Knee meniscus injury
Meniscus tear after a motor accident
A meniscus claim should distinguish a traumatic tear from degeneration and identify the residual impairment after rehabilitation or surgery. MRI wording and meniscectomy do not provide a percentage on their own.
Motor accident injury
How can this injury happen?
Car or passenger collision
A planted foot with dashboard or cabin rotation can twist the knee and tear the meniscus.
Motorcycle accident
A fall with knee rotation or deep flexion may produce an acute meniscal tear with ligament injury.
Pedestrian or cyclist impact
Bumper impact and a twisting fall can injure the meniscus, plateau or collateral ligaments.
Injuries that can occur
- medial or lateral meniscus tear
- root, radial, bucket-handle or complex tear
- meniscal repair or partial meniscectomy
- associated ACL, cartilage or tibial plateau injury
Symptoms and functional problems
- locking, catching or inability to fully extend
- joint-line pain and swelling after activity
- difficulty squatting, kneeling or pivoting
- recurrent effusion and reduced flexion
Seek urgent medical assessment
A genuinely locked knee or inability to weight-bear requires prompt assessment.
Clinical evidence
What findings matter?
The file should identify tear morphology, trauma timing, mechanical signs, prior degeneration and the permanent residual after repair or resection. Clause 6.97 requires residual signs for diagnosis-based estimates.
| Record or examination | What it may establish | What it cannot prove alone |
|---|---|---|
| MRI and prior imaging | Defines tear pattern, root involvement, cartilage and associated ligament injury. | Degenerative signal or tear wording alone does not prove accident causation. |
| Joint-line and mechanical examination | Records locking, effusion, motion and reproducible meniscal signs. | Provocation tests do not set WPI. |
| Arthroscopy/operative report | Confirms tear, repair, resection and cartilage findings. | Meniscectomy is not automatically a percentage without the applicable table row. |
Movement in daily life
How movement affects real activities
A meniscus tear may restrict flexion for kneeling and squatting or extension for stable walking. Mechanical locking should be distinguished from pain-limited effort.
Knee flexion
Squatting, kneeling, stairs and low seating.
Table 41 applies where reliable permanent active flexion loss is the specific impairment.
Knee extension
Stable standing and normal step-through walking.
A fixed active extension deficit must be measured.
Mechanical function
Pivoting, direction change and avoiding catching or locking.
A Table 64 row may apply only after its exact criteria and footnotes are verified.
Threshold injury is a separate question: a verified partial or complete meniscus rupture is excluded from the soft tissue definition. Meniscal symptoms without verified rupture may remain threshold.
Part 6 permanent impairment
How is CTP WPI assessed?
Table 64 contains diagnosis-based lower-extremity estimates and must be read with its footnotes under clause 6.94. Active Table 41 ROM may be used where it more specifically reflects the permanent impairment.
Measurement rules that apply
- Clauses 6.69 and 6.70 require the method that most specifically addresses the lower-limb impairment. Gait should not replace a joint, nerve, fracture or replacement method that can be applied reliably.
- Clause 6.84 requires active range of motion, a goniometer where clinically indicated and consistent repetitions when reliability is uncertain. Passive movement may inform the examination but does not set the impairment value.
- Clause 6.85 says only the most severe deficit in one direction or axis from the same lower-limb ROM table is rated. Deficits from separate tables may be combined only as the Guidelines permit.
| Method | CTP source | When it is relevant | Important limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diagnosis-based estimate | Clauses 6.94-6.97; AMA4 Table 64 | A listed meniscal residual with required signs. | No row value is published until the readable AMA4 table is available. |
| Knee ROM | Clauses 6.84-6.85; Table 41 | Permanent reliable flexion or extension loss. | Do not duplicate the same consequence under Table 64. |
| Arthritis | Clauses 6.88-6.92; Table 62 | Later measurable cartilage interval loss on proper radiographs. | Cannot combine with ROM and does not use pain or osteophytes. |
- Use the most specific valid method.
- Record residual signs at examination.
- Separate a coexisting ligament or fracture injury before permitted combination.
What cannot be combined?
- Table 64 and ROM for the same meniscal consequence
- arthritis with ROM, gait, atrophy or strength
- gait with any other lower-limb value
What does not establish WPI by itself?
- MRI tear
- joint-line pain
- arthroscopy or meniscectomy
- locking described without examination
Motor accident examples
Acute bucket-handle tear with locked knee
The early records support traumatic causation; later WPI uses the permanent residual and verified Table 64 criteria or ROM.
Degenerative tear aggravated by collision
The medical opinion should separate pre-existing symptomatic impairment from accident-related change before assessment.
Claim file preparation
Evidence checklist
Assessment source
Meniscus WPI assessment source
Assessment source: Motor Accident Guidelines v10.1 clauses 6.68-6.75, 6.84-6.97; AMA4 Tables 41, 62, 64 and Table 6.4.
Threshold injury: A verified partial or complete meniscus rupture is excluded from soft tissue injury; WPI is assessed separately.
What the assessor checks
- most specific method
- residual signs
- Table 64 footnote requirement
- active ROM
What does not establish the result by itself
- MRI
- pain
- surgery
- reported locking
Official sources
Related NSW CTP guides
Free claim check
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Frequently asked questions
- Does MRI-confirmed meniscus tear have fixed WPI?
- No. The exact Table 64 row and residual criteria must apply, or another more specific valid method is used.
- Is a meniscus tear non-threshold?
- A verified partial or complete meniscus rupture is excluded from soft tissue injury, subject to diagnosis and causation.
- Does meniscectomy set WPI?
- No. Surgery is evidence, but the permanent residual and table criteria control.
- Can knee ROM also be rated?
- Only if it is the valid specific method and does not duplicate a Table 64 consequence.
- What matters when degeneration is present?
- Early symptoms, prior records, tear morphology and a reasoned causation and pre-existing impairment analysis.