For ankle fracture, syndesmotic injury and post-operative ankle claims specifically, see ankle injury and ankle surgery review.

I review foot and ankle surgical cases for plaintiff and defense counsel — elective reconstruction, fracture fixation, and revision of surgery that did not go the way it was supposed to. I am a board-certified foot and ankle surgeon in active surgical practice in Michigan, which matters here: the question in most of these files is what a reasonable surgeon would have done at the time, with the information that was in front of them, not what a textbook says in hindsight.

Surgical matters I review

• Bunion correction — open osteotomy, minimally invasive (MICA), Lapidus and Lapiplasty; recurrence, hallux varus, transfer metatarsalgia, malunion and nonunion
• Hammertoe and lesser-toe surgery — floating toe, recurrence, implant failure
• Ankle fracture — missed syndesmotic injury, malreduction, hardware position and length, weight-bearing instructions
• Achilles tendon rupture and repair — missed diagnosis in the office or emergency department, re-rupture, wound breakdown, sural nerve injury
• Lisfranc and midfoot injury — missed on initial imaging, delayed fixation
• Flatfoot and Charcot reconstruction
• Peripheral nerve surgery of the foot and ankle — tarsal tunnel, neuroma, iatrogenic nerve injury
• Revision of failed prior surgery, hardware complications, and postoperative infection

What a surgical standard-of-care review actually examines

• Indication. Was conservative care tried and documented, and do the imaging and the exam support the procedure that was chosen?
• Consent. Were the specific foreseeable complications of that procedure disclosed, or only generic surgical risk?
• Procedure selection and technique. Was the correction appropriate to the deformity, and does the postoperative imaging show what the operative note describes?
• Fixation and postoperative protocol. Construct, immobilization, weight-bearing instructions, follow-up interval.
• Recognition and management of complications. This is where most of these cases are actually decided. A known complication caught promptly and managed appropriately is usually not negligence. The same complication documented and then ignored across three visits often is.

Complication or departure

Foot and ankle surgery carries real complication rates, and a poor outcome is not by itself a departure from the standard of care. Recurrence after bunion correction, stiffness, transfer pain, delayed union and wound problems all occur in competently performed surgery. I will say so, whichever side retained me. What usually moves a file from complication to departure is the indication, the consent discussion, or a finding that was documented and then never acted on.

If the defendant is an orthopedic surgeon

Counsel will know their own jurisdiction. Michigan’s matching-specialty requirement under MCL 600.2169 turns on the defendant’s specialty and board certification — the detail is on the qualifications page. Against a podiatric foot and ankle surgeon, a board-certified DPM in active surgical practice satisfies it. Against an orthopedic foot and ankle surgeon, assume the point will be litigated, and raise it with me before you retain. I would rather flag it at the conflict check than have it surface on a motion.

How counsel use me

Record review and a candid early read on merit; written standard-of-care and causation opinions; independent medical examination; deposition and trial testimony. Terms are on the fees and engagement page, and the full list of matters I review sets out where my opinion stops.