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Losing a leg is often an unexpected, devastating experience that can create a life-altering change. In some cases, the patient must undergo an amputation due to a medical necessity because they were the victim of a traumatic car crash, or developed a serious condition including a tumor, infection, cancer, diabetes, or heart disease.
Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC represents victims of a preventable amputation and other types of professional negligence. Our law firm has successfully prosecuted cases for our clients who were injured by the negligent actions of others. Our attorneys are available to answer any legal questions on how to receive the monetary compensation you deserve if your injuries were a result of someone else's negligence. Should you have additional questions, we invite you to contact our office for a free review of your legal rights.
Why an Amputation is Necessary
Surgeons will amputate a diseased or injured body part for distinct reasons including a medical condition like diabetes or peripheral artery disease. In some cases, the body part is removed due to trauma like being involved in an automobile accident. Other times, the patient is a victim of frostbite, neuroma (nerve tissue thickening), cancerous tumors, or severe infection that does not respond to effective treatments including strong antibiotics. In some incidents, an amputation may be necessary if the victim is suffering a life-threatening condition caused by a defective product like a dangerous hip implant or from neglect caused by nursing home abuse.
Amputating any body part can cause a life-altering change and may have a negative impact on the victim's future including their career options, their limited abilities, and the need for aid at home and work. The victim often faces the financial burden of ongoing surgical procedures, years of rehabilitation and therapy, and the need for a prosthetic limb. Adaptations are often necessary to the victim's vehicle or home to accommodate their restrictive movement.
Alarming Amputation Facts
Statistics maintained by the National Limb Loss Information Center, under the Amputee Coalition, reveal that more than two million individuals in the United States have lost a limb. This number increases by nearly 185,000 amputations every year. More than half of these individuals with amputations lost their limb due to vascular disease including PAD (peripheral arterial disease) and diabetes. An additional 45% lost a limb due to some traumatic event. Other statistics involving losing a limb include:
- African-Americans are 400% more likely to experience in amputation compared to other ethnic groups in the United States.
- Approximately 50% of all amputees who lost a limb due to vascular disease have less than a five-year survival rate.
- More than 50% of all individuals suffering from diabetes who have experienced a lower extremity amputation will undergo an additional amputation of the other leg in the next three years.
Hiring an Attorney may be a Legal Necessity
In addition to the physical and financial toll of suffering from an amputation, the victim might also be facing an ongoing financial burden after losing a leg, arm, hand, finger, foot, or toe. The patient's bills might be insurmountable, and lifetime expenses associated with their injury could place their family's future in jeopardy.
Hiring an attorney can be beneficial to the injured victim if their injuries are the result of another's negligence. As the injured victim, you might be entitled to file a claim for extensive compensation to cover the costs of making adjustments in your daily living. Your attorney can seek compensation to cover certain expenses that include:
- Home and Vehicle Remodeling – Your amputation may have left you in a wheelchair that requires the need to remodel your home, office, or workplace to make it accessible. The construction might include widening entryways and doors and installing lifts and ramps. You may need to lower your kitchen and bathroom counters and retrofit your car, truck, or van to include hand and lift controls.
- Buy Prosthetics – The cost of prosthetics is astronomical where an artificial leg or arm can cost upwards of $50,000. Unfortunately, you will likely need to purchase additional prosthetics in the future. In the weeks following your amputation surgery, you will likely be fitted with a temporary artificial limb that might fit well while the swelling subsides and the limb continues to heal. However, in the months following the accident, you will likely need your existing temporary prosthetic to be replaced with a more permanent artificial limb that will likely last five years based on average wear and tear. Sadly, most private insurance carriers will not provide financial coverage to reimburse the cost of buying prosthetic devices.
- Ongoing Therapy – Most patients who experience in amputation will undergo years of comprehensive rehabilitation and physical, psychological, and occupational therapy. Their therapy will likely include:
- Exercise routines that are necessary to strengthen and build muscle mass to accommodate for the missing limb. These routines will help increase endurance, add coordination, and ensure balance.
- Stretching exercises that boost the victim's flexibility and prevent the development of contractures where connective tissue tightens and restricts joint motion.
- Pain management that is necessary to boost the effectiveness of pain-relieving medications. The victim may undergo gentle electrical skin stimulation, skin desensitization, and biofeedback therapy to maximize their sense of touch.
- Movement therapy to help master their ability to move about using assisted devices, walkers, and wheelchairs.
- Prosthesis training to help maximize using the prosthetic device. Many victims must undergo the agonizing challenge of learning how to use hand or foot prosthetic devices and must relearn how to execute complex prosthetic movements consciously that used to be done effortlessly.
