Suffering an amputation can cause a wide range of physical and psychological consequences that can have a profound impact on your quality of life. Amputation injuries can have left you unable to work or even complete normal daily activities like getting dressed or driving. Not only this, but the mental impact of such an injury can be detrimental, often posing increased levels of anxiety and depression. You could be giving some thought to amputation claims and wondering how compensation could offer assistance.
Here at Public Interest Lawyers, we understand that compensation can in no way undo the harm you have experienced, but it can be used to fund ongoing treatments, prescriptions or even the costs of prosthetic limbs. At a time when you are facing physical pain and suffering, these effects can often be exacerbated by rising financial worries, particularly in cases where you are faced with immediate medical expenses or a loss of income. An expert solicitor from our panel could help guide you through the claiming process, so you can focus on recovery.
Get in touch with our advisors today if you have any questions about how to claim compensation for an amputation. They can offer you free advice for your particular case, also.
Jump To A Section
- How Much Compensation Is Awarded For Amputation Claims?
- What Can Amputation Compensation Help With?
- Will I Be Able To Access My Amputation Compensation Before My Claim Settles?
- Can I Claim Compensation After An Amputation?
- Common Examples Of Amputation Compensation Claims
- Is There A Time Limit For Amputation Negligence Claims?
- What Evidence Is Needed For Amputation Claims?
- How Public Interest Lawyers Can Help
- Frequently Asked Questions About Amputation Claims
- Learn More
How Much Compensation Is Awarded For Amputation Claims?
You could receive between £117,360 to £133,810 for an arm amputation (dependent on whether both or one limb is amputated) according to the compensation guidelines within the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This document provides guideline brackets of compensation for specific injury types according to severity. It can be used by legal professionals when calculating a compensation payout for your general damages.
General damages are compensation for the physical and psychological impact of your injuries; they can consider the pain, suffering and any impact on your daily life that has been caused as a result.
Special damages is the secondary head of loss you could receive and is awarded for the financial losses caused by your injuries. We discuss this in further depth below.
We have provided a table below with figures from the JCG that may relate to amputation compensation claims. Please note that the top entry has not been taken from the JCG, and that these are guidelines and not an assurance of compensation.
| Injury | Severity + Notes | Compensation Bracket |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Serious Injuries + Special Damages | A number of severe injuries and special damages such as prosthetic expenses, professional care costs or lost income | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Arm Amputations | Loss of Both Arms | £293,850 to £366,100 |
| Loss of One Arm (i) - the loss of an arm at the shoulder | Not Less Than £167,380 | |
| Loss of One Arm (ii) - An amputation above the elbow | £133,810 to £159,770 | |
| Leg Amputations | Loss of Both Legs - where both legs have been lost above the knee, or one leg lost above the knee and the other below | £293,850 to £344,150 |
| Below-Knee Amputation of Both Legs | £245,900 to £329,620 | |
| Above-Knee Amputation of One Leg | £127,930 to £167,760 | |
| Hand Amputations | Total or Effective Loss of Both Hands - extensive damage to both hands that render them slightly more than useless | £171,680 to £245,900 |
| Amputation of Index and Middle and/or Ring Fingers | £75,550 to £110,750 | |
| Foot | Amputation of One Foot | £102,470 to £133,810 |
If you have any questions about how compensation is calculated in amputation claims, you can contact our advisors.
What Can Amputation Compensation Help With?
Amputation compensation can help you recoup the financial losses you have expereinced (and will experience in the future) due to your injury. These financial losses could be compensated under special damages as part of your settlement.
Below, we discuss some examples of special damages and explore how they could assist you after your accident.
Prosthetic Limbs
Standard prosthetic limbs can be provided free of charge through the NHS; however, high-performance or activity-specific prostheses can be costly. If you require a specialised prosthesis, these expenses can be valued within special damages.
Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy
Rehabilitation, such as physiotherapy or physical therapy, can be hugely beneficial after suffering an amputation; however, the costs of these types of treatment can be a big expense. Any associated costs can be calculated and included as part of special damages.
Counselling or Psychological Help
Suffering an amputation can have a profound psychological and emotional impact, so if you require any psychological assistance or counselling, the costs of these treatments can also be valued within special damages.
Home Or Vehicle Modifications
Grab rails, shower stools, or widened doorways can help your accessibility in your home after suffering an amputation. The costs of installing any home or vehicular modifications can be quantified and claimed back as special damages.
Long-Term Care or Support Workers
After suffering such a serious injury, you might now require round-the-clock professional care. This sort of care can cost thousands of pounds per month, which, if you’ve been left unable to work, could pose a financial hardship. Any costs of care can also be calculated and reimbursed as special damages.
Loss of Past and Future Earnings
Amputations can often affect your future employment prospects and past and current earnings. These types of injuries often involve a lengthy recovery time, during which you could be unable to work. Any past, current, or future earnings lost can be quantified and claimed as special damages.
