Personal Injury Orthopedic Review

Common orthopedic issues

• Shoulder injury after a restrained collision or a fall on an outstretched arm
• Knee ligament and meniscus injury from dashboard impact or twisting falls
• Hip and pelvic injury, including labral tears and fractures
• Tendon ruptures, including Achilles and distal biceps
• Fractures, malunion, nonunion and post-traumatic arthritis
• Aggravation of asymptomatic pre-existing degenerative disease

Acute versus degenerative findings

The most frequently disputed question in these matters is whether an imaging abnormality represents an acute traumatic injury or pre-existing degeneration that predates the incident. That determination depends on the pattern of findings, the presence or absence of associated acute changes, the documented symptom timeline and the plausibility of the described mechanism — not on the imaging report alone.

Treatment necessity and future care

Where the reasonableness of care is at issue, the review addresses whether conservative measures were appropriately used, whether surgery was indicated by the documented findings, and whether the post-operative course was consistent with the procedure performed. Where future care is claimed, the opinion states what is medically anticipated and what is speculative.

Materials to provide

The complaint or claim summary, the police or incident report, emergency department records, all subsequent treatment records, imaging studies and radiology reports, operative reports, therapy notes, prior records establishing the pre-incident baseline, and the specific questions to be answered.