It’s important to make the distinction between workplace injuries and other types of accidents, because if your foot or ankle injury occurred due to your job duties then you’ll potentially be able to make a workers’ compensation claim. But if your injuries were caused by someone else’s carelessness or general negligence in any other setting, then you could potentially have the legal right to file a personal injury claim.

There are many different types of foot and ankle injuries that can happen to anyone within any work or non-working setting, and some of these common injuries include the following:

• Bone Fractures — The tibia, fibula and talus bones join together at the ankle, and these bones are commonly broken in car accidents and all types of falls. There are many different bones within feet and toes that are also commonly broken.
• Tendonitis — The tendons around a person’s foot and ankle can become irritated and eventually severely inflamed, which can cause long-term mobility limitations and very serious pain.
• Amputation — There are situations in which a person’s foot can be crushed or brutally injured and require amputation. Amputation is typically necessary when there is an ample amount of cell death, which is commonly caused by a significant loss of blood flow. Accidents can also be the direct cause of an amputation as well.
• Foot Punctures — It may seem rare and a potential comparative negligence situation, but there are many instances in which very sharp objects can puncture the soles of a person’s feet and cause serious damage.
• Sprains — It’s estimated that about 25,000 ankle sprains happen on a daily basis, just in the United States. Sprains come about when ligaments are torn within a person’s foot or ankle, and they’re usually very painful. Although most sprains can be healed with rest and time, there are some scenarios in which surgery is required to properly reset the ligaments so they can heal properly.
• Compartment Syndromes — Compartment syndromes dealing with feet and ankles occur when some type of heavy object runs over and severely impacts a person’s foot, which always will cause serious pain. Our feet are comprised of several small compartments filled with tendons, nerves and muscles, so when a serious foot injury occurs it can many times lead to internal bleeding and swelling as these compartments expand. This is a serious issue because if swelling gets out of control it can lead to excess blood flow within foot compartments that will then lead to a person’s muscles and nerves not properly functioning.
• Metatarsal Fractures — These types of injuries are very common, and many times metatarsal fractures will require surgery because there is a better success rate for healing when surgery is conducted, as opposed to just using a boot or cast. This is a very debilitating injury and surgical recovery that requires people to not walk on their injured foot for 6+ weeks.
• Heel Bone Fractures — Serious injuries to an individual’s heel bone are always very debilitating, and it almost always will require surgery to put the bone back together via the use of multiple screws and a metal plate. This type of surgery needs to be performed as quickly as possible post-injury to prevent the risks of permanent deformity and chronic pain/arthritis. These injuries also entail rigorous rehabilitation processes and long-term physical therapy.