An amputation can be a life changing injury. If you suffered this type of injury due to someone else’s negligence, you may be eligible to claim compensation. This guide examines amputation claims.
We would like to take the stress that comes with the claims process away. We’ll explain how compensation could be awarded for a successful amputation claim. Within this guide, we’ll also look at the eligibility criteria you must meet in order to have good grounds to claim compensation. Additionally, you must have evidence that supports your amputation injury claim. We’ll look at a few examples.
Our penultimate section looks at how a personal injury solicitor could help with your compensation claim on a No Win No Fee basis.
Here at Compensation Calculator UK we can help. One of our friendly advisors can assess the eligibility of your claim and help you get one started today.
Contact a team memer on any of the following:
- Phone – 0800 408 7826
- Online – Contact Us
- Use our live chat.
Browse Our Guide
- Compensation Calculator For Amputation Claims
- What Is An Amputation Injury Claim?
- How Long Do I Have To Make An Amputation Compensation Claim?
- What Evidence Is Needed In Amputation Claims?
- Could I Receive Amputation Compensation Before My Claim Has Settled?
- Make An Amputation Claim Using A No Win No Fee Solicitor
- Read More About Serious Injury Claims
Compensation Calculator For Amputation Claims
You may have used our compensation calculator for an estimate of how much compensation you could be awarded. In this section, we explain how amputation compensation could be awarded if you make a successful claim.
There are separate types of damages that are taken into consideration. General damages and special damages.
General damages are for your injury, pain, suffering and loss of amenity (PSLA). This could be diagnosed by an independent medical expert. They will provide a medical report and confirm your prognosis, which will allow us to determine the amount of compensation we will request from the third party.
When making an amputation claim, the question we mostly are asked is “how much will I get?” When valuing an injury such as an amputation, we use a tool known as the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This provides us with guideline compensation amounts that will assist us in valuing your general damages.
In the table below, we’ve provided a few figures given for amputation injuries from the JCG. Additionally, we’ve provided a figure in the top row that shows you how you could be awarded compensation for more than one serious injury and special damages. This figure was not taken from the JCG. Furthermore, as all claims are different, this table is only intended to act as a guide.
| Injury | Severity | Notes | Compensation Guidelines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple Severe Injuries and Special Damages | Very Severe | Settlements could compensate for multiple, severe injuries and related costs including lost earnings, nursing and home adaptations. | Up to £1,000,000 or over |
| Amputation of Arms | Loss of Both Arms | The effect of such an injury is to reduce a person with full awareness to a state of considerable helplessness | £293,850 to £366,100 |
| Loss of One Arm (i) | Arm amputated at the shoulder | Not Less Than £167,380 | |
| Loss of One Arm (ii) | Above-elbow amputation. A shorter stump may create difficulties in the use of a prosthesis. | £133,810 to £159,770 | |
| Loss of One Arm (iii) | Below-elbow amputation to one arm. | £117,360 to £133,810 | |
| Leg Amputations | Loss of Both Legs | Both legs lost above the knee or one leg has been lost above the knee at a high level and the other leg has been lost below the knee. | £293,850 to £344,150 |
| Below-Knee Amputation of Both Legs | The award considers the level of amputation, phantom pain severity, psychological problems, prosthetics and the risk of developing degenerative joint changes. | £245,900 to £329,620 | |
| Above-Knee Amputation of One Leg | In this bracket, the amputation level, phantom pain severity and other factors similar to above are considered. | £127,930 to £167,760 | |
| Hand Injuries | Total or Effective Loss of Both Hands | Serious injury resulting in extensive damage to both hands such as to render them little more than useless. | £171,680 to £245,900 |
| Total or Effective Loss of One Hand | One hand required surgical amputation of fingers due to crushing, or most of the palm has been traumatically amputated. | £117,360 to £133,810 |
What Will My Amputation Compensation Cover?
In addition to the compensation for the pain and suffering, we mentioned special damages. These can be awarded to cover your financial losses.
Examples of special damages are:
- Loss of earnings (current, future, overtime).
- Care and assistance.
- Medical expenses.
- Travel costs (to and from medical appointments).
- Other out of pocket losses caused by your injury.
In order to successfully recover your out of pocket expenses you should submit documentation, including:
- Pre-accident and post-accident wage slips.
- A record of hours that someone has cared for you and assisted in any way, or carer/nurse’s invoices.
- Receipts for medical expenses.
- Evidence of additional medical treatment.
- Any other losses you can think of we recommend keeping bank statements as these will have additional costs on there.
Whilst all personal injuries have an impact on your life, an amputation of any kind will have a significant effect on your life. Depending on the level of amputation will determine whether you can carry on working. As a result of the amputation accident, you may be deemed unable to work, and therefore, future losses would be calculated. Compensator Calculator UK would help you with this and work out all the future losses you would be entitled to. Call us today for more information about how compensation could be awarded for amputation claims.
What Is An Amputation Injury Claim?
In order to have good grounds to seek compensation, you must satisfy the personal injury claims critiera.
In legal terms, this means that you must establish:
- That you were owed a duty of care by the defendant (person or organisation that you are claiming against). This is a legal obligation that an individual or organisation owes to another party to ensure their reasonable safety.
- The accident was a result of the defendant breaching their duty of care.
- As a direct result of this accident, you suffered an injury/amputation/illness.
Duty of care is enforced from different pieces of legislation. We look at a few real-life scenarios in which you are owed a duty of care below.
Accidents At Work
Employers owe their employees a duty of care under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. To fulfil this duty, employers must take reasonable and practicable steps to ensure the health, safety and welfare of their employees.
Examples of accidents at work include:
- An employer will have breached their duty of care by not providing sufficient training to an employee. The employee crushed someone resulting in an amputation injury (arm/leg/hand) while driving a forklift truck without being trained to do so.
