Article Updated: January 7, 2023


Ankle Injury Settlement


Ankle Injury Settlements This article will help you better navigate the complicated issue of ankle injuries and related accident settlements.  Read on to learn about:

♦   Are there different levels of severity in ankle fractures

♦   What variables can increase your ankle injury settlement?

♦   Information on sprained ankle lawsuits

   How much you should settle for a broken ankle

♦   Average compensation for a broken ankle

To help you get an idea about what your ankle injury may be worth, real life settlements that have been given to others with ankle injuries are listed below for you to reference.  You can also learn about the general way in which injury settlements are calculated.

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Ankle Injuries Anatomy


Ankle injuries can include the breaking or damage of the bones, ligaments, nerves, muscles or tendons of the ankle and surrounding area.

Bones in the Ankle

The ankle is made up of many parts, but in general it has a few major bones that help form the ankle joint and are what generally tend to get damaged in an accident:

♦   Tibia also known as the shinbone

   Fibula which is the smaller bone of the lower leg

♦   Talus found between the heel bone and the tibia and fibula

The tibia and fibula in particular have smaller parts that are fractured and hurt in an accident:

   Posterior malleolus

   Medial malleolus

♦   Lateral malleolus

Lateral malleolus fractures affect the fibula and can take upwards of 6 weeks to heal, leaving you unable to walk or place weight on the affected ankle while recovery takes place.

Breaks of both your tibia and fibula are known as a bimalleolar fracture. Higher than average payouts for broken ankles often take place when more than one bone is broken. It is important to know then that injuries like a bimalleolar fracture can lead to ankle injury lawsuit settlements that are larger.

This is not the case when you only have one broken part of your ankle or a simple break that heals in a relatively short amount of time.

Bimalleolar fractures are not simple breaks and can lead to you being unable to place any weight on your ankle for months at a time. The trimalleolar fracture for example leads to high ankle injury settlement amounts because three different parts of your ankle fracture.


Ankle Injury Treatments


Depending on your ankle injury, treatment can be nonsurgical or surgical in nature. Common treatments include:

   Home rest

   Wearing a brace or bandaging

♦   Surgery

   Ankle Fusion

Nonsurgical care can be administered if your ankle is stable and no bones are out of place. Home rest, bandaging and wearing a brace for stabilization can help with injuries that do not require surgery or intensive care. An ankle injury settlement will most likely be lower in cases like this.

Ankle Injury Treatments and Case Values

If you do however need surgery or hurt your ankle in multiple spots, it will take considerably longer to recover. You will need to stay off your ankle for weeks or even months at a time which is a serious limitation on your life.

Some cases of ankle injury may also require future ankle fusion which itself will increase how much a broken ankle is worth because of the pain and suffering involved in this procedure.

Ankle fusion compensation can increase your overall case value up to $150,000-$200,000.

When surgery is needed or if there are multiple broken segments of your ankle, your ankle injury settlement amount will be higher. Any complications or infections can also lead to long-term problems such as arthritis later in life because of a broken ankle.


Ankle Injury Settlement Amounts


Different ankle injuries will result in different settlement amounts. While these can differ from state to state, they will generally remain consistent nationally. This means that an ankle injury settlement amount in California will often be similar to one in New York or Maryland.

What really affects your ankle injury settlement will be how many bones you damage in the accident and what level of treatment you will need to recover.

A Bimalleolar fracture or a trimalleolar fracture that require Surgery and also come with an orthopedic recommendation for later ankle fusion will for example be worth upwards of $350,000-$1,000,000. Regarding the

This amount is so high because of the pain and suffering calculation made for ankle injuries that will require intensive, invasive and long-term treatment that disrupts your life for a long period of time.

Some sample settlements across the country show the wide variation in broken ankle lawsuit settlements nationally:

   Sprained ankle settlement in Maryland for $62,000

♦   Broken ankle settlement value in California of  $50,000

♦   Ohio sprained ankle case for $19,000

♦   Compound fracture of the ankle worth $200,000 in Florida

The wide range of possible settlement values can be confusing and lead you to wonder how much a broken ankle is worth


How Much Should I Settle For A Broken Ankle?


