Chronic Knee Pain After Surgery: Is It a Permanent Disability?

After knee surgery, you may expect the hardest part to be behind you. But when months pass, and you still can’t move around without pain, it might leave you wondering what your recovery was for and whether workers’ compensation accounts for the damage that remains.

At Sawers & Sackel, we’ve helped injured workers in Buffalo, New York, navigate permanency issues tied to serious extremity injuries and chronic pain after surgery. Below, we explain when ongoing knee pain may qualify as a permanent disability under New York workers’ compensation law and what can make these claims difficult to prove.

Signs Your Knee Injury May Be Considered Permanent

Some knee injuries improve with time, even after a difficult recovery. Others leave lasting problems that continue long after surgery and physical therapy end. If your recovery has stalled and daily movement still causes pain, your injury may no longer be considered temporary.

Common signs of a possible permanent knee injury include:

• Pain that continues months after surgery
• Stiffness or reduced range of motion
• Trouble standing for long periods
• Difficulty climbing stairs or kneeling
• Swelling after routine activity
• Work restrictions that never fully go away

Many workers first notice the impact at work. Tasks that once felt routine may now feel unsafe, slower, or physically exhausting. The claim may move into a permanency evaluation which should occur one year post injury or one year post your last surgery, whichever is later.

Under New York workers’ compensation law, doctors eventually decide whether you’ve reached maximum medical improvement, meaning further recovery is unlikely. Once that happens, the claim may move into a permanency evaluation.

For knee injuries, this often involves a permanent partial disability finding or a schedule loss of use (SLU) evaluation. An SLU rating looks at the lasting loss of function in the knee, including mobility, strength, and overall use of the joint.

Why Permanency Claims Often Become Disputes

Insurance carriers don’t automatically accept that chronic knee pain qualifies as a permanent disability. Even after surgery, they may argue that you can still return to work, that your condition should improve over time, or even that your current symptoms aren’t connected to the original workplace injury.

Many disputes come from independent medical examinations, known as IMEs. The insurance company doctor may say your knee has healed enough to return to work or assign a lower impairment rating than your treating doctor.

For this reason, strong medical documentation can make a major difference in permanency claims. Records that clearly show ongoing pain, mobility limitations, work restrictions, and failed recovery progress can help support the argument that the injury has lasting consequences.

Talk to a Buffalo Workers’ Compensation Lawyer

Persistent knee pain after surgery can sometimes qualify as a permanent disability under New York workers’ compensation law, especially when the injury continues to affect your ability to work. Every case depends on the medical evidence and the lasting impact on your mobility and job duties.

You shouldn’t assume this is something you simply have to live with. To discuss workers’ compensation benefits for permanent knee injuries, contact Sawers & Sackel in Buffalo, New York, at 716-202-2367.