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Arthritis and the Wear of Cartilage

What is arthritis?

To understand what arthritis is, you first have to understand how the joints work. Consider your knee for instance. The knee is made up of three bones joined together by ligaments and the surfaces of these bones are covered with articular cartilage. This cartilage allows the bones to glide against each other without causing damage to the bone. One of the causes of arthritis is the wearing away of that cartilage.

What causes wear of cartilage?

One of the main causes for the wear of cartilage is aging – the simple wearing down of cartilage over time – but other reasons can include injury or participating in sports such as running or tennis.

If you were injured and have developed arthritis, some things you should consider are:

• Take care of your health first. See a doctor. Get a second opinion. Follow the recommended treatment plan to ease your pain and improve the condition.
• Get copies of your medical records.
• Get copies of any police reports or other reports documenting your injury<./li>
• If you were injured at work, you may be entitled to worker’s compensation.
• Note that the statute of limitations for personal injury cases is generally two years from the date of the accident.

Hiring an attorney

If you are suffering from arthritis from an accident or other injury or medical malpractice or an injury at work, you may consider filing a lawsuit or a worker’s compensation claim. A good personal injury lawyer, medical malpractice lawyer or worker’s compensation lawyer will listen carefully and objectively advise you as to whether you have a case. Lawyers practicing in these areas - personal injury, medical malpractice and worker’s compensation - work on a contingency basis, meaning you do not have to put forth any money. Rather, the lawyer is paid a portion of anything you recover. If you recover nothing, the lawyer gets nothing.

Now what?

If you have questions about an injury or would like a referral to an experienced attorney, please contact us at any time. All calls are free and confidential.