When Medical Malpractice Leads to Amputation

Amputation is one of the most traumatic injuries a person can suffer due to improper medical care. While some amputations are a last resort as a lifesaving procedure, others are the result of malpractice committed by a doctor, surgeon, or other medical professional. When medical malpractice leads to amputation, a victim may be entitled to file a lawsuit to recover compensation for their financial losses and the pain and suffering they were forced to endure.

Key Takeaways

• While some amputations are necessary, they can also be caused by medical malpractice and stem from a medical professional’s negligence or failure to follow the accepted standard of care.
• Medical malpractice may lead to amputation due to botched surgery, failure to diagnose or treat an infection or blood clot, amputating the wrong limb, misdiagnosis, and various other causes.
• When medical malpractice leads to amputation, a victim may be entitled to file a lawsuit to recover a wide range of economic and non-economic damages, including future medical expenses, lost wages, the cost of home modifications, and compensation for pain and suffering.

What is Amputation?

Amputation refers to the loss of a limb or extremity. It typically results from severe injury, trauma, infection, or cancer. When implemented as a surgical measure, it may be used to control pain or the progression of disease in the affected limb. Although they can be lifesaving in many cases, there are also situations where they should or could have been avoided.

When is an Amputation Caused by Medical Malpractice?

In some cases, amputations are due to necessity and are not caused by medical malpractice. However, when the amputation was the result of a doctor or another medical professional’s negligence or carelessness, it may give rise to a malpractice claim. Common examples of when medical malpractice leads to amputation include the following:

• Botched surgery that requires a limb to be amputated
• Amputation of the wrong limb in surgery
• Failure to treat an infection that leads to loss of a limb
• Failure to diagnose or delayed diagnosis of a condition that progresses to a point where amputation is the only option
• Misdiagnosis of a medical condition that leads to amputation
• Failure to adequately monitor for blood clots after surgery, which can lead to tissue death and the need for amputation
• Delay in triaging a patient who has been in an accident, resulting in amputation which could have been prevented

While the above are just a few examples of when medical malpractice leads to amputation, it typically involves a medical professional’s failure to follow the accepted standard of care.

Types of Amputations Caused By Medical Malpractice

There are a wide variety of limbs that can be impacted by medical malpractice. Medical malpractice that leads to amputation can result in:

• Finger or toe amputation: Finger or toe amputation is the surgical removal of all or part of the extremity.
• Partial hand amputation: Partial hand amputation involves the loss of one or more fingers, thumbs, part of the palm, or other part of the hand.
• Partial foot amputation: A partial foot amputation removes part of the foot, such as the toe, front of the foot, or midfoot, while preserving the ankle joint and heel.
• Above the knee amputations: These types of amputations remove the portion of the leg between the knee and hip.
• Below the knee amputations: A below the knee amputation removes the leg below the knee, while preserving the knee joint.
• Above the elbow amputations: This type of amputation removes the arm between the shoulder and elbow joint.
• Below the elbow amputations: This a surgical procedure that removes the forearm while preserving the elbow joint.
• Disarticulation: Disarticulation is the entire removal of a limb at the joint. For example, disarticulation can involve the wrist, knee, elbow, ankle, shoulder, or hip.

A victim who has suffered these traumatic losses due to medical negligence may be entitled to compensation for both the economic and non-economic damages they suffered.

What are Your Rights When Medical Malpractice Leads to Amputation?

Apart from the physical devastation of losing a limb, amputation can have severe long-term consequences. Extensive medical treatment and physical rehabilitation may be needed, in addition to costly prosthetics and assistive devices. A victim may be unable to work and require full time care, which can increase the financial impact of the amputation. A victim of medical malpractice that results in amputation might also suffer emotionally and psychologically, experiencing depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions that require therapy or counseling.

When medical malpractice leads to amputation, a victim may be entitled to file a lawsuit to recover a wide range of damages to compensate for both their monetary losses and pain and suffering. Damages can include:

• Unreimbursed medical bills
• The costs of physical rehabilitation and therapy
• Future medical expenses
• Lost earnings
• Future loss of earnings
• The cost of home or vehicle modifications
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress and mental anguish
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Loss of consortium
• Disfigurement

Every injury is unique and no two cases are alike. The damages awarded depend upon the location of the amputation, the impact on the victim’s daily life, and the lifetime costs associated with the injury. However, due to the severity of these injuries, medical malpractice cases involving amputation often result in settlements and verdicts that reach six figures.

Contact an Experienced Medical Malpractice Attorney

If you suffered amputation due to a medical professional’s negligence, it’s crucial to have an experienced medical malpractice attorney by your side who can fight to obtain the compensation you deserve. Serving Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, the Fraser Law Firm is dedicated to helping victims of negligence navigate the legal system during some of their most difficult times. Contact the Fraser Law Firm today to schedule a free consultation and learn how we can help.