After spending the majority of my youth as an athlete I have witnessed sports related ankle injuries and know how difficult the recovery for an ankle fracture can be. I did not realize, however, the significant damage a serious auto accident can have on the ankle until I started my career as a Kent auto accident lawyer in Premier Law Group, a personal injury law firm in Bellevue, Washington.
Because of the many different bones connecting to the joint in the ankle, it is a very fragile area and highly susceptible to injury. Though the upper-body sustains most of the impact in an auto accident, the ankle can find itself in serious danger as a crushing car can apply intense pressure to these bones and the joint itself. As the driver applies pressure on the ankle to hit the brake peddle it becomes stressed and, with enough pressure, can break.
There are many types of ankle injuries, which are all based on their location in the ankle, but a break in any bone in the ankle can cause problems for the ankle as a whole.This slide shows a fractured fibula. The fibula is a bone in the lower leg which connects to the ankle joint. There are three types of fibular fractures, a high fibular fracture, low fibular fracture and syndesmotice fibular fracture. A high fibular fracture occurs high up in the bone and a low fibular fracture occurs more towards the ankle, the syndesmotic fibular fracture is an injury to the ankle joint itself. This joint is held together with ligaments which can be affected by the fracture, often resulting in surgery which requires metal screws and plates to be inserted into the joint to ensure proper healing.