Workers Compensation for Hip Injuries and Accidents Involving the Leg

 

Learn How to Obtain a Workers Comp Hip Injury Settlement for Your Leg Injury

 

Each year millions of employees are hurt on the job. Many of these injuries involve the legs, hips, or thighs.

 

Leg and hip injuries can cause debilitating pain. They may affect your ability to sit, stand, walk, and work. And when conservative treatment fails, extensive surgical procedures such as hip replacement surgery may be necessary.

 

This article discusses the anatomy of the hip joint, common causes of workplace leg and hip injuries, types of hip injuries, surgical procedures recommended to treat workers comp hip injuries, and how to get a top-dollar workers compensation settlement for your leg or hip injury.

 

Keep reading to learn more. And call  Virginia workers compensation lawyer Corey Pollard if you have any questions about your right to wage loss benefits and medical treatment: 804-251-1620 or 757-810-5614. We represent injured workers throughout the state, including those in Richmond, Henrico, Chesterfield, Newport News, Hampton, Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Roanoke, Fredericksburg, Fairfax, and Prince William County. Your consultation is free. And we can help you obtain Social Security Disability benefits if your leg or hip injury keeps you out of work for one year or more.

 

Understanding the Anatomy of the Hip Joint

 

The hip is one of your body’s largest weight-bearing joints. It is a ball and socket joint formed where the thigh bone meets the pelvis.

 

The hip joint has two main parts:

 

  • Acetabulum: This is the socket in your pelvis where the femoral head fits.

 

  • Femoral Head: This is the ball shaped piece of bone at the top of your femur, or thigh bone.

 

Ligaments help connect the femoral head to the acetabulum. These ligaments, which are bands of tissue, stabilize the hip joint. Fluid-filled sacs provide cushion between the bones, muscles, and tendons in the joint. These sacs are called bursae

 

Several muscles support the hip joint and help with movement. These muscles include:

 

  • Adductor muscles – These are your inner thigh muscles

 

  • Gluteals – These are the muscles of the buttocks

 

  • Hamstring – These muscles on the back of the thigh run from the hip to the knee

 

  • Iliopsoas – This muscle begins in the low back and connects to the femur

 

  • Quadriceps – These muscles on the front of the thigh run from the hip to the knee

 

Injury to any of these muscles can affect the hip joint and cause disability from work.

 

Common Causes of Hip and Leg Injuries in Virginia

 

Here are some common causes of leg and hip injuries sustained on the job:

 

  • Crush injuries
  • Defective footwear
  • Defective equipment
  • Defective machinery
  • Defective work tools
  • Lifting
  • Falls from heights, such as ladders
  • Motor vehicle accidents
  • Running
  • Slip and falls
  • Slippery floors
  • Trip and falls

 

No matter how your leg or hip injury occurred at work, our workers comp lawyer can help you obtain coverage for medical expenses, permanent partial disability benefits, and lost income.

 

Types of Work-Related Hip Injuries

 

Employees are at risk of suffering a hip injury on the job, no matter their occupation. Below are some of the more common hip injuries arising out of workplace accidents.

 

Acetabular Fracture

 

An acetabular fracture is a break in the socket portion of your hip joint. Hip socket fractures are uncommon. Fractures of the upper femur and femoral head happen more often.

 

High-energy events, such as a car crash, cause most acetabular fractures. Simple falls can also cause acetabular fractures, especially if the person has a pre-existing condition such as osteoarthritis or osteoporosis.

 

Often surgery is necessary to treat an acetabular fracture and stabilize the hip joint.

 

Burning Thigh Pain (Meralgia Paresthetica)

 

Those of you whose job requires that you wear restrictive clothing or heavy tool belts, such as police and utility workers, may contract meralgia paresthetica. This is a painful sensation on the outside of the thigh caused by compression of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve. A specific trauma can also cause compression of this nerve. For example, a seat belt injury arising out of a motor vehicle accident may cause meralgia paresthetica.

 

You will have difficulty receiving workers compensation benefits for meralgia paresthetica if the condition is caused by having to wear restrictive clothing for long periods. Virginia workers compensation does not cover cumulative trauma injuries.

 

Compartment Syndrome

 

We have represented injured workers who suffered acute compartment syndrome, a painful condition that occurs when the pressure within your muscles builds. The pressure can decrease blood flow. In turn this prevents your nerve and muscle cells from receiving the oxygen they need.

 

Acute compartment syndrome often develops after a trauma on the job. For example, a broken bone, severe bruise, or crush injury may lead to compartment syndrome.

 

This condition is a medical emergency. If you don’t receive treatment immediately you may have permanent damage to the muscle.

 

Femur Shaft Fracture (Broken Thighbone)

 

Your femur, also called the thighbone, is the longest bone in your body.

 

It takes a lot of force to fracture the femur. But these types of hip injuries do happen on the job. Work-related car accidents and machinery accidents can lead to a femur shaft fracture.

 

There is a high probability that you will require surgery for your broken thighbone. Do not agree to a workers compensation hip injury settlement without talking with an attorney. You may leave a lot of money on the table.

 

Hamstring Muscle Injury

 

If your job requires running, jumping, or heavy lifting you may suffer a hamstring injury. The hamstring is one of the muscles at the back of your thigh.

 

Most hamstring injuries heal without surgery; however, it may take you several weeks or months to recover depending on the severity of the injury.

 

Hip Bursitis

 

A hip injury may cause bursitis. Bursitis is swelling and inflammation of the bursae, the fluid filled sacs that cushion the joints.

 

Walking may aggravate hip bursitis. This can lead to lengthy periods of disability from work.

 

Hip Dislocation

 

An auto accident or fall from a height at work may cause a dislocated hip. A dislocation occurs when the ball at the top of your femur slips out of the socket.

 

Hip dislocation is painful and restricts mobility. A dislocation may damage the hip ligaments.

 

Hip Fracture

 

An employee suffers a hip fracture when there is a break in the top part of the femur.

 

Surgery is necessary to treat a hip fracture.

 

Hip Labral Tear

 

A workplace injury such as a fall or direct trauma causing twisting of the joint may lead to a hip labral tear. This damages the cartilage that surrounds the hip socket.

 

Hip Strain

 

When fulfilling your job duties requires you to move suddenly or causes you to fall or suffer a direct blow, you may sustain a hip strain. A hip strain occurs when of the muscles that supports your hip joint is stretched or torn. Hip strains come in varying degrees.

 

Suffering a hip strain puts you at increased risk of suffering further hip injury in the future.

 

Osteoarthritis of the Hip

 

Arthritis is a common condition that affects many employees once they hit middle age. It is “wear and tear” on the body.

 

If you suffer a workplace injury that aggravates, accelerates, or exacerbates your pre-existing degenerative joint disease of the hip, you may be eligible for workers’ comp benefits in Virginia.

 

Pelvic Fracture

 

The pelvis is a ring of bones. It is located between the spine and legs.

 

The pelvic bones include:

 

  • Hip bones
  • Sacrum
  • Tailbone (coccyx)

 

Pelvic fractures are uncommon. Usually they result from a severe traumatic event, such as an auto collision.

 

The pelvis is near many blood vessels and organs. A pelvic fracture can cause bleeding and internal injuries that require immediate medical attention.

 

Depending on the severity of the work-related pelvic fracture you may need surgery to reconstruct the pelvis.

 

Thigh Strain

 

Your thigh has three sets of muscles: the hamstring muscles in the back of your thigh; the quadriceps muscles in the front of your thigh; and your adductor muscles on the inside of your thigh. The quadriceps and hamstrings work in harmony to extend and flex the leg. Muscle imbalance can cause injury.

 

Overexertion at work may cause a thigh strain. Thigh strains are covered under workers’ comp.

 

Types of Hip Surgery Common in Work Comp Cases

 

When conservative treatment such as medications, physical therapy, and steroid injections fail to heal your leg or hip injury, your orthopedic surgeon may suggest that you undergo hip surgery to treat your workplace injury. Here are common hip surgeries covered by workers’ comp if you prove that the recommended procedure is reasonable, necessary, and related to a compensable injury by accident.

 

Hip Arthroscopy

 

An arthroscopy is a minimally invasive procedure. Your surgeon will insert a scope and instruments through small incisions in the hip joint to correct the problem.

 

Arthroscopic surgery is used to treat severe hip labral tears.

 

Hip Resurfacing

 

Injured workers who are younger may undergo hip resurfacing instead of total hip replacement.

 

This procedure does not require removal of the femoral head. Instead the femoral head is reshaped and fitted with a covering to help it fit in the socket.

 

Osteotomy

 

An osteotomy surgery is a serious surgery. Your doctor will remove damaged portions of the hip and reshape the joint to help improve alignment.

 

Total Hip Replacement

 

With this procedure your orthopedic surgeon will remove the damaged hip and replace it with a prosthesis. Hip replacement surgery is the second most common type of joint replacement surgery, right behind knee replacements.

 

Because of the expense associated with hip replacement surgery, the workers’ comp insurance carrier will likely deny the claim and argue that preexisting degenerative problems with your hips caused the need for the surgery. But a degenerative condition accelerated or aggravated by a work injury is compensable in Virginia.

 

The insurer does not get the last word. The Workers’ Compensation Commission does. And you may need to go to a workers comp hearing to get the surgery covered.

 

Am I Entitled to Additional Medical Treatment for My Workers Compensation Leg Injury after Hip Replacement Surgery?

 

So you have proven that the insurance carrier is responsible for the payment of hip replacement surgery. Now what?

 

Following the surgery your doctor will disable you from all work for a period. During this time the insurance carrier may have to pay temporary total disability benefits and cover the cost of medication and physical therapy to help you recover.

 

Sometimes hip replacement surgery doesn’t go as planned and complications arise. Or even if you do not have surgical complications you may continue to have limited range of motion.

 

The insurance carrier is responsible for additional treatment, which may include:

 

  • Revision of the total hip replacement
  • Additional surgery, such as an osteotomy or arthroscopy
  • Pain medication
  • Pain management

 

How Much is Your Leg or Hip Injury Workers Compensation Settlement Worth?

 

No two workers’ comp claims are alike. You should contact a Richmond Va attorney to evaluate the following factors before accepting a workers compensation settlement for your leg or hip injury:

 

  • Your pre-injury average weekly wage. The more money you earned while working, the more money you may receive in wage loss benefits.

 

  • Whether liability is accepted. Not all work-related leg and hip injuries are covered under the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act. The stronger your chance of proving an injury by accident arising out of and in the course of your employment, the more valuable your leg/hip injury claim.

 

  • Type of medical treatment needed. Leg and hip surgeries are expensive. If you require an osteotomy or total hip replacement, you should allocate at least $100,000 toward the settlement value of your leg or hip injury case.

 

  • Type of pre-injury job. If your pre-injury job required a lot of standing, walking, or lifting, you may have difficulty returning to the job following a leg or hip injury. This means you may be entitled to extensive periods of wage loss benefits, increasing the settlement value of your hip injury claim.

 

 

  • Whether you suffered additional injuries either at the time of the accident or as a consequence of the initial injury. A leg or hip injury can affect your gait, causing problems with your back, knee, spinal cord, or other leg. You may be entitled to benefits for these consequences of the initial work injury.

 

These are just some of the factors to consider when negotiating a workers comp leg/hip injury settlement in Virginia.

 

Call a Virginia Workers Compensation Attorney for Your Leg or Hip Injury

 

If you have injured your hip or leg in a work-related accident, you may eligible for workers’ comp benefits. Attorney Corey Pollard is an experienced Richmond personal injury lawyer who will review your case and help you get everything you are entitled to. Call now: 804-251-1620 or 757-810-5614. We have obtained numerous workers compensation hip injury settlements for leg injuries arising out of and in the course of employment. And we are ready to help you.

Corey Pollard
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