How much should you settle for in your ankle injury case? This will depend on what level of injury you have and what your doctor’s recommendations are for future care.

Sprained Ankles

Sprained AnklesSprained ankles are a form of soft tissue injuries.  Not all sprained ankles are the same. Ankle sprains come in multiple grades. Grade I, Grade II and Grade III sprains will have different payouts because of the severity of the injury.

In addition to the level of sprain you suffer in your sprain, your age can also make a difference as older age means that your ankle most likely will never heal perfectly which means a lifetime of potential pain.

Even a simple sprain can therefore depend on your age, the grade of your sprain and the treatment you are recommended to undergo.

Breaks in Your Ankle

Breaks in the ankle when no surgery is required can have low values averaging around $10,000 -$25,000.

This amount as noted will be much higher for you if you are in need of surgery or extensive medical care because of your break. Also, the more bones that are broken, the higher your payout will be as well.

A large part of the higher ankle injury settlement amounts for some cases comes from the pain and suffering element of the verdict and how debilitating your injury is.

What you should settle for in your ankle injury case will therefore rely heavily on how an ankle injury compensation calculator works pain and suffering into the equation.

Pain and Suffering

Pain and suffering increases in your ankle case will depend on whether or not you need surgery. If you do need surgery it will most likely be for a trimalleolar or a bimalleolar break in your ankle.

Ankle Injury Pain and Settlement

These injuries often need more than one surgery and a second one is common to remove the hardware from initial surgeries. The screws in your ankle to help fix your breaks may also cause you to have irritation and infections that cause you increased pain and suffering.

Pain and suffering can therefore be increased because of the need for surgery as well as the need for subsequent surgeries, physical therapy, onset of arthritis as well as recommendations for future ankle fusion.

All of these increase your potential ankle injury settlement amounts through the application of pain and suffering considerations.


Sample Verdicts & Settlements


VERDICT: $192,753.00.  While operating a motor vehicle, plaintiff was struck by another car driven by a teenage driver.  During the accident the plaintiff was hurt badly with damage to the ankle causing permanent injury that was not able to be addressed through surgery or physical therapy. The chronic pain and permanent nature of the ankle damage increased the settlement from its original $25,000 value after going up against defendant State Farm.

VERDICT: $465.000.00.  While driving in a motor vehicle, plaintiff was struck in his car and suffered damage to the left foot and ankle. The intensity of the injury required the plaintiff to undergo 5 ankle surgeries and realignment of many bones. Additional need for fusion surgery was also recommended with the medical care team noting that plaintiff would within the next 5 years need both further surgery and an ankle fusion. These permanent debilitating injuries coupled with the fact that the plaintiff was an athlete, led to the verdict for a high pain and suffering payout as plaintiff was never able to compete at any level again.

VERDICT: $1,896,324,000.  A 30-year old plaintiff was forced to swerve out of the way to avoid a car that merged into her lane. The swerve caused her to hit a concrete barrier on an interstate ramp and led to severe bilateral ankle fractures. Her broken ankle required multiple surgeries and long-term physical therapy. Her outlook also included the potential for further treatment later on in her life meaning this would be a recurring and debilitating condition for her.

VERDICT: $200,000.00.  Plaintiff suffered a compound fracture of the right ankle after another driver ran her off the road and her car went into a ditch. The plaintiff stated that the car that ran her off the road had ran a stop sign in an intersection causing the plaintiff’s car to lose control as it tried to avoid an accident. Defendant’s injuries required multiple surgeries in order to allow her to place weight on and use her ankle again.

VERDICT: $19,178.00.  A sprained ankle case on a 62 year old plaintiff took place when plaintiff was riding a motorcycle near an intersection and was hit with a car. The defendants were uninsured and had acted negligently which led to the injury and the need for the plaintiff to undergo medical treatment at the emergency room. Plaintiff sued for both medical treatment costs as well as lost wages for his sprained ankle.

VERDICT: $35,000. A plaintiff was in a crossing when they were hit by a vehicle that had not stopped for them. A fractured left ankle and a sprained right ankle led to the need for intensive medical care as the plaintiff was taken off their feet for a considerable amount of time due to ankle injuries in both the left and the right ankles.


