Amputation claims can involve anything from the loss of one or both legs or arms through to the loss of a finger or toe. The results can range from life-changing and traumatic with long term pain, to painful in the short term and inconvenient but surmountable in the long term. The way in which a limb is lost will determine whether you have a potential clinical negligence claim or a personal injury claim.
Surgical error - Unfortunately there are a substantial number of instances where a surgical procedure goes wrong and one of the consequences is that a limb, most frequently a leg, has to be amputated. Both the original surgical error and the amputation may form part of a clinical negligence claim.
Misdiagnosis – Occasionally a limb is removed because it is believed that this will prevent a disease such as cancer spreading to another part of the body. If it can later be proved that the limb was not putting the rest of the body at risk, then you may have a clinical negligence claim.
Traumatic amputation – This is the term used to describe loss of a limb during an accident. It most commonly happens during a serious road or rail accident, or as a result of an incident with machinery in the workplace. As with other types of personal injury claim, it will be necessary to show that someone else was wholly or partly responsible for the amputation.
The solicitors in the Kester Cunningham John injury teams have substantial experience in representing amputees and the firm is one of only five law firms nationally on the Limb Loss Legal Panel, formed by The Limbless Association.
If you would like individual advice, please contact Trefine Maynard or Tom Cook if you have a possible clinical negligence amputation claim or Ruth Booy or Hannah Rutterford in the case of a traumatic amputation.
