I retained him as my WC lawyer. I highly recommend him and his associates at Perkins Studdard.
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