Ankle Injury Settlement Q&A


How much is a broken ankle worth?

A broken ankle injury can be worth anywhere from $10,000 to upwards of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The number of bones you break, which bones you break, and whether or not you require surgery will all have an impact on how much your broken ankle injury settlement is worth.

What is the average payout for a sprained ankle?

A sprained ankle can vary depending on the grade that the sprain is. Ankle sprains can come in 3 grades with 1 being the least severe and 3 being the most severe.

The longer your recovery time and the more treatment you need, the higher the payout value will be for your sprain with averages running between $10,000-$25,000

What will an ankle fusion compensation value be based on?

Ankle fusion compensation value is affected by how many bones you break in your accident as well as what level of care you are told you need in your case.

Will multiple broken bones increase my ankle injury settlement?

Yes, multiple broken bones do increase your settlement value and result in higher payouts.

Bimalleolar or trimalleolar ankle injuries for example break 2-3 bones in your ankle, often require surgery and long-term care. This will be worth much more than a broken ankle where only one bone is broken.

How much of a role does pain and suffering play in a broken ankle case?

Pain and suffering plays a large role in broken ankle cases. If you need to have surgeries, ankle fusion or long-term physical therapy, there will be a much higher chance of high payouts, which are linked to the pain and suffering segment of the verdict.

Does a broken ankle need surgery?

Not always. A broken ankle only needs surgery in some cases. However, those cases where a broken ankle does not need surgery, often results in lower ankle injury lawsuit settlements. Cases that need surgery have higher than average payouts.


Win Your Ankle Injury Lawsuit Settlement With
Our Los Angeles Legal Team


Getting the maximum payout possible for your ankle injury will depend on whether or not you have maximized your pain and suffering evidence and documentation.  To get the best pain and suffering value for your case, you need to make sure you are taking the right steps to document and treat your ankle injury case from the start.

IAG Los Angeles lawyers are on standby to help you.  Call, email, or message us using the contact form below, 24/7, for your free consultation and to begin taking the steps necessary to maximize your case, and to make sure the insurance company does not take advantage of you.


IAG Los Angeles Injury Lawyers

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Morgan, R. M., Eppinger, R. H., & Hennessey, B. C. (1991). Ankle joint injury mechanism for adults in frontal automotive impactSAE transactions, 1959-1968.

Kohler, R. E., Tomlinson, J., Chilunjika, T. E., Young, S., Hosseinipour, M., & Lee, C. N. (2017). “Life is at a standstill” Quality of life after lower extremity trauma in MalawiQuality of life research26(4), 1027-1035.

Dellon, A. L. (2008). The four medial ankle tunnels: a critical review of perceptions of tarsal tunnel syndrome and neuropathyNeurosurgery Clinics of North America19(4), 629-648.

Sammarco, G. J., & Chang, L. (2003). Outcome of surgical treatment of tarsal tunnel syndromeFoot & ankle international24(2), 125-131.

White, P. F., Issioui, T., Skrivanek, G. D., Early, J. S., & Wakefield, C. (2003). The use of a continuous popliteal sciatic nerve block after surgery involving the foot and ankle: does it improve the quality of recovery?. Anesthesia & Analgesia97(5), 1303-1309.

Ghahreman, A., Ferch, R. D., Rao, P., Chandran, N., & Shadbolt, B. (2009). Recovery of ankle dorsiflexion weakness following lumbar decompressive surgeryJournal of Clinical Neuroscience16(8), 1024-1027.

About the Author

Article Author:  This law article was written by attorney Ray Benyamin, Esquire.  Mr. Benyamin received his Juris Doctor degree from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law, and his license to practice law from the State Bar of California.  His law license number is 277263.  He has been practicing law for 10 years.  Mr. Benyamin is a registered member of the following legal organizations: Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA), the Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA), the State Bar of California, the American Bar Association (ABA), and the American Association for Justice (AAJ).  Mr. Benyamin has personally helped his clients recover over $10,000,000 in vehicle accident insurance claims in the State of California.

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