Can I Make An Amputation Claim Due To Medical Negligence?

So, when could you make an amputation negligence claim? First, you need to prove that medical negligence occurred. But what is medical negligence?

In terms of making a compensation claim, medical negligence occurs when a medical professional owes you a duty of care, and you suffer avoidable harm because they breach this duty.

You’re automatically owed a duty of care by any medical professionals who treat you. This means that the treatment they provide needs to meet a minimum standard, and they have to avoid causing unnecessary harm.

Different kinds of medical professionals will have to take different steps to fulfil their duty of care. For example, the Royal College of Surgeons of England provides standards and guidance to surgeons registered in England, and the Royal College of Nursing outlines the duty of care for nurses.

Keep reading to find out how someone else’s negligence could cause a wrongful amputation. Or, contact our team of advisors to learn more about your options if you suffered limb loss due to medical negligence.

How Could An Amputation Be Caused By Medical Negligence?

You might be wondering how clinical negligence could lead to an amputation. There are many different kinds of medical errors that could contribute to the wrongful loss of a limb, including:

Wrong-site surgery: This is a never event, which the NHS describes as a medical error that should never happen. For example, this might include if you were scheduled to have your right leg amputated, but the surgeon took the wrong limb and performed a left leg amputation by mistake.
Misdiagnosis: One example of how a misdiagnosis could lead to an amputation compensation claim is if you had cancer that was left untreated, such as bone cancer, because your doctor dismissed your concerns of leg pain and diagnosed you instead with deep vein thrombosis. This allowed the cancer to spread to the point that the only effective treatment would be leg amputation.
Infection: In some cases, you may need to have a limb amputated because of an infection like sepsis. For example, if you already had an orthopaedic surgery on your arm but the surgeon did not follow adequate hygiene standards, this could cause your stitches to become infected. If the infection is serious enough, you may need to have the infected limb removed.

The examples provided above are only a few of the ways that medical negligence can lead to amputation injuries. If you’d like to know more about whether or not you could make an amputation claim, or if you’re interested in working with one of our expert solicitors, get in touch today.

What Could Help Me Make A Medical Negligence Amputation Claim?

Amputation claims depend on evidence. You will need to prove how a healthcare professional acted negligently, the harm you suffered, and the financial losses and effect it has had on your daily life.

Some examples of evidence that could be used to support a loss of limb claim include:

Photographs if the wrong limb was amputated, or of visible infection.
Test results that show it should have been amputated earlier or prove that a missed diagnosis occurred.
Medical records or charts that show the medical care you received.
Financial records that show the ways the amputation has affected you in terms of finances, like bank statements or wage slips.

In some cases, your case may be put to the Bolam test. This means a panel of experts will review the actions of your doctor or surgeon and form a report on whether or not your amputation was caused by negligence.

Contact us today to find out how a member of our legal team could help you gather proof of medical negligence to support your surgical amputation claim.

How Much Compensation For Amputation Negligence?

An amputation caused by medical negligence is a serious injury, and you might be wondering how much compensation you could get for a successful claim.

Amputation claims can contain up to two heads of compensation. The first is called general damages, and this addresses the amputation itself and the pain and suffering it causes, along with any psychological injuries.

When this head of amputation compensation is calculated, the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) can be used. The JCG provides professionals and those who calculate compensation with guideline brackets that correspond with different injuries.

In the table below, you can see some examples of these brackets, as the JCG covers multiple amputation injuries. Please keep in mind that the first entry in this table has not been taken from the JCG, and these brackets are not guaranteed.

Injury	Compensation	Notes
Loss of Both Arms	£293,850 to £366,100	A person with full awareness is reduced to helplessness.
Loss of One Arm (i)	Not Less Than £167,380	The arm is amputated at the shoulder.
Loss of One Arm (ii)	£133,810 to £159,770	Above-elbow amputation with consideration given to the use of a prosthetic.
Loss of One Arm (iii)	£117,360 to £133,810	Below-elbow amputation with consideration given to phantom pains and whether or not a prosthetic can be used.
Loss of Both Legs	£293,850 to £344,150	Both legs are lost and consideration is given to things like phantom pains and psychological problems.
Below-Knee Amputation of Both Legs	£245,900 to £329,620	Similarly to the above, consideration is given to a number of factors include phantom pain, loss of enjoyment in sports, psychological effects and the age of the claimant.
Below-Knee Amputation of One Leg	£119,570 to £162,290	The level of award depends on complications, phantom pains, and whether or not a prosthetic is viable.
Amputation of Both Feet	£206,730 to £245,900	Since the ankle joint is lost this is treated similarly to some leg amputations.

What Else Will My Amputation Injury Compensation Cover?

Amputation negligence claims can also cover financial losses. This heading of medical compensation is called special damages, and these can help you cover the cost of:

Lost earnings.
A prosthetic limb.
Medical expenses or the cost of private medical treatment.
Home adjustments.
Mobility aids.
Childcare.
Help with cooking and cleaning.
Private rehabilitation and physiotherapy.

If you’d like to find out how one of the specialist amputation lawyers from our panel could help you claim compensation for the loss of a limb, get in touch with our team today.

How Long Do I Have To Make An Amputation Claim?

Generally, you have three years to start an amputation claim. This time limit applies to all medical negligence claims.

Your three years start either on the date that the amputation occurred or on the date that you connect it with the negligent actions of a medical professional. This is also known as the date of knowledge.

The Limitation Act 1980 sets out the time limit for starting a loss of limb claim, and it also sets out the exceptions to this rule.

One of these exceptions applies to those under the age of 18. If you suffered due to medical negligence while under the age of 18, you won’t be able to make an amputation negligence claim for yourself until your 18th birthday.

However, a litigation friend can start your claim on your behalf. They can do this at any time up until you turn 18, at which point you will have three years to start your own claim.

To find out if you are within the time limit to make a loss of limb claim or to learn about the other exceptions that apply to this limitation period, contact our team today.

Can I Get Amputation Compensation Before My Claim Is Settled?

In some cases, you may need an advance on your amputation claim compensation to cover important things like medical expenses, home mortgage payments, and more. This is where interim payments come in.

Interim payments are designed to help those who make serious injury claims with a high chance of succeeding access things like rehabilitation, counselling, and accommodation adjustments as soon as possible.

Not everyone will be eligible for an interim payment, as this is decided depending on the circumstances of your case. If you are eligible, then the amount you receive in the interim will be deducted from your final payment when this is decided.

Our team of advisors can tell you whether or not you could be eligible for an interim payment when you get in touch.

Claim Loss of Limb Compensation Using A No Win No Fee Solicitor

Why should you make a No Win No Fee amputation claim? Working with specialist amputation solicitors on your claim can be extremely beneficial, as they can use their years of training and education to bring invaluable knowledge and experience to the table.

When you work with one of our No Win No Fee medical negligence solicitors, they could potentially help you:

Ensure that your claim is filed within the time limit.
Gather evidence to strengthen and support your medical negligence claim.
Negotiate a settlement that covers all of your losses.
Prepare your claim to go to court if negotiations fail.
Understand legal terminology.

They can do all of this and even more without asking for any legal fees upfront or as the claim is ongoing. This is because our expert solicitors work on a No Win No Fee basis, and ask their clients to agree to a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).

One of the benefits of working with a solicitor under a CFA is that if your claim fails, they won’t ask you to pay for any of their work on the case. They’ll only take a success fee in the event that your amputation claim succeeds, and this is taken as a small, legally limited percentage of your compensation.

Contact Us

Our team of friendly advisors are ready and waiting to talk to you about how one of our solicitors could help you. Get in touch today and start your free, no-strings consultation by:

Calling us on 0800 652 3087
Using the pop-up chat
Contacting us online

More Resources About Medical Negligence Claims

To get more insight into medical negligence claims:

Learn how to make a missed fracture negligence claim.
Find out if you could make a needlestick injury compensation claim.
Get information on making anaesthetic negligence claims.

Or, for more resources:

Learn about amputations from the NHS.
Complain about a healthcare service provider to the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Advice for claimants from the NHS.

Thank you for reading our guide on making an amputation claim.

Learn How To Make An Amputation Claim

Amputation Claim – Could I Claim For An Amputation Due To Medical Negligence?

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