General Damages for Ankle and Foot Injuries

General damages for ankle and foot injuries are underestimated more often than any other lower limb claim. An ankle is a small joint that takes several times body weight with every step, and an injured one limits walking, standing and footwear permanently. This chapter states what courts weigh, and the rest of the body is indexed in the general damages guide.

The Fracture Pattern Separates a Good Result From a Poor One

A single break of the outer ankle bone with the joint still aligned usually heals well. A fracture involving two or three sides of the joint, or a pilon fracture where the shin bone is forced down into the ankle surface, damages cartilage across the weight bearing area. Talus fractures add another problem: the blood supply to that bone is limited, and the bone can collapse after the fracture has apparently healed.

Fusion Trades Pain for Movement

When arthritis follows an ankle fracture, the standard operation locks the joint. It reduces pain, and it permanently removes the up and down movement that walking on slopes and stairs depends on. A fused ankle also transfers load to the joints in the mid foot, which then wear out in turn. Courts award materially more where a surgeon says fusion is likely, whether or not it has happened yet.

General Damages for Ankle and Foot Injuries Turn on Standing Work

Nursing, retail, kitchen work, construction and factory work all require a person to stay on their feet for a shift. An ankle that swells after two hours ends that. Evidence about the shift length the person can still manage, the distance they can walk and whether they can carry anything while walking is what places the claim among the reported awards.

Footwear, Ground Surface and Daily Distance Are Compensable Losses

Small losses accumulate. A person who can no longer wear ordinary shoes, who avoids ice and gravel, who parks close to every door and who plans routes around stairs has suffered a loss that the award compensates. Ankle and foot injuries are the most common serious outcome in the firm’s trip and fall files, where the surface and its maintenance are the contested issues. Injuries to the knee and lower leg are assessed on their own facts, and pain that persists after fixation is assessed as chronic pain. Reported awards are searchable on CanLII.