Why Are Foot, Ankle & Knee Injuries Rising in Car Accidents?

Michael Waks

9 years ago

Foot, ankle and knee injuries are becoming more common in auto accidents. In fact, lower extremity injuries (LEI) have become the second most common occurring injury in passenger car accidents. This is happening not because cars are less safe, but because cars have become safer. As a car accident lawyer, I have seen people survive high-impact crashes that in the past would have died from severe brain injury, spinal cord injury or abdominal injury.

During the last few decades there have been great improvements in vehicular occupant safety. More people are surviving high-energy crashes, but many sustain disabling lower extremity injuries. Historically, these were overshadowed by more life-threatening injuries.

Types of Foot, Ankle and Knee Injuries Caused by a Car Accident

Lower extremity injuries incurred in car crashes tend to be high-energy injuries, with a poorer prognosis than low-energy injuries incurred in a slip and fall accident. The most costly and disabling injuries are those involving joints, especially those in the foot or ankle. People with these type of injuries tend to have lasting physical and psychosocial problems.

While victims can hurt their lower extremities in any type of car accident, frontal crashes cause the vast majority of this type of injury. Fractures are the most common serious lower extremity injury. Types of foot, ankle and knee injuries sustained in auto accidents include:

Broken bones: Fractures to the tibia (shin bone), fibula (lower leg bone), metatarsals (bones in the foot), and talus (ankle bone) are common in car accidents.
ACL/MCL tears: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and medial collateral ligament (MCL) are ligaments found in the knee that can be sprained or torn in a car accident, necessitating surgical correction.
Torn meniscus: The meniscus, or knee cartilage, can be damaged when the knee twists in a car accident
Knee bursitis: The bursa, or small fluid-filled sacs around the knee, can become inflamed after an auto accident
Strains and sprains – Stretching or damage to the muscles, tendons, or ligaments can often occurs in a crash.

When you are involved in an auto accident, the odds of receiving some kind of significant bodily injury can be high. Injured victims are entitled to compensation for medical costs, including all necessary therapy treatments. Victims will also be compensated for missed work due to a foot, ankle or knee injury, and for the pain and suffering the injury caused.

A Long Beach Car Accident Lawyer Can Help

Your Injuries are Personal to Me

My law practice exclusively handles personal injury cases. If you were in a car accident and incurred an injury to your foot, ankle or knee, you can make a claim to get compensation from whoever was responsible for causing the accident. I handle every case personally to make sure you receive the maximum compensation for your injury losses.

To learn more about how I can help, call the Law Office of Michael D. Waks at 888-394-1174 or schedule a free consultation using our convenient online contact form. You can also download my convenient glove box checklist to keep in your car so you will know what to do if a crash occurs.

There is no obligation to a consultation and I am available 24/7 to talk with you about your case. Bilingual services are also available, so call now.

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Michael Waks

Michael Waks is an aggressive advocate for people who have suffered because of someone else’s actions. Michael decided to become a personal injury lawyer when, while clerking at a legal defense firm during law school, he witnessed and was infuriated by asbestos manufacturers spending millions to avoid taking responsibility for the egregious injuries they caused. Immediately after passing the bar, Michael opened his own firm in Long Beach, CA to help the victims of personal injury accidents get every benefit owed them under the law.