Q: I work parttime and was injured at work. Worker's comp denied my claim. Can I still sue the company?

A: No, you cannot sue your employer-company if it carried workers' compensation insurance at the time of your injury. You can, of course, request a contested case hearing (CCH) on the denial of your claim and can appeal the hearing officer's determination at the CCH to the Appeals Panel.

That being said, tricompartment chondrosis is--by definition--a degenerative condition. A torn meniscus, however, can be the result of acute trauma, or repetitive trauma, or a degenerative condition. As a general rule, a torn meniscus is statistically unlikely to be the result of a degenerative condition unless the patient is middle-aged or older.

An MRI can be used to determine whether a torn meniscus is the result of acute trauma or a degenerative condition. It is likely to be degenerative if the MRI shows increased signal intensity within the meniscus itself, particularly in the mid-substance, without a clear linear tear pattern. Conversely, if the MRI shows a clear linear tear pattern, it is likely the result of acute trauma. If a clear linear tear is accompanied by increased signal intensity within the meniscus itself, the radiologist may conclude that, while you do suffer from a degenerative condition, that pre-existing condition was aggravated (made worse) by the acute trauma--which would be a compensable injury covered by workers compensation.

You have the burden of proving that the injury is compensable. Usually, radiologists reading an MRI for a work-related injury are pretty good at noting whether the MRI shows a clear linear tear pattern. I recommend reading any MRI report concerning your knee and looking for the things I mention above. If you haven't gotten an MRI, you should. If you disagree with your radiologist, you can always get a second opinion, which I strongly recommend.

Years ago, when I handled workers comp cases for a large employer, I made the recommendation to an injured worker that he go get a second MRI and second opinion. He went to Parkland, got a second MRI, and the radiologist wrote a different report than the original one we were using to deny the claim. Good thing too. When the actual images were compared by a third radiologist we hired, the third one said the images were substantially the same but the second one was a bit clearer right where it needed to be to show that his shoulder (in our case) injury was most likely a compensable work-related injury instead of a more general non-compensable degenerative condition. So we ended up paying for his surgery.