Torn ACL from Car Accident

Serious car accidents can cause knee injuries, especially if the knee is jammed into the dashboard of the car. This usually happens during frontal collisions and usually involving a twisting motion of the knee. A serious car accident can result in a tear of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) of the knee joint.

The ACL offers stability to your knee. When the ACL is injured, many report the knee simply “gave way,” or they heard a loud pop, at the time of injury. ACL injury can lead to severe swelling, pain and tenderness of the knee.

Sometimes it is difficult to diagnose an ACL injury early in a personal injury case until the initial knee pain calms down. When the pain and swelling have diminished, the doctor can examine the knee to see if there is evidence of any ligament tear. An MRI will show the tear in the ligament, and may be helpful when proving your case to an insurance adjuster.

If the ACL tear from the accident is severe, a physician may recommend surgical intervention. Sometimes, the decision to have surgery involves not only the severity of the tear, but also the age of the patient and their normal level of activity.