Legal battle rages over whether ankles exist
Recent Cases
For every foot, there's an ankle. Or not.
In Texas, that all depends on a legal battle between medical doctors and podiatrists, who both claim the ankle as their turf. The debate has raged to the point that the two sides disagree in court on whether the ankle actually exists.
A state appeals court recently sided with medical doctors when it determined that the state board that licenses podiatrists exceeded its authority in defining the ankle as part of the foot.
"You don't have an ankle," said Mark Hanna, a lawyer for the Texas Podiatric Medical Association. "The foot actually includes the ankle. If you took the foot off the leg, there is nothing lying there that's the ankle."
Not so, said Dr. David Teuscher, an orthopedic surgeon in Beaumont who said treating the ankle is complicated enough to require medical school training.
"If they say the ankle doesn't exist, why do they want to operate on it?" asked Teuscher, immediate past president of the Texas Orthopaedic Association. "Everyone knows what an ankle is."
The Texas State Board of Podiatric Medical Examiners bypassed the Legislature to create its ankle-is-part-of-the-foot definition in 2001. Podiatrists say they've been treating ankles for decades and accuse medical doctors of trying to limit competition. The Texas Medical Association argues podiatrists should stick to corns, calluses and diabetic foot care.
The physicians group interprets last Friday's ruling as saying the ankle and foot are separate. The podiatrists group says the ruling doesn't go that far and plans to appeal. About 900 podiatrists await the outcome.
Related listings
-
Judges Bar Law on Violent Video Games
Recent Cases 03/18/2008A federal appeals court has upheld an injunction against a Minnesota law that would have kept children under 17 from renting or buying violent video games.A three-judge panel of the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said Minnesota has a compelling in...
-
Heather loses court judgment appeal
Recent Cases 03/18/2008Heather Mills has failed to stop publication of a divorce judgment highly critical of her as a witness and her financial claims against Sir Paul McCartney.Mr Justice Bennett said her evidence was "not just inconsistent and inaccurate but also less th...
-
Court Will Decide Wash. Shooting Case
Recent Cases 03/17/2008The Supreme Court agreed Monday to consider reinstating the murder conviction of the driver in a gang-related drive-by shooting that horrified Seattle in 1994.The court will hear arguments in the fall in the case of Cesar Sarausad II. He was convicte...
Car Accident Lawyers in New Rochelle, New York
If you have gotten in a car accident, it could seriously change your life. Whether the accident was caused by the other party’s fault or a fault of your own, you’ll want to to make sure that you are ready to prepare yourself for any cases that might follow.
Immediately following any type of car accident, it is important to take certain steps to ensure that the courts will treat you with respect and fairly. First, assess your mental and physical condition. Make sure right after the accident, you document any information regarding the accident and situation, it can be of great help later on.
You’ll want to make sure that you seek professional help for any medical conditions you may be experiencing. Do not wait to seek medical attention, you’ll want to make sure that you have documented evidence of the injury that was caused by the accident. The amount of treatment is also taken into consideration in every case.