Legal Memorandum: Verdicts in Torn-meniscus Injuries

Issue: Within New York, what jury verdicts or settlements have been reported in cases involving torn-meniscus injuries?

A search for cases involving torn-meniscus injuries revealed verdicts and settlements ranging from $70,000 to $2,791,000 and several defense verdicts. Those cases are discussed below.

In addition, information in the Personal Injury Valuation Handbooks (1998) based on studies of recent similar cases indicates that the basic injury value for a cartilage injury to the knee, such as a tear of the meniscus, was $26,000 when the plaintiff’s medical expenses ranged from $10,000 to $14,999.  The verdict median in all knee-cartilage injury cases was $50,000, the verdict probability range was from $18,439 to $1555,000, the actual verdict range was from $1.00 to $5,294,000, and the verdict mean was $188,883.  Only 4% of all cases involving knee-cartilage injuries resulted in awards of $1,000,000 or more.

The basic injury values may be adjusted by various factors, including the plaintiff’s occupation; the amount of lost wages (in this case, 100% of the lost wages, or $6,000, should be added); the type and number of defendant(s); whether there are disputes as to the amount of medical expenses, the amount of lost wages, and/or the extent of impairment; the witnesses testifying for each party; and the specific venue of the lawsuit. For example, the injury values should be increased by 2% for the venue of ______ County.  In addition, the basic injury values given do not include damages for loss of consortium.  Those damages, if applicable, must be calculated separately.

A.        Defense Verdicts

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