Medical Expenses
Medical costs, such as surgery expenses or ongoing prescription costs, can cause financial difficulties, particularly if you are unable to work. Additionally, some specified rehabilitative support you could receive mightn’t be available through the NHS, meaning you may need to seek private medical assistance. These costs can all be claimed back under special damages.
Mobility Equipment
Equipment such as wheelchairs, crutches or various other physical therapy tools can help you gain strength and prepare to walk using prosthetics. Any associated expenses can be reimbursed.
Pain Management Treatment
The cost of any pain management prescriptions or treatments can also be valued within special damages.
It’s important to note here that you can only claim these special damages if you hold evidence that proves these expenses; this can generally include payslips, receipts and invoices. A solicitor from our panel could help gather this supporting evidence and ensure that your compensation payout is reflective of the full extent of financial loss you have experienced.
Get in touch with us today to learn more about what compensation could help you with.
Will I Be Able To Access My Amputation Compensation Before My Claim Settles?
You could access amputation compensation before your claim settles, if the court awards interim payments. You can only access these early compensation payments if your claim has a high likelihood of success or if the liable party admits fault. This is because of the nature of the payments; they are advanced funds paid early and taken out of your compensation payout.
Interim payments are typically awarded for immediate urgent costs. Claims can take a few months to settle entirely, and for claimants to receive their compensation. So these interim payments can help to fund necessary and urgent expenses. This can include:
- Rehabilitation costs
- Specialist prosthetics
- Care or support:
- Home adaptations:
- Travel costs
Contact our advisors with any questions you may have about when interim payments could be awarded in amputation claims.
Can I Claim Compensation After An Amputation?
Yes, you could claim compensation after an amputation if it can be proven that this occurred due to a third party’s negligent actions. This can be shown by proving three elements:
- A third party owed you a duty of care
- They breached this duty
- Their breach led to your amputation
When at work, on the roads, in public places or receiving medical treatment, you are owed a duty of care. In simple terms, this is a legal obligation placed on a third party to ensure your reasonable safety in a particular situation.
To learn when amputation claims could be made, you can contact our advisors. They can also assess the eligibility of your case.
Common Examples Of Amputation Compensation Claims
Common examples of amputation claims could be due to accidents at work, on the roads, in public places or due to negligent medical treatment or crimes of violence.
Below, we provide examples of how amputation injuries can occur in different scenarios:
Medical Negligence
Amputation compensation claims can arise following medical negligence in a range of different situations. For example:
- If a medical professional delays your diagnosis of a severe infection like sepsis, this could lead to complications necessitating an amputation.
- Following an administrative error, a surgeon fails to check the pre-operative notes and operates on the wrong limb. Instead of operating on your left leg, they operate on your right leg, meaning you suffer an amputation that wasn’t needed.
Workplace Accidents
Accidents at work can, in some severe situations, result in amputation. Some examples of how this can occur include:
- Whilst working on faulty scaffolding, which your employer failed to risk assess, you fall from height. This results in severe fractures of both of your legs, which later require amputation.
- Your employer failed to provide forklift training to one of your colleagues, yet still required them to work with a forklift. As a result, your colleague is unsure how to stop the vehicle, causing you to be crushed between the forklift and the wall. You suffer a severe arm crush injury, later requiring amputation.
Road Traffic Accidents
Road traffic accidents can have serious consequences, including amputation. Some examples of how an accident on the roads could result in amputation include:
- A driver, speeding over the limit, loses control of their car and then swerves into your lane, causing a head-on collision with your vehicle. Due to the impact, you are immediately crushed against the steering wheel, later requiring an above-the-knee amputation.
- A HGV driver fails to stop at a pedestrian crossing, striking a pedestrian. The direct impact of the vehicle causes the pedestrian’s arms to be severely crushed. Due to this, both arms are later amputated.
Public Place Accidents
Unfortunately, public place accidents can sometimes lead to severe injuries, including amputation. A few ways that this can occur include:
- You are walking on a public pathway when you trip on a defective paving stone. The local authority was aware of this defect, but failed to repair it within a reasonable time. You suffer a severe compound fracture of your leg, later necessitating an amputation.
- Due to malfunctioning equipment in a gym that hadn’t been cordoned off, your leg is trapped underneath a Smith machine, causing severe damage. Your leg later needs to be amputated as a result of the injuries.
Criminal Injury
Some criminal injuries can be severe, later leading to complications that require surgical amputation. Some examples include:
- If you are a victim of a stabbing, this deep wound could later lead to infection. If an infection is not diagnosed or treated promptly, it can become necrotic and spread throughout other bodily tissues. This could then necessitate amputation.
- If you’re involved in a violent incident involving a vehicle, this could result in crush injuries, where a limb is severely crushed, causing a restriction to blood flow and extensive muscular and nerve damage. You later require a surgical amputation of your leg.
These examples are illustrative and by no means a comprehensive list of all the ways in which you could suffer an amputation. To discuss the particulars of your own amputation claim, please get in touch with our advisors today.
Is There A Time Limit For Amputation Negligence Claims?
Yes, there is a 3-year time limit when bringing amputation claims. This time limit is set out by the Limitation Act 1980 and can run from:
- The date the incident took place
- The date of knowledge (applicable only in medical negligence claims, and refers to the date you realised that substandard treatment led to your amputation)
However, exceptions apply for those unable to make their own claim:
- For claimants who are under 18 at the time of the amputation, their time limit will be paused until they reach the age of 18
- Claimants who would be considered vulnerable adults (who lack the mental capacity to bring a claim) will also have their limitation period suspended, with their time limit only resuming if a full recovery is made.
In both situations, a litigation friend could be used. This is typically a trusted adult who is able to bring the claim on behalf of a claimant who is unable to for themselves. You could be appointed by the courts to act in this role, or alternatively, we could help you apply.
Criminal injury claims are subject to a different time limit. To learn what this is or to ask any question you may have about the time limit regarding amputation claims, you can contact our advisors.
What Evidence Is Needed For Amputation Claims?
The evidence needed for amputation claims includes evidence of the injury you suffered, such as your medical records, and also who was responsible, such as CCTV footage. Other examples of evidence that could be used include:
- The findings of an independent medical assessment (which we could help to arrange)
- Medical records, including your GP record, current medications and any treatments you might’ve received
- A copy of your accident in the workplace or public place accident book
- Dashcam or CCTV footage, if the accident was caught on camera
- Photos of any visible injuries
- The contact details of anyone who might’ve witnessed the accident
- A copy of your report to the police, if your amputation was caused by a criminal injury
- Insurance details, vehicle registration and driver contact details if involved in an accident with a driver
We understand it can feel daunting to gather all of this information alone, which is why if you work with a solicitor from our panel, they can help you with gathering a strong body of evidence to support your case.
Get in touch with us today to learn more about what evidence can be useful in your claim.
How Public Interest Lawyers Can Help
Here at Public Interest Lawyers, our advisors can help assess the eligibility of your claim, offer you free advice and answer any questions you may have. Additionally, they could connect you with a solicitor from our panel if they think you have a strong case.
The solicitors on our panel have years of experience navigating the amputation claims process and could help you with:
- Gathering evidence that proves how your amputation was the fault of someone else’s negligent actions and how the amputation now affects your daily life
- Handling the claim by discussing it with any relevant parties, and dealing with all paperwork related to your claim
- Helping to create a recovery plan that suits your needs, including arranging appointments with recovery specialists
- Explaining complicated legal language or processes
- Providing you with an estimate of how much compensation you could receive in a successful claim
- Negotiating a settlement that is fully reflective of all the harm you experienced following your accident
One of the many advantages that come with working with our solicitors is that they work on a No Win No Fee basis, through the use of a contract called a Conditional Fee Agreement. This can be favourable for claimants because it means you’d have:
- No upfront payments for a solicitor to begin work on your claim
- No ongoing fees for your solicitor’s work during the progression of your claim
- Nothing to pay for the work the solicitor has done on the claim if it were to be unsuccessful
Not only this, but if your claim were successful, then a limited percentage would be deducted from your compensation as your solicitor’s success fee. This percentage is capped in accordance with the Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013, to ensure that claimants receive the bulk of their compensation.
Contact Our Team Of Advisors
Getting in touch with our advisors means you could get a free case consultation and a discussion about what options are available to you, with no obligation to continue your claim. If you have any questions about the amputation claims process, you can contact our advisors today:
- Call us on 0800 073 8803
- Fill out our contact us form
- Speak to an advisor using our live chat
Frequently Asked Questions About Amputation Claims
Below, we answer the most frequently asked questions about amputation claims:
How Long Does An Amputation Claim Take?
The amount of time it can take for an amputation claim to settle depends on the complexity of your case. Simple cases could take a few weeks to a few months to settle, whereas more complex claims could take longer.
Do I Need A Solicitor To Make An Amputation Claim?
You do not need a solicitor to make an amputation claim, but it can be invaluable to instruct legal representation, as a specialist solicitor can help you navigate the claims process, determine liability and negotiate for an appropriate settlement amount.
How Long Do I Have to Start an Amputation Claim?
Typically, you will have 3 years from the date of the accident, or the date of knowledge (in medical negligence claims) to begin your amputation compensation claim.
Will Compensation Cover the Cost of Future Prosthetics?
Yes, compensation is designed to cover the lifelong costs associated with your amputation, including the expenses related to future prosthetics. Additionally, compensation can cover the maintenance, repair or replacement of any future prosthetics.
Learn More
Why not read our other guides about:
- How to make shoulder injury claims
- Spinal injury compensation claims and how we could help
- How to claim for a kidney injury
External Resources:
- How to apply for Statutory Sick Pay
- NHS Advice on emotional guidance following limb amputation
- How to get financial help if you are disabled
Thank you for reading our guide on amputation claims.