- Relearn how to drive in a vehicle that is now equipped with hand controls.
- Non-Tangible Damages – Losing a limb is often a painful experience especially if the victim experiences chronic phantom limb pain where there is false sensation. This chronic condition sends communication to the spinal cord and brain from the missing limb indicating that something is wrong. The brain responds by creating the pain sensation even though the limb is no longer there. Victims often experience extreme to mild pain that can last during the first months after the accident or throughout the patient's lifetime. The attorney usually seeks non-tangible damages to cover not so obvious problems including pain, discomfort, mental anxiety, psychological injury, depression, and emotional distress.
- Lost Wages – Likely, the accident caused the victim to lose time away from work due to their injuries. An attorney working on behalf of their client will seek compensation to recover lost wages from the past and the future loss of earning capacity if the victim is unable to return to their occupation or has missed opportunities for advancement.
Using an attorney to file a claim is often necessary to ensure you receive adequate compensation to alleviate the financial burden that can last a lifetime.
What is my Case Worth?
The evidence and facts surrounding your claim for compensation are unique in your case. However, an attorney working on your behalf can ensure you receive maximum monetary recovery because the negligent actions of another caused your amputation.
It is best to speak with a lawyer before filing a claim with an insurance company. Many insurance carriers use proven tactics and settlement policies that encourage the claims adjuster to quickly settle cases, minimizing the payout in resolving claims. Typically, the claims adjuster will contact the victim in the days following the accident in an attempt to build rapport and gain a level of trust before presenting a lowball offer to settle the case. Do not be fooled. Your attorney can build a claim for compensation built on effective strategies that ensure you get all the compensation available to resolve your suit.
Our top lawyers represent people who suffered amputations in Chicago and throughout Illinois. Our law firm knows firsthand the hurdles that amputees face on their road to recovery. In many cases, the physical pain related to the amputation is dwarfed by the emotional impact as the individual must re-live the incident that lead up to this tragedy daily.
Our aggressive case handling ensures that all responsible parties are fully pursued to ensure you get the compensation that you deserve for your amputation. Talk to an attorney who knows amputation injuries and who has experience winning cases like yours.
If you or a loved one has lost a limb in an accident in Illinois, we invite you to contact our Chicago office for a free case review. We can handle every aspect of your claim for compensation to alleviate your financial burden and allow you the time you need to heal.
Arm, Leg, and Finger Amputations
Our law firm has worked with clients who have suffered amputations of arms, legs, and fingers due to:
- Construction accidents
- Dangerous products
- Pressure Sores
- Medical malpractice
- Auto accidents
- Motorcycle crashes
Given the severe nature of these amputation injuries, our Chicago based injury attorneys carefully explore all possible roads for recovery with an eye on securing the most favorable outcome to provide for the future needs of our clients and their families.
Special Considerations for Amputees in Illinois Civil Damage Cases
In traumatic injury cases, our team of attorneys understands the significance behind every one of our client's case. Frequently, an injury of this type means a significant loss in earning capacity as well as the need to have accommodations to the home or car in order for the injured person to achieve some level of independence.
Having worked with amputees in diverse types of accidents, we are mindful of these truly special needs and work hard to figure these different aspects of damages into our client's case. Our office has built relationships with experts in physical medicine, vocational counselors, and psychological professionals, not just to help us present our case to a jury, but more importantly because these people can truly help our clients.
Chicago Attorneys Experienced in Traumatic Injuries
If you suffered a significant injury in Illinois that resulted in the amputation of a limb or other part of the body, we understand the feelings of anger and fear about resuming your life. We are also mindful that as an amputee, selecting an attorney is a crucial decision.
The amputation attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC understand that your injuries were not your fault but were caused by the negligent actions of others. Our legal team has successfully obtained millions on behalf of the victims and their family members to ensure they were adequately compensated to cover their medical expenses, household bills, lost wages, loss of future earnings, pain, suffering, and emotional damage and we can help your family too.
Our law firm encourages you to contact our attorneys today to schedule a free, no-obligation case consultation to discuss the merits of your monetary recovery claim. We accept all personal injury cases, wrongful death lawsuits, and preventable amputation injury claims through contingency fee arrangements. This legal contract postpones the payment of legal services until after we have successfully completed your case through a negotiated settlement or a jury verdict.
Our law firm gets results quickly because we understand you need money now. We proudly offer every client a “No Win/No-Fee” Guarantee, meaning if we are unable to secure financial compensation on your behalf you owe us nothing. All information you share with our law office will stay confidential.
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