- An employee had been using a defective ladder at work, and when it broke, the employee fell, landing on his leg and resulting in the amputation of his leg. To comply with health and safety regulations, the employer should ensure that all equipment is safe to use by carrying out regular checks.
Road Traffic Accidents
Road users owe each other a duty of care to navigate in a safe manner that avoids causing damage and injury. To comply with this, anyone using the roads should adhere to the Road Traffic Act 1988 and any relevant rules and regulations found in the Highway Code. Failure to comply with road safety rules and regulations could result in a road traffic accident.
Examples of driver negligence include:
- A bus has pulled out of a side road without looking, causing a collision with a pedestrian, resulting in an amputation.
- A driver has collided with another car due to not paying attention to the roads. This resulted in the other driver suffering a traumatic amputation.
Medical Negligence
Medical negligence, also known as clinical negligence, occurs when a healthcare professional fails to provide the correct standard of care and causes unnecessary harm to their patient. All medical professionals, including nurses, doctors, surgeons and pharmacists, owe this duty of care to their patients.
Medical negligence claims are made when a patient believes that the standard of care received has fallen below what is reasonably expected, leading to avoidable harm under The National Health Service (Clinical Negligence Scheme for General Practice) Regulations 2019.
Examples of medical negligence include:
- Surgical mistakes – an error whilst performing surgery on a limb resulting in infection and leading to amputation.
- Misdiagnosis – such as missing meningitis when a patient first presented with symptoms, leading to loss of limb.
Call an advisor if you have any questions about the eligibility to make amputation claims.
How Long Do I Have To Make An Amputation Compensation Claim?
Personal injury claims have a time limit of when they need to be started. This is explained in The Limitation Act 1980. In order for the injury claim to be accepted it generally must be made within 3 years of the date of the accident.
There are some exceptions to the three year limitation period. Examples are:
- Child claims – The limitation period does not begin until the child reaches the age of 18, giving them three years from that date to start a claim. A litigation friend could be appointed by the courts if you would like to claim on behalf of a child prior to their 18th birthday.
- Those without the mental capacity – In these cases, the time limit is suspended for as long as the injured party is without this capacity. Should they regain this capacity, then they’ll have three years from that date to claim. However, a litigation friend can begin the claims process for them at any time during the suspension.
The time limit for making a medical negligence claim in the UK is three years, as set out by the Limitation Act 1980. This time limit can be counted from the date of injury or the date when the injury was connected to medical negligence (or you would have been reasonably expected to know that medical negligence occurred).
To discuss limitation periods for amputation claims and find out if you are still within the time limit to seek compensation, contact one of our advisors.
What Evidence Is Needed In Amputation Claims?
Amputation claims, like any other claim, will need to be supported with compelling evidence. This needs to prove liability for your injury.
Examples could include:
- Medical records.
- Medical report from an independent expert. If you have a solicitor, they may arrange this for you.
- Witness contact information so they provide statements later on.
- Photographs of injury / amputation(before and after).
- Documents relating to your injury and/or amputation. For example, a police report if you suffered an injury in a road traffic accident.
- Footage of the incident, such as from CCTV.
Speak with an advisor about the evidence you can submit to support your amputation compensation claim.
Could I Receive Amputation Compensation Before My Claim Has Settled?
It is understood that an amputation of a limb is a life changing matter and this would more than likely prevent you from working for a significant amount of time. Not having an income can cause further stress, we can try and ease that a little bit by way of an interim payment.
An interim payment is a payment that is made by the defendant whilst your claim is proceeding. An initial medical report is required to be disclosed to the defendant before they will consider making an interim payment. The interim payment is part of your settlement.
For further information about interim payments for amputation claims, call an advisor.
Make An Amputation Claim Using A No Win No Fee Solicitor
Here at Compensation Calculator UK we aim to get you the best possible outcome. The solicitors on our panel have many years of experience and expertise. As part of the service offered by our panel, they will:
- Submit the claim to the defendant.
- Arrange any independent medical appointments required as part of the claims process.
- Obtain all the evidence that is required.
- Communicate with the defendant’s solicitors to get you well-deserved compensation.
We are often asked “how much is this going to cost me?.” Well we are happy to tell you “Nothing upfront, or as your claim is ongoing” yes that’s right not a penny unless you are awarded compensation at the end of a successful claim. Our panel of solicitors work on a No Win No Fee basis, under a Conditional Fee Agreement.
Benefits of working on a No Win No Fee basis include:
- No upfront payment.
- Your claim can begin quickly.
- No solicitor’s fees payable while your claim is proceeding.
- Solicitor’s fees do not have to be paid if your case is unsuccessful.
- A small success fee is only deducted from the compensation that has been awarded to you if you win your claim. This percentage is legally limited ensuring that you keep the majority of your awarded compensation.
An advisor can answer any questions you have about amputation claims. They can also assess your eligibility and, if you meet the criteria, connect you to a solicitor from our panel. Contact us today for a no obligation chat to discuss your claim further.
- Phone – 0800 408 7826
- Email – Contact Us – Compensation Calculator UK
- Live Chat- use the pop up window to ask a question
Read More About Serious Injury Claims
Here are a few more guides from our site that you might find useful:
- Learn more about what your claim could be worth with this helpful guide about how personal injury compensation is awarded.
- Guidance on using our compensation calculator.
- Information about claiming serious injury compensation and using a claims calculator.
A few external websites that we think might be useful:
- Guidance on when to call 999 from the NHS.
- Information from the government about claiming Statutory Sick Pay, including rates and eligibility.
- NHS advice and information on amputation, including why one might be needed.
If you need any further help and advice about amputation claims, our advisors are available 24/7 to help you. Use the contact details above to get in touch.