In the early days a lot or riders were admitted to hospital with broken ankles, they had to have their boot cut off to get to the damage, so people started to wear long leather boots to help prevent broken ankles, this cut down on the number of broken bones and abrasions, but when bones were broken they still had to cut the boot off..The next stage was to fit a full length zip so that the boot could be removed from a swollen leg without cutting.
Steel toecaps..these are considered a no no by many paramedics because when a rider leans into a curve or corner his or her foot may slip off the footrest and the toe can get caught between the peg and the ground, this can rip the steel toecap off with the toes still inside it..
All of the above things can happen but although there are recorded cases, they are very rare.
John.