Philadelphia Amputation Attorney

The human body has an incredible capacity for healing itself, but some limb injuries are so severe the limb must be severed to save the rest of the body. Amputation may also be a necessity due to conditions such as blood clots or infections, or an accident may sever a limb. Whatever the cause, an amputation is incredibly debilitating, and amputees must adjust to life without one or more limbs.

If your amputation is the result of a fall please feel free to call our slip and fall lawyers in Philadelphia. 

As noted by our Philadelphia truck accident attorneys, amputations are often the result of explosions, wartime injuries, serious car crashes, and other traumatic injuries. During the operation, the surgeon must decide how much of the limb must be removed and will leave as much behind as possible. After the surgery, a patient generally wears a prosthesis to afford the victim some degree of function. While most prosthetics do not allow much range of movement, prosthetic research has advanced greatly in recent years, and cybernetic limbs are no longer solely the realm of science fiction.

The advancements in prosthetics in recent years have made amputees’ lives easier, but losing a limb is never easy for the victim. If you recently needed to have a limb amputated, it’s vital to understand your rights if the need arose due to the irresponsible or negligent actions of another party.

Primary Causes Of Philadelphia Amputation Injuries?

Amputations can occur forever variety of reasons. When we examine the information available from Johns Hopkins University, we can see that amputation can be:

• Traumatic. This denotes that an amputation was caused by some type of traumatic incident, such as a car accident, workplace accident, act of violence, etc.
• Surgical. This indicates that the amputation was due to some type of disease that caused damage to an affected limb, including blood vessel disease, infections, cancer, etc.
• Congenital. These amputations denote that there was a body part that could have been missing before birth.

The types of amputations we handle at our law firm typically deal with traumatic amputations caused by the careless or negligent actions of another individual or entity. The amputation cases we handle often revolve around vehicle accidents, premises liability incidents, defective product incidents, dog bite incidents, medical mistakes, and more. If you have any questions about whether or not you have a viable amputation claim to bring against another party, we encourage you to reach out to a member of our legal team for a free consultation today.

Different Types Of Amputations  Seen In Philadelphia 

Various types of amputations that an individual can experience that result from physical injuries caused by the negligence of others. Some of the most common types of amputations include the following:

• Above the knee amputation, what’s your moves part of the thigh, knee, shin, and foot
• Below the knee amputation, which removes the lower leg and foot
• Finger amputation
• Hand amputation
• Arm amputation
• Foot amputation, including partial foot amputations
• Toe amputation

The type of amputation an individual receives will depend entirely on the overall injury or illness they have sustained. Medical professionals will examine the victim’s needs and make a decision about the best path moving forward for an amputation. Anytime an injured limb jeopardizes the health of the victim, and if the source of the distress cannot be medically fixed, an amputation may be necessary.

Often, amputations occur as a result of some sort of crush injury. Even though the affected body part is still attached, crush injuries often prevent proper blood flow, and leaving the limb attached to the body could lead to significant issues later.

Living with an Amputation In Philadelphia

The physical pain of the accident and subsequent amputation surgery is likely to be very painful, but amputation normally carries a psychological toll that the victim will carry forever. After receiving a prosthetic limb, the patient will need to learn how to use it and then adapt to a limited range of motion. The stump left behind commonly aches for quite some time after the surgery and may necessitate prescription painkillers.

Amputees commonly suffer from phantom limb syndrome. The victim will still feel sensations that seem to come from the limb or limbs lost, such as “pins and needles” tingling sensations, and sometimes extreme pain. There are several theories as to why phantom pain happens, and although some may dismiss it as psychological, peer-reviewed studies and brain scans reveal that phantom pain is very real for the victims.

Damages To Recover In A Philadelphia Amputation Injury Case

Recovering compensation after an amputation caused by the negligent actions of another individual or entity can be challenging, but it is critically important. Individuals who experience these injuries need compensation to make as full of a recovery as possible and help them adjust to a new lifestyle.

At Ciccarelli Law Offices, we are ready to step in to help individuals recover both economic and non-economic damages after an accident.

