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Amputation and Limb Loss

At Bond Pearce we have the experience and expertise to deal with the most complex of amputation legal claims. And we have achieved notable success for our clients. However we recognise that compensation is but one part and that rehabilitation, assistance and a guiding hand from someone who has the experience in dealing with amputation injuries is of equal importance. The legal process can be complex and we aim to take the pressure away from this area making it a seamless process for you. We visit our clients in hospitals as well as at home and are happy to have an informal chat to see whether we can help.

If you would like to speak to someone regarding your or a loved ones accident please call our lawyers for specialist legal advice. You can either fill out our online enquiry form, request a call back or call us direct on 0800 915 4650.

It is important to remember that amputation injuries can impact dramatically upon your lifestyle and that specialist advice both medically and legally is vital from the start.

Amputation injury legal claims can be complex due to the number of factors to consider and it is vital that you instruct a legal team who have experience of dealing with a range of amputation injuries. Our amputation injury solicitors have experience in obtaining compensation for our clients who have suffered a traumatic or surgical amputation in particular obtaining early interim payments. Your solicitor will be able to liaise with you and your medical team to discuss your injury and any implications this will have for the future from rehabilitation to identifying the right prosthesis and dealing with any mobility issues. Your solicitor should take an active role in your rehabilitation as they will be able to provide legal advice and assistance with regard to the financial support and help that is available to you throughout your legal claim.

On this area of our website we have dedicated some pages to provide more information about amputation injuries. We have also provided the details of organisations who might be of help or assistance to you. We hope you find this useful.

TYPES OF AMPUTATION INJURY

Amputations can be broken down into the type of amputation - either traumatic or surgical and then the body part which has been amputated. The level of care you need and the time it will take for you to recover depends upon the severity of the amputation. The personal injury team at Bond Pearce have experience in dealing with all types of amputation claims including:

Traumatic amputation

Traumatic amputation is the loss of a body part such as a finger amputation, toe amputation, hand, arm amputation, foot or leg amputation that occurs as the result of an accident or trauma.

These injuries can be complete where the body part is totally severed. Or they can be partial where some soft-tissue connection remains but the body part concerned is usually severely crushed. Traumatic amputations usually result directly from industrial accidents, work place accidents in factories, accidents in agricultural work such as farm work, military accidents, power tool accidents or from car accidents or motorbike accidents.

Surgical amputation

Surgical amputation is where a surgeon removes a limb, or part of a limb, that is no longer useful and which is either causing great pain or threatens a persons health because of extensive infection. Most forms of surgical amputation are arm amputations, toe amputations, foot amputations, leg amputations- such as below the knee amputation and above the knee amputation. The most common reasons for surgical amputation are for those who have peripheral arterial disease (PAD), a traumatic injury such as a car accident or severe burn, or cancer.

Body part: A variety of factors determine which part of a limb is amputated. If trauma is the cause, the level of amputation is usually determined by which parts of the body were injured. For people whose amputation is caused by disease, the determination is based on the person's circulation and what the surgeon thinks will heal.

The major categories of lower limb amputations include:

Upper Leg

  • Above knee amputation also called trans-femoral amputation - this amputation includes all levels of thigh amputations from the hip to the knee joint.
  • Double above knee amputation
  • Knee disarticulation - this amputation occurs at the level of the knee joint.
  • Hip disarticulation This level of amputation is at the hip joint and involves removing the entire leg bone/thigh portion.
  • Hemipelvectomy is a high level pelvic amputation. In some cases, an internal hemipelvectomy can be performed, which is a limb-sparing procedure. A complete hemipelvectomy is the amputation of half of the pelvis and the leg on that side. This type of procedure is also called transpelvic amputation.

Lower leg

  • Below the knee amputation also called a trans-tibial amputation. This is an amputation above the ankle, but below the knee.
  • Double lower amputation
  • Knee Disarticulation - this amputation occurs at the level of the knee joint.
  • Gritti Stokes amputation - an amputation through the knee joint or just above the knee joint
  • Ankle disarticulation this is an amputation of the entire ankle
  • Foot amputations includes any part or whole of the foot. It may be toes or a portion of the foot. The types of amputations that fall into this category are:
  • Toe amputations
  • Mid tarsal amputations
  • Lisfranc amputation
  • Boyds amputation
  • Symes amputation - an amputation of just the foot performed with a cut through the ankle joint

The major categories of upper-limb amputations include:

  • Arm
  • Double upper amputation
  • Fore quarter amputation - a shoulder disarticulation amputation in which the shoulder blade and collar bone are removed.
  • Shoulder disarticulation - an amputation that is at the level of the shoulder, with the shoulder blade remaining. The collarbone may or may not be removed
  • Above elbow / trans-humeral (above elbow amputations) - any amputation that occurs in the upper arm from the elbow to the shoulder
  • Below elbow
  • Elbow disarticulation
  • Transradial - (below elbow amputations): Any amputation that occurs in the forearm, from the elbow to the wrist
  • Wrist disarticulation - the limb is amputated at the level of the wrist
  • Hand / hands / partial hand - includes finger amputation, thumb amputation or portion of the hand below the wrist

Other

  • Cross site amputation
  • Triple amputation
  • Quadruple amputation

Complications and other injuries

You may have complications following any surgical procedure. Complications that occur specifically from amputation include a joint deformity called contracture, a severe bruise called a haematoma, death of the skin flaps (necrosis), wound opening, or infection. All of these conditions are treatable. You may also experience:-

  • Poor wound cover and healing
  • Chronic neuroma (pain and/or tenderness in the amputation area)
  • Stiffness
  • Infection
  • Sympathetic dystrophy syndrome
  • Phantom limb pain - occurs in some people who have had a limb amputated. Phantom limb pain is the feeling of pain from a limb, when no limb is present. This is not the same as stump or residual limb pain, which can originate from the residual (stump) limb that the person is left with. Nor is it the same as phantom experiences, which are sensations that occur following amputation that are not painful, but which may cause distress. Phantom limb pain can be an unbearable, severe, sharp, stabbing pain that can only be controlled with expert help.