Arizona Workers’ Compensation: Foot and Ankle Injuries

Foot and ankle injuries covered in an Arizona work-related accident are covered by Arizona Revised Statutes Title 23. Labor § 23-1044(b)(14)(22). Foot injuries, including the loss of part or all the foot, is a scheduled injured. If the ankle is injured at the same time, it falls under unscheduled injuries when connected to the scheduled injury of a foot. If you injure your ankle but not the foot, the ankle remains a scheduled injury.

Monthly compensation is calculated by 50 percent of the worker’s salary if a temporary injury, or 75 percent if a permanent injury whereby the worker cannot go back to the same job after recovery. Each body part is also assigned a monthly compensation value and the doctor determines the number of months in permanent compensation the worker receives.

The following tables show the top three industries for ankle and feet injuries for the year 2018, found at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) here.

Top Three Injuries for Ankle Injuries 2018

Top Three Injuries for Foot Injuries 2018

AVOIDING FOOT AND ANKLE INJURIES AT WORK

Workers in manufacturing, construction, retail, and other industries where working on their feet all day long is required, are likely to have at least one foot/ankle injury during their lifetime. There are several ways to help yourself avoid foot/ankle injuries while at work.

1. Be aware of what obstacles are around your feet and avoid tripping or stepping on objects that could roll out from under your feet,
2. Wear the best shoe you can for working all day long on cement or other hard surfaces. Do not wear tight shoes. Get the right size for your foot and add a good gel foot pad inside to alleviate the floor-to-foot impact, as well as avoiding foot slippage inside the shoe,
3. Make sure your shoes’ toe tips are spread wide enough to allow your toes to lie flat inside the shoe.

Make sure you keep your toenails clipped as often as you can. When nails get too long, that will change how your toes lie flat in the shoe. If you start clenching your feet because the toes hurt from rubbing against the toe tip, then you can injure other muscles and tendons trying to compensate for that pain.

WALK AND STAND THE RIGHT WAY

Walk with your feet pointed straight forward and use the heel-to-toe roll-through action. It is easier to keep your balance when walking this way than if you were walking on the balls of your feet. Women who regularly wear high heels may have shortened heel and calf tendons, due to never fully stretching out those tendons to keep them supple. This can lead to Achilles tendinitis, a very painful condition, as well as painful bunions and center ball of the foot.

Your feet and ankles are crucial to getting around, along with your legs and knees What negatively affects your feet and ankles, will affect your overall body stance and further pain. Anytime there is pain, your body automatically tries to compensate by standing or sitting in a way that alleviates that pain.

CONCLUSION

It is always important to get your annual physicals and to tell your doctor if you are having trouble with any part of your body. You may need rehabilitative services to help with any painful conditions you are experiencing from your job.

If you need help with filing your workers’ compensation claim, and if you need a workers compensation lawyer Arizona, call us at once for a free consultation. We are here to help you. 602-346-9009.