• Economic damages. After an amputation, victims will likely receive various types of bills, invoices, and estimates related to the costs of treatment and other expenses they incur. These calculable expenses can be added up and included in a demand letter to the insurance carriers or included for a jury to examine. Some of the most common amputation injury economic damages include:
  • Emergency medical expenses
  • Surgical care
  • The cost of physical therapy and rehabilitation
  • Medical devices
  • Prescription medications
  • Prosthetic expenses
  • Various household out-of-pocket expenses
  • Lost wages and loss of future earning potential
• Non-economic damages. Amputation victims will also likely experience various types of emotional and psychological pain and suffering, as well as loss of quality of life. These types of non-economic damages are more challenging to calculate because they do not necessarily have receipts or bills that can be added up to quantify the loss. However, there are various types of accepted methods for calculating non-economic damages, and these damages are equally as important as the economic losses mentioned above.

Individuals, their attorney, and trusted economic advisers can add up all of the economic damages mentioned above by gathering the receipts and bills that come in. A multiplier method may be used to properly calculate the non-economic damages. This typically means taking all of the economic damages and multiplying the total by a set number (often a number ranging from 1.5 to 5). For example, if we imagine an amputation victim sustaining $500,000 worth of medical bills and lost wages, we could use a multiplier of “three” to request $1.5 million in non-economic damages.

Workers’ Compensation In Philadelphia For An Amputation Injury

If you sustain an amputation injury as a result of on-the-job duties anywhere in Pennsylvania, chances are you will be covered by workers’ compensation benefits. The workers’ comp insurance system is fairly robust in the Commonwealth, and the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act does provide specific loss benefits for amputation victims. This means the benefits are paid according to the type of amputation and individual suffers, and there is a schedule that denotes how much compensation. The types of amputations that lead to long-term benefits provided include:

• Amputation of a thumb, finger, hand, forearm, or arm
• Amputation of a toe, foot, ankle, lower leg, or leg
• Disfigurement of the neck, face, or head
• Loss of sight or hearing

If an injury leaves a body part useless, such as a crushed foot or hand, this will be treated like an amputation, even if an actual limb amputation is not necessary. Based on the body part that sustains an amputation, employees will be entitled to specific loss benefits that they receive for a certain number of weeks set forth under the law. Individuals may also be allowed certain payments to help with the healing process, depending on the amputated body part.

The total amount of compensation workers receive during the scheduled weeks of benefits is determined by a rating system. The treating physician will develop a rating based on various factors related to the overall condition of the worker, including their health, work experience, page, and other factors. The rating will go to the workers’ compensation claims adjuster, who will determine the total amount of a lump sum payment.

What Amputations Victims In Philadelphia Can Do

An amputation is a serious process with lifelong effects, so victims need to be aware of their legal rights if they lost a limb or limbs due to the negligent actions of another person or entity. As with any other personal injury case, experienced legal counsel will make a world of difference when pursuing damages. Your accident attorney in Philadelphia needs to prove negligence on part of the defendant, which entails proving three things:

• The defendant owed the victim a duty to act with reasonable care.
• They breached this duty through some action.
• Their breach of duty directly resulted in the victim’s injuries.

If you lost a limb after a workplace accident through no fault of your own, your employer’s workers’ compensation benefits may offset some of the costs your injury will entail. Speak to a Philadelphia workers’ compensation lawyer to learn more. However, amputations typically require several surgeries, ongoing physical therapy, prescription steroids and painkillers, prosthetics, and a great deal of psychological duress. If workers’ compensation isn’t a factor for your situation or won’t cover all your expenses and lost time from work, an attorney will help you obtain damages to cover medical expenses, future treatments, lost past and future wages from work, and compensation for your pain, suffering, and psychological stress.

The Philadelphia injury lawyers of Ciccarelli Law Offices believe that victims should not have to bear these expenses alone, especially if someone else caused the damage. If you have a case in Philadelphia that you’d like to review or have any questions about an amputation, reach out to our team to get started with your case today.