Chicago car accident attorney James Morici of Morici, Figlioli and Associates represent many clients with torn Anterior Cruciate Ligaments, more commonly known as a torn ACL. ACL injuries happen when there is a quick deceleration of movement and then usually followed by a quick change of direction causing the tear. Although, ACL injures are more prominent in athletes, due to their quick agile movements, ACL tears also happen when the knee is twisted, stretched or turned in the valgus position. By landing in this position the force is then absorbed directly through the tibia and into the “locked” knee. When this happens, it places the femoral condyle on the backside of the tibia which forces the femur to be restrained by the now-vulnerable ACL.
Illinois workers compensation attorney David Figlioli has represented many injured construction workers with injuries to the ACL. Trades that require intense repetitive manual labor, like construction workers, are more inclined to suffer from a torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament tear. Morici, Figlioli & Associates understands the difficulties our clients face when dealing with this sort of injury. Common work-related duties such as carrying, moving, standing, stretching, walking are all hindered when a worker has suffered from a torn ACL.
A torn ACL can be diagnosed through various tests and examinations, such tests include the pivot-shift test, the anterior drawer test, the Lachman test, and of course an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). We have encountered many different types of treatments to the path of recovery for our clients; some of which included conservative and non-conservative procedures. When tears to the ACL are not repaired it could cause further derangement to the cartilage inside the knee causing the femur and tibia to grind against each other. Orthopaedic specialists recommend staying off the injured leg and icing it every 15-20 minutes immediately after the injury takes place. Depending on the severity of the tear, some injuries may just need extensive rehabilitation and physical therapy and will never need a surgical procedure.
James Morici has represented clients with different degrees of injuries to the ACL. Clients have been injured on the job by twisting or landing on the leg in a specific manner causing a tear in the ACL; others have been victims of horrible car accidents. If the tear is severe it will require a repair arthroscopically and the most often procedure is a patella tendon-bone auto graft or a hamstring auto graft.