Suffering a wrongful amputation is a life-altering event that brings not only physical pain but also emotional trauma and financial burdens. Compensation in these cases often goes beyond medical bills and income losses. You'll want to speak to an experienced medical malpractice lawyer to have your claims' value thoroughly assessed. They know what your case is worth. Schedule a free consultation with an affordable Owings Mills medical malpractice attorney to explore what compensation you can recover after a wrongful amputation.
What Constitutes a Wrongful Amputation?
Recent amputation data demonstrates that approximately 185,000 people lose a limb in the United States annually. A wrongful amputation occurs when a medical professional or healthcare provider makes a mistake during a treatment or procedure that leads to the unnecessary removal of a limb. Common causes for this medical negligence or malpractice are as follows:
- Misdiagnosis: Misdiagnosis is one common cause of wrongful amputations. It happens when a medical professional fails to correctly diagnose a condition that could have been treated without resorting to amputation. For example, if a doctor misdiagnoses an infection or fails to treat a traumatic injury properly, it may result in the need for amputation.
- Negligence: Healthcare providers' negligence can also lead to wrongful amputations. Examples include communication errors, failure to monitor a patient's condition, inadequate preoperative or postoperative care, or errors in medication administration.
- Surgical Errors: Surgical errors are another unfortunate cause of wrongful amputations. These errors can range from incorrect surgical site markings to mistakes during the procedure itself. For example, damage to tissue or blood vessels during surgery can necessitate wrongful amputation to prevent further complications.
Being a victim of the negligent loss of a limb is a life-changing experience impacting your ability to move, work, interact with others, and maintain independence and self-confidence. Continuing pain, phantom limb phenomena, emotional anguish, and psychological trauma can complicate recovery. A medical malpractice lawyer thoroughly investigates all potential liable parties to maximize your settlement.
What Compensation Can You Recover After a Wrongful Amputation?
Knowing what compensation you can recover after a wrongful amputation involves having an experienced malpractice attorney review the compensatory damages in your claim. After assessing the economic damages, they can better determine compensation for non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering.
Economic Damages
Economic damages are the measurable financial losses a person suffers due to an accident or injury. These damages are intended to compensate victims for the out-of-pocket costs they've incurred—or will incur in the future—due to someone else's negligence. In wrongful amputation cases, economic damages can include the following:
- Medical Expenses: Medical expenses are one of the primary portions of economic damages in these cases. They often include costs associated with your initial treatment, hospital stays, surgeries, medications, prosthetics, rehabilitation, and any ongoing medical care related to your amputation.
- Long-Term Medical Care: Depending on the severity of your amputation, you may require long-term medical care and assistance. These expenses include regular doctor visits, physical and occupational therapy, prosthetic adjustments and replacement, and other specialized healthcare services.
- Lost Income: When you suffer the negligent loss of a limb, you may need time off work to undergo medical treatments, surgeries, and rehabilitation. This time away from work can result in a loss of income, including tips, commissions, and overtime.
- Diminished Earning Capacity: Permanent disability can significantly limit or prevent your ability to work and earn a living. If you were previously employed, you may be eligible to compensation for the loss of earning potential due to your amputation when you can no longer perform the duties required of your profession.
- Household Services: A wrongful amputation can significantly impact your ability to perform daily household tasks and chores. Amputees requiring assistance with cleaning, cooking, and other household duties may be eligible to recover compensation for these services.
Due to the nature of these incidents, the economic damages resulting from a wrongful amputation can be substantial. You'll want to keep all paperwork demonstrating monetary losses relating to your malpractice claim or lawsuit. These include medical bills, receipts, bank statements, pay stubs, and a lost-wage statement verifying income losses from your employer.
Non-Economic Damages
When pursuing a wrongful amputation case, the intangible losses you suffer are called non-economic damages, which bring different challenges. They are more challenging to quantify. Many states also impose damage caps on medical malpractice non-economic damages. Examples of the non-economic damages you can recover are as follows:
- Pain and Suffering: The physical pain and emotional distress caused by the negligent loss of a limb can be debilitating. Compensation for pain and suffering intends to provide financial support for the physical and emotional anguish you have endured.
- Depression: Losing a limb can significantly impact your mental well-being, leading to feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and a loss of enjoyment in life. The Amputee Coalition reports that 36 percent of people living with limb loss experience depression. Compensation for depression can help cover the costs of therapy, counseling, and other treatments needed to manage and overcome this condition.
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): The negligent loss of a limb can trigger symptoms of PTSD, such as flashbacks, nightmares, and severe anxiety. Compensation for PTSD aims to alleviate the financial burden of seeking professional help and undergoing necessary treatment.
- Loss of Consortium: Wrongful amputation can strain relationships with spouses or partners, leading to a loss of companionship, affection, and support. Compensation for loss of consortium recognizes how this intangible loss can affect your personal relationships.
It is important to remember that each case is unique, and the compensation you may be eligible for depends on the circumstances surrounding your medical malpractice. A skilled wrongful amputation lawyer can evaluate your case, determine the appropriate non-economic damages to pursue and fight fervently to ensure you receive fair and just compensation.
How a Medical Malpractice Lawyer Helps Recover Compensation After a Wrongful Amputation
An experienced Owings Mills personal injury lawyer will conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding your wrongful amputation. Their investigation includes reviewing your medical records, consulting with experts, and gathering any other relevant evidence. Through this meticulous process, medical malpractice attorneys aim to identify any negligence or medical malpractice that led to your devastating loss before presenting it to liable insurers and negotiating claims.
Schedule a free consultation to have your story heard by a compassionate medical malpractice lawyer. You don't have to fight this uphill battle alone.