One of the most common injuries for active children and teenagers is a tear in the anterior cruciate ligament, commonly known as the ACL. While some ACL tears can heal on their own, commonly they require surgery, and according to new research, there is a very short window of opportunity for optimal healing.

According to the study, published by the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, when ACL surgery is necessary, it is crucial to avoid delays. Obviously knee surgery on any child should be avoided if possible, but there are many cases where the surgery is needed. One of the biggest things they found in the study is that there is an increased risk of lateral meniscal tears in patients who had surgery delayed or cancelled.

Unfortunately, knee surgery can be immensely expensive, so what this means for parents whose children were injured by faulty or defective products, is that the quicker they can pursue legal action against the guilty parties, the sooner they will be able to get their children back to 100%.

The last thing any parent wants is to cause their children long-term harm, and as mentioned in the study, putting off the surgical treatment of an ACL tear highly increases the risk of additional knee impairment later in life.

If a person or entity is responsible for your child’s knee injury, it is advisable to take all necessary legal steps quickly.

Source: http://www.techtimes.com/articles/10312/20140712/acl-surgery-done-soon-injury-delay-can-meanfurther-tears.htm