What Injured People Need to Know About Foot Injury Lawsuit Settlements
A painful foot injury stops you in your tracks—literally.
Dealing with these injuries because of someone else’s negligence or carelessness in a car accident, slip and fall, or other incident only increases that frustration.
Fortunately, you have options, and filing a claim, and possibly a lawsuit, might be the place to start. This post will discuss how a foot injury impacts your life, your options for compensation, and what to expect in fair foot injury settlements. Better yet, we’ll explore how a Katy personal injury lawyer can help with the (literal and figurative) legwork.
What Makes Foot and Ankle Injuries So Serious?
When the “foundation” of your body can’t move or carry weight, you certainly can’t carry on as normal. Serious ankle and foot injuries are common after car accidents or a slip and fall for a handful of reasons, ranging from human anatomy and reaction to the sheer forces generated during an accident. These injuries are not merely inconvenient; they often represent life-altering traumas that necessitate extensive medical intervention and complex legal assessment.
The Biomechanics of Sudden Trauma
The severity of foot and ankle trauma is often amplified by predictable, yet unavoidable, physical reactions and the nature of collision forces.
Bodies Tend to Tense Before Impact
It’s natural to tense your body and brace for an impact, whether that’s during a car accident, slip and fall, or some other dangerous situation. This reflexive action, often called bracing, is a fundamental protective mechanism. However, in the context of high-energy impact, it can dramatically worsen the resulting injuries.
When the body tenses, the force of the crash is prevented from being distributed or absorbed throughout the muscles, ligaments, and major joints of the legs and torso. Instead, that tremendous kinetic energy becomes highly concentrated in the lower extremities—particularly the feet and ankles—which are rigidly fixed against the floorboard or ground.
This concentration of energy leads to a more severe foot or ankle fracture or ligament tear than may have happened if the body had been relaxed at the time of impact. The bracing action transforms the foot and ankle into highly susceptible, load-bearing structures that must absorb force meant for the entire body structure. This can result in comminuted (shattered) fractures, complex dislocations, or avulsion injuries where tendons rip small pieces of bone away.
The Feet Often Get Hit First
In vehicle crashes, the feet are frequently the first part of your body to feel the full impact force. In frontal collisions, the driver’s foot is often fixed to or actively pressing the brake pedal. The sheer force transferred through the brake assembly directly into the foot, heel, and tibia can cause devastating pilon fractures of the distal end of the shin bone, or severe calcaneus (heel bone) fractures—injuries associated with lengthy recovery and lasting disability.
In other crash scenarios, like a T-bone or side-impact collision, the feet and ankles can be crushed or twisted by the intruding vehicle structure itself. The crumpling of the door, firewall, and dashboard against the footwell can compress the structures of the midfoot, leading to highly problematic injuries that often require reconstructive surgery. The direct, crushing nature of these injuries results in significant soft tissue damage, compounding the complexity of the bone and joint damage.
Feet and Ankles Are Complex Structures
The foot and ankle are marvels of biological engineering, comprising 26 bones, 33 joints, and numerous tendons, muscles, and ligaments, all working in concert to provide stability, flexibility, and propulsion. This high degree of complexity is the primary reason these injuries are so difficult to diagnose, treat, and rehabilitate.
Anatomy and Diagnostic Hurdles
Because the structure is so complicated, a seemingly simple fracture might actually mask a more debilitating injury. One example is a Lisfranc injury, which involves the joints and ligaments of the midfoot.
These injuries are notoriously challenging to detect on standard X-rays, often being initially misdiagnosed as simple sprains. However, if left untreated, a Lisfranc injury can lead to debilitating arch collapse and painful, chronic arthritis, severely impacting the individual’s long-term mobility.
The intricate nature of the foot means that even a minor misalignment of one joint can throw off the entire biomechanical chain of the body. Furthermore, your feet can be affected by injuries in other areas, such as the hip or knee.
A pelvic fracture or a severe knee injury can alter a person’s gait, placing abnormal stresses on the uninjured foot and ankle, leading to secondary conditions like tendinitis or bursitis months or years later. The comprehensive nature of the body requires that all related injuries be addressed to achieve a full recovery.
Treatment and the Long Road of Rehabilitation
Treating severe foot and ankle injuries often requires extensive surgical intervention. This frequently involves Open Reduction and Internal Fixation (ORIF) procedures, where surgeons must meticulously realign bone fragments and secure them with hardware—plates, screws, and pins—to ensure proper healing.
The presence of this surgical hardware can sometimes lead to chronic discomfort, necessitating further operations down the road for hardware removal.
The physical recovery from a complex foot or ankle injury is often measured not in weeks, but in many months or even years. Non-weight-bearing periods can last for three months or more, followed by rigorous and often painful physical therapy.
The goal of this rehabilitation is not just to heal the bones but to restore the range of motion in 33 separate joints, rebuild muscle atrophy in the calf and foot, and retrain the body’s proprioception (sense of balance and position). This protracted recovery process imposes a significant psychological toll, often leading to anxiety, depression, and social isolation due to the sudden and prolonged loss of independence.
The Financial and Legal Complexity of Foot Injury Claims
When you or someone you love is dealing with serious injuries below the knee after a car accident or other incident, you’re likely facing medical costs, chronic discomfort, and a wide range of life adjustments. If your injuries are the result of someone else’s negligence or carelessness, you may be eligible for financial compensation for those expenses and losses.
Just as foot injuries themselves are complicated, securing a settlement for them might also be a challenge. Legal representatives who handle these personal injury claims understand that the valuation of a foot injury case requires a thorough and detailed approach.
Determining Economic and Non-Economic Losses
Claims for recovery are typically divided into two categories: economic damages and non-economic damages.
While economic damages include measurable, objective costs like past and future medical expenses, prescription costs, and lost income, non-economic losses encompass the more subjective but equally real impacts of the injury.
These losses include pain and suffering, reduced quality of life, emotional distress, and loss of opportunity. When serious injuries mean you can’t even stand up, walk, or perform routine daily tasks, the non-economic damages may be significant.
Proving that profound impact to the opposing party’s insurance company, on the other hand, is often difficult. It requires meticulous documentation, testimony from treating physicians, and detailed personal accounts of how the injury has reshaped the victim’s life.
In addition, you may face uncertainties about the future economic costs. Some people with severe foot injury cases need lifelong therapy, assistive devices (like specialized orthotics or canes), and may never be able to return to their former occupation, especially if their job required standing, walking, or heavy lifting.
Determining how much this loss of earning capacity and future medical needs will cost the family in the coming decades requires sophisticated analysis by vocational and economic consultants.
Getting Compensated for Foot Injuries Can Be Difficult
When you or someone you love is dealing with injuries below the knee after a car accident or other incident, you’re likely facing medical costs, discomfort, and a range of life adjustments. If your injuries are the result of someone else’s negligence or carelessness, you may be eligible for financial compensation for those expenses and losses.
Just as foot injuries themselves are complicated, securing a settlement for them might also be a challenge. One reason for this is the non-economic damages you may claim.
While economic damages include measurable costs like medical expenses and lost income, non-economic losses include pain and suffering, reduced quality of life, emotional distress, and loss of opportunity. When serious injuries mean you can’t even stand up, the non-economic damages may be significant. Proving that to the insurance company, on the other hand, is often difficult.
In addition, you may face uncertainties about the economic costs. Some people with foot injury cases need lifelong therapy and can’t ever return to work. Are you prepared to determine how much that will cost your family in the coming years?
Serious Injuries Require Serious Legal Representation
In these challenging circumstances, it’s in your best interest to work with an experienced personal injury lawyer. They can help you organize your case (including doing the heavy lifting of gathering evidence and understanding your medical diagnosis), submit a claim, and negotiate a fair settlement amount.
When you or someone you love are seriously injured, you deserve to have the time and space you need to heal, rather than trying to navigate the complicated world of insurance claims, medical bills, medical liens, and negotiations. If you were hurt in or around the Greater Katy Area, or elsewhere in Texas, don’t wait to speak with an experienced local attorney who knows how to present your case and negotiate for a fair settlement.
Will Adams Law Firm Is Ready to Help You Get Back on Your Feet
From supporting your physical healing to helping you secure the funds to rebuild your life, your recovery is our priority. Our law firm has experience representing people with foot and ankle injuries after car accidents, falls, and other incidents.
To schedule your complimentary case assessment and begin the attorney client relationship, please call (281) 371-6345 or use the simple contact form on our site. It will be our honor to speak with you and learn more about your case. Every initial meeting is at no cost or risk to you. Call today!
References
Bailey, A., Crandall, J., Funk, J., King, R., Rudd, R., Srinivasan, S. (2012). Injuries caused by brake pedal loading of the midfoot. PubMed.gov. Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22846275/
Compartment syndrome. (n.d.). Ortho Info from the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. Retrieved from https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseases–conditions/compartment-syndrome/
The content provided here is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject.
