If you are a football fan, you may have been following the story about Von Miller, star linebacker for the Buffalo Bills.  The story is also of interest, however, to injured workers, including those in PA.  (Parenthetically, we should note that Miller is, in fact, an injured worker, though the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act has special provisions for professional athletes – that said, the point of this article is that the care given to Miller is not the care received by the typical injured worker in PA).

On November 24, 2022, Miller injured his knee in a game against the Detroit Lions.  Being a star NFL player, Miller had access to the best medical tools possible, and was not required to have any kind of delay.  An MRI done the day after the injury showed the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) remained intact.  This meant the injury was not as severe as the team and player initially feared.

But, then an interesting thing happened.  Miller underwent exploratory surgery on the knee earlier this week.  A tear of the ACL was discovered, and repaired, during the procedure.  A tear that was not seen on the MRI.  Rather than missing a couple of weeks, suddenly Miller’s season was over.