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Amputation and Limb Loss Claims
Losing a limb is devastating, but it does not mean that your life is over.
True Solicitors serious injury team has represented many clients who have lost limbs and can help you to access compensation, rehabilitation and arrange for you to have prosthetics fitted (if possible) following an accident which wasn’t your fault.
If you have lost a limb due to a road traffic accident, an accident at work or due to medical negligence, within the last three years, contact us to see if we can help you to make a claim.
Call us on 0344 854 7000 or submit an online enquiry below:
What is an amputation?
An amputation is where a limb is removed due to an accident or via surgery. Doctors may need to surgically remove a limb to save your life following an accident, or a limb may need to be removed due to medical negligence.
Traumatic limb loss is usually caused due to an accident such as a road traffic accident or an accident at work. Surgical amputation may however be required due to type 2 diabetes. This happens as a result of mismanaged diabetes, which leads to a restriction of blood flow to extremities of patients’ bodies.
What injuries can cause an amputation?
Traumatic amputation happens as the result of a serious accident such as:
- A road traffic accident
- An accident at work – i.e. a machinery accident, a fall from height, slips, trips and falls.
- A fall from height
- Objects falling from height
- Farming accidents
- Construction accidents
Amputation may also result from medical negligence, this can be due to misdiagnosis or surgical error. Common examples of amputations due to medical negligence include:
- Mismanagement of diabetes
- Infection of wounds
- Cancer misdiagnosis
- Meningitis misdiagnosis
- Surgical error
- Failure to treat deep vein thrombosis (DVT)
How can making a claim help?
Instructing a solicitor to handle your amputation claim can help you to access the compensation needed to help you to adapt to your new way of life.
Your solicitor will aim to obtain interim payments early on in the claims process in order to help you to concentrate on your recovery, whilst easing the financial burden the amputation has had on your life.
True has developed long lasting relationships with medical experts, rehab providers and barristers who are experienced in dealing with all manner of amputation cases. In order to fully understand the extent of your injuries and the ongoing consequences that the amputation will have on your life, we will consult the following experts:
- Orthopaedic surgeon
- Rehabilitation specialist
- Consultant Psychiatrist
- Occupational therapist
- Prosthetic expert
- Architect (for planning home adaptations)
- Medical expert who specialises in the condition that led to your amputation (for cases of medical negligence).
After instructing the above experts we will review their findings and advise you what treatment you should undertake in order to best aid your recovery, and allow you to live as independently as possible. The findings will be used by your solicitor to ensure that your claim is valued appropriately and that you are awarded with the maximum compensation possible.
What can I claim compensation for?
Your solicitor will factor the following into your amputation compensation claim:
- General damages: This is the compensation obtained to cover the pain, suffering and loss of amenity.
- Special damages: This covers any current and future financial losses incurred as a result of the amputation. Examples of special damages include:
- Care and assistance: This can be used to cover the costs of the additional help you may need to conduct your day to day tasks like bathing, cooking, shopping and cleaning.
- Loss of earnings: This is calculated based on your current and future projected loss of earnings.
- Rehabilitation: This can include treatment such as physiotherapy.
- Prosthetics: Prosthetic limbs are very expensive and typically need to be replaced every 5 years. True Solicitors have relationships with the top prosthetics companies in the country, providing our clients with state of the art prosthetics, which are often not available through on the NHS due to their prohibitive cost. However, they can be provided as part of your claim.
- Home and vehicle adaptations: This can include remodelling your home to make it accessible for you i.e. widening door frames or building a ramp to the front of the home.
- Mobility aids: To help you to do everyday tasks like eating, bathing, cooking and cleaning.
How much will my amputation claim be worth?
The value of your amputation claim is based on a number of different factors, from your individual lifestyle changes, loss of earnings to the specific type of amputation.
The Judicial College outlines the following compensation guidelines for different types of amputations. The damages outlined below are likely to make up only a small part of the overall value of a claim for an amputated limb. The total compensation figure will include all past and future financial losses – including the cost of purchasing, maintaining and replacing prosthetics. Compensation commonly runs into hundreds of thousands or millions of pounds.
- Loss of both hands: £107,000 – £153,200
- Loss of one hand: £73,100 – £83,325
- Loss of finger or thumb: £6575 – £41,675
- Loss of both arms: £183,000 – £228,000
- Loss of one arm: no less than £104,250
- Amputation of arm at the shoulder: no less than £104,250
- Amputation above the elbow: £83,325 – £99,500
- Amputation below the elbow: £73,100 – £83,325
- Loss of both legs: £183,000 – £214,350
- Loss of both legs below the knee: £153,200 – £205,300
- Loss of one leg below the knee: £74,475 – £101,075
- Loss of one leg above the knee: £79,700 – £104,500
- Loss of both feet: £128,750 – £153,200
- Loss of one foot: £63,825 – £83,325
How much will it cost to make a claim?
True Solicitors serious injury team will handle your amputation claim on a no win, no fee basis. This simply means that should we not win your case, you will not need to pay us a penny to cover your legal fees.
If you win your case your opponent will pay most of your legal costs.
Any legal costs not paid by your opponent will be deducted from the compensation that you receive. These costs include:
- The cost of your no win no fee insurance policy
- Some of your basic legal costs which can’t be recovered from your opponent
- A “success fee” which compensates us for the risk that if your claim was unsuccessful then we would not be paid at all.
Your solicitor will discuss this with you in advance, so you’ll know what to expect when your claim settles.
Why choose us to handle your amputation claim?
Amputation claims are complex in their nature and require specialist solicitors with the experience and legal expertise to deal with them. Our team of serious injury lawyers regularly recover substantial compensation settlements for our clients over the last 25 years; along with arranging rehabilitation, home adaptations and prosthetics where necessary.
We operate on a No Win, No Fee basis, meaning that there no upfront costs to you. We offer a free initial, no obligation assessment of your case.
Call us on 0344 854 7000 to discuss your claim, or submit your details below and we’ll call you back at a time convenient for you.
