Guides / Ankle-injury value
Guide · 5 min read

How Much Is an Ankle Injury Worth in California Workers’ Comp?

What an ankle or foot injury pays in California workers’ comp: engine-computed PD percentages and dollars across the WPI range and three occupations, the rating strings behind them, and the apportionment discount.

Ankles are ladder-and-curb injuries — every standing trade feeds them into the system, and the ratings turn on measured motion loss and what the hardware left behind. The money math from any WPI is fixed, computed here by the rating engine.

How ankle injuries are measured

The AMA Guides rate ankles (impairment number 17.07.04.00 for range of motion) from dorsiflexion/plantarflexion and hindfoot deficits, with arthritis and gait derangement rated by other methods when they fit better. Rough anchors: a healed fracture with modest stiffness runs mid-single digits WPI; significant combined loss reaches the teens; fusions land high-teens to low 20s.

The money table

Final PD and total indemnity at age 42–46, 2026 injury, maximum PD rate, single impairment, before apportionment:

WPIClerical · 111Custodian · 340Carpenter · 380
3%3% · $2,6105% · $4,3508% · $6,960
6%6% · $5,22010% · $8,772.5013% · $12,252.50
10%12% · $11,092.5017% · $17,54521% · $23,345
14%17% · $17,54523% · $26,24529% · $36,177.50
18%22% · $24,79530% · $37,99035% · $48,140
22%28% · $34,437.5036% · $50,17042% · $62,350
14% WPI · group 111 · clerical
100% (17.07.04.00 - 14 - [1.4]20 - 111D - 16 - 17) = 17% PD · $17,545
14% WPI · group 380 · carpenter
100% (17.07.04.00 - 14 - [1.4]20 - 380I - 27 - 29) = 29% PD · $36,177.50

Verify either string in the rating-string decoder.

Apportionment

Custodian · 14% WPI · 20% non-industrial
80% (17.07.04.00 - 14 - [1.4]20 - 340G - 22 - 23) = 18% PD · 65.5 weeks · $18,995

Unapportioned that was 23% — $26,245. The finding removed $7,250; see how apportionment works.

What this table can’t tell you

An antalgic gait pulls in the knee, hip, and back — multiple parts combine on the CVC rather than add, wages below the maximum scale the dollars down, and settlements price the medical tail beyond any table. Companion pages: back · knee · shoulder · neck · hip · wrist. Estimates for informational use; not legal or medical advice.

Run your exact case
The calculator takes your WPI, occupation, age, and apportionment and produces the string, the weeks, and the dollars — free.

FAQ

How much is an ankle injury worth in California workers’ comp?
It depends on whole-person impairment, occupation, and age. At the 2026 maximum PD rate a 3% WPI ankle rates 3% PD ($2,610) for a clerical worker, while a 22% WPI ankle — fusion territory — rates 42% PD ($62,350) for a carpenter, before apportionment.
What is a broken ankle worth in California?
A healed fracture with modest stiffness commonly rates mid-single digits WPI — engine-computed, 6% WPI runs 6% PD ($5,220, clerical) to 13% PD ($12,252.50, carpenter) at the 2026 max. Hardware, arthritis, or subtalar involvement rates higher.
How much PD is an ankle fusion?
Fusions typically land in the high teens to low 20s WPI. Engine-computed, 18–22% WPI runs 22% PD ($24,795, clerical) up to 42% PD ($62,350, carpenter) at the 2026 maximum rate.
Rate a real case — free
Every step in this guide, computed for you in under a minute.
Open the calculator
Wrist-injury valueAll guidesTD vs PD