Amputation and Loss of Limbs
January 13, 2025- Categories: Personal Injury
It’s easy to take your arms and legs for granted. You probably don’t notice just how much you rely on your limbs until one of them is injured. Limb injuries are common in car accidents, but some of these injuries are severe enough that they require amputation. Losing a limb is devastating. Although you might still be able to do some of what you did before, you will live life in a very different manner. Some people find they are no longer able to independently do many basic things in life, such as get dressed or do things around the home. If you have lost a limb because of another party’s negligence, contact Neale & Fhima APC today.
Monetary compensation can’t bring back the limb you lost or undo the pain your accident caused. However, it can help you pay for medical costs, make up for current and future lost wages, and offer you financial security.
Overview of Amputation and Loss-of-Limb Injuries
Amputation and loss-of-limb injuries are among the most serious injuries you can sustain in a car accident. Some of these injuries are known as traumatic amputations — meaning the force of the accident itself actually removes the limb from the body. More than 30,000 traumatic amputations happen each year.
In other cases, a crush injury or other extreme injury may damage one of your limbs so badly that doctors can not save it. Medicine is much more advanced than it used to be, and surgeons can sometimes save even seemingly hopeless cases. However, some accidents cause so much damage that the limb cannot be successfully reattached.
Unfortunately, there are many different ways you might suffer an accidental amputation or loss-of-limb injury:
- Car accidents
- Construction accidents
- Defective product injuries
- Workplace accidents
- Electrocution
- Various machinery accidents.
Of the approximately 2 million Americans who have lost limbs, 45% were injured in traumatic accidents. Amputations can occur due to a crushing injury or severing injury. When the body part has been cut off, surgeons may be able to reattach it; but in some cases, nerve damage may prevent normal function from being restored. Sometimes the limb will need to be removed months later and replaced with a prosthetic.
Have you lost a limb in an accident you didn’t cause? If so, we’re here for you. You deserve compensation for your life-altering injury. Call Neale & Fhima APC at 888-407-2955 to set up a free consultation.
Compensation for Amputation and Loss of Limbs
Losing a limb due to an amputation injury is a huge physical trauma. However, it’s also psychologically devastating. You may no longer be able to work at the same job or enjoy the same hobbies you used to. You might need a wheelchair or other mobility equipment to get around, and even daily activities can become extremely challenging.
In light of all that, it may seem like seeking compensation is pointless — it can’t bring back your limb, and it can’t erase the fact that your life is forever changed. However, suffering an amputation and navigating the world without a limb can prove to be costly. If you lose a limb due to an accident or the negligence of another party, you could be entitled to some or all of the following:
- Lost earnings
- Medical bills, including rehabilitation and fitting for a prosthesis
- Pain and suffering
- Personal support if you need assistance with daily tasks of living.
With permanent injuries like amputations, you often can recover compensation for lost future earnings as well. Depending on your existing career, you may not be able to work at the same level you did before. You also may not be able to work at all.
Understanding what kinds of losses you can receive compensation for is easy enough. However, when it comes to determining how much you can recover, things become much less clear. You will need an experienced attorney to value your case, but, typically, the amount of compensation you can recover depends on these factors:
- Your job before the accident
- Whether losing the limb will affect your earning potential
- Your age
- How much your life has changed since the accident
- The person or entity responsible for your injury.
It is estimated that over the average lifetime, the healthcare costs for an amputee are more than $500,000, so it is crucial that the victim be represented by a seasoned personal injury lawyer. The right attorney can do more than just fight for compensation — they can also accurately value your case to account for all of the past, present, and future expenses caused by the amputation.
Even if someone receives insurance payments to cover some of their expenses related to the loss of a limb, those payments are often inadequate. If the limb loss is due to negligence, other legal avenues should be explored to properly compensate the accident victim. Fortunately, you don’t have to find all of these potential options yourself. When you work with a personal injury attorney, your lawyer will explore every possible avenue for compensation to ensure you receive every dollar you’re entitled to.
Catastrophic Injuries in Vehicle Accidents
You Deserve Compensation — Especially When Your Injury Is Permanent
The loss of a limb is a catastrophic injury, meaning that it is permanent and disabling. In our experience, some of the most serious injuries people suffer stem from the carelessness of a negligent driver. If you or a loved one have been affected, consulting with a catastrophic injury lawyer can be a crucial step. These injuries end up costing people an incredible amount of money, and they are also painful and restrictive.
Personal injury claims offer a remedy to the financial hardship caused by another’s negligence. The more catastrophic the injury, the greater the needs of the person filing the claim. Not all accident claim lawyers are interested in handling these cases, simply because they require a great amount of dedication and resources.
If you have suffered an injury as significant as the loss of a limb, you deserve legal representation that treats your case with the gravity it deserves.
Speak to a Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorney Today
Your Advocates in a Trying Time
If you were injured in an accident that led to amputation and/or loss of a limb, you could be entitled to substantial compensation for your medical bills, lost earnings, disability, and pain and suffering, both mental and physical.
There are several ways an attorney can help you with an injury case. At Neale & Fhima APC, we will thoroughly investigate your case to determine who was at fault and how much compensation you deserve. Serious injuries have enormous costs. Our attorneys make sure you get compensation that reflects your needs, and we’ll offer you support and understanding throughout the process.
At Neale & Fhima APC, we are committed to holding negligent people accountable. We’re also committed to getting justice for injured people. It may feel overwhelming to do anything but the absolute basics at this time, but if you give us a call, we can handle the logistics of your case and fight to get you the compensation you deserve. Please call our office at 888-407-2955 or get in touch online for a free consultation.
Attorney Aaron Fhima
Aaron Fhima is a trial attorney who has secured numerous settlements and verdicts against large corporations and some of the largest auto manufacturers in the world. Representing consumers and injury victims throughout the state of California, Aaron’s practice areas include personal injury, and lemon law litigation. Aaron has a long record of success taking on large defense firms; and he doesn’t hesitate to take cases to trial when necessary to enforce his clients’ rights. [ Attorney